Urban Planner

About Us We are a staffing services technology company that helps organizations design, build, and scale digital products and engineering capabilities. Our teams deliver end-to-end software development, Engineering, and design services, and we provide flexible staffing solutions to augment internal teams with specialized talent—quickly and reliably. The Role We are looking for a talented Urban Planner to join our distributed design and engineering team. Whether you are a mid-career planning professional looking to broaden your scope in land use/community development or a senior-level Urban Planner ready to lead critical planning, zoning, and policy decisions, we have a spot for you on our ladder. You will work across the full planning project lifecycle, bridging the gap between community engagement, land use policy, design, and regulatory compliance to ensure planning projects are delivered with vision, equity, and technical excellence. What You’ll Do • Planning & Design: Lead and develop comprehensive land use plans, master plans, neighborhood plans, and urban design frameworks for complex urban, suburban, and rural communities; produce planning documents, zoning analyses, design guidelines, and policy recommendations using industry-standard GIS, CAD, and visualization tools (ArcGIS, AutoCAD, Revit, SketchUp, or Adobe Creative Suite). • Collaborate: Work closely with Civil Engineers, Architects, Transportation Engineers, Environmental Scientists, and Project Managers in an Agile project environment to define planning requirements, land use strategies, design frameworks, and project budgets. • Community Engagement: Design and lead inclusive and meaningful community engagement processes including public meetings, stakeholder workshops, online surveys, and focus groups; synthesize community input into actionable planning recommendations that reflect the needs and aspirations of diverse communities. • Zoning & Land Use Regulation: Conduct detailed zoning analyses, land use compatibility assessments, and regulatory reviews; prepare zoning code amendments, overlay district regulations, and development standards in coordination with municipal planning departments and elected officials. • Environmental & Impact Analysis: Conduct and coordinate environmental reviews, impact assessments, and sustainability analyses including NEPA/CEQA environmental reviews, traffic impact studies, infrastructure capacity analyses, and climate resilience assessments. • Policy Development: Research, develop, and recommend land use, housing, transportation, and sustainability policies; prepare policy reports, white papers, and planning studies for municipal clients, government agencies, and community organizations. • Regulatory & Permitting: Navigate complex federal, state, and local regulatory and permitting processes; manage entitlement applications, conditional use permits, variances, and rezoning requests through the public hearing and approval process. • Compliance & Standards: Implement rigorous planning standards in accordance with applicable zoning codes, general plan policies, state planning law, and federal regulations; ensure all planning deliverables meet or exceed regulatory requirements and client expectations. • Mentorship: (For Senior+ roles) Mentor junior planners and planning technicians; provide technical leadership on complex land use analysis, community engagement, and planning document preparation challenges. • Reporting & Presentations: Prepare and present planning reports, staff reports, environmental documents, and policy recommendations to planning commissions, city councils, boards of supervisors, and other elected and appointed bodies. What We’re Looking For • Education: Bachelor's or Master's degree in Urban Planning, City Planning, Regional Planning, Urban Design, or a closely related field from a PAB-accredited program; Master's degree strongly preferred. • Licensure: AICP (American Institute of Certified Planners) certification strongly preferred; candidates actively pursuing AICP certification will also be considered. • Experience: 4–12+ years of hands-on urban planning experience in land use planning, community development, transportation planning, environmental planning, or a related planning discipline in a public agency or private consulting environment. • GIS Proficiency: Strong experience with GIS tools and spatial analysis platforms (ArcGIS, QGIS, or similar); ability to conduct spatial data analysis, produce planning maps, and develop GIS-based planning products and visualizations. • Land Use & Zoning: Deep knowledge of land use planning principles, zoning codes, general plan policy frameworks, and development review processes; experience preparing and processing zoning amendments, overlay districts, and specific plans. • Environmental Review: Experience managing and preparing environmental review documents under NEPA and/or CEQA; familiarity with environmental impact assessment methodologies, mitigation monitoring, and interagency coordination. • Community Engagement: Proven experience designing and facilitating meaningful public engagement processes; ability to communicate complex planning concepts clearly and accessibly to diverse community audiences. • Policy Analysis & Writing: Strong policy research, analysis, and writing skills; ability to prepare clear, concise, and well-supported planning reports, staff reports, and policy recommendations for elected and appointed decision-making bodies. • Cross-Functional Communication: Excellent written and verbal communication skills; ability to collaborate effectively in a fully remote, distributed team environment and communicate planning concepts and policy recommendations clearly to clients, community members, engineers, architects, and regulatory agencies. Bonus Points • Certifications: AICP certification, LEED AP ND (Neighborhood Development), CNU-A (Congress for the New Urbanism Accredited), or certificate in Urban Design or Historic Preservation. • Transportation Planning: Experience with multimodal transportation planning, transit-oriented development (TOD), active transportation planning, Vision Zero programs, and coordination with regional transportation agencies (MPOs, DOTs). • Housing Policy: Deep expertise in affordable housing policy, inclusionary zoning, housing needs assessments, anti-displacement strategies, and housing element law compliance. • Urban Design: Strong urban design skills and portfolio demonstrating creative and technically resolved urban design frameworks, streetscape plans, form-based codes, and public realm design work. • Climate & Resilience Planning: Experience developing climate action plans, resilience frameworks, and adaptation strategies for communities facing sea level rise, wildfire, drought, extreme heat, and other climate-related hazards. • Economic Development: Familiarity with economic development planning, fiscal impact analysis, redevelopment strategies, and opportunity zone planning for urban revitalization and community economic growth initiatives. • Visualization & Communication: Proficiency in design visualization and communication tools (Adobe Creative Suite, SketchUp, Lumion, Canva, or similar) for producing compelling planning presentations, community engagement materials, and public-facing planning documents. • Federal & Grant Programs: Experience managing federally funded planning programs (HUD, EPA, FHWA, FTA) and preparing competitive grant applications for community development, transportation, and sustainability initiatives. Compensation & Benefits We believe in paying top-of-market rates for top-tier talent. The base salary range for this role is $200,000 to $300,000, with exact placement determined by your skills, years of experience, and interview performance. Additional Benefits: Equity: Competitive stock option package. Remote Setup: Home office stipend to get your workspace set up perfectly. Health: Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance. Time Off: Flexible PTO policy + Company Holidays. Growth: Annual learning and development budget. Retirement: 401(k) matching plan.