At the
Customer Technology Department (CTD), our mission is to apply modern principles of research, design, and technology to make our transit system easy for all riders to use. Effective and equitable public transit is essential to the social, economic, and environmental progress of Greater Boston.
The MBTA Customer Technology team is working to transform how people get around the Boston area.
We are a team of designers, engineers, product and content specialists charged with bringing novel ideas, modern standards and a user-centered approach to technology at the T. As the MBTA works to reinvent itself, we have a rare opportunity to craft the future of transportation for Boston and communities all around Eastern Massachusetts, as well as pioneer innovations for other transit agencies around the country.
Do you want to improve the daily transportation experience for 4.7 million people in the Boston region? Ready for the challenge? Then read on.
About the MBTA and the Fare Transformation Project
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is America’s fifth largest transit system offering multi-modal transportation services to 175 member cities and towns and 4.7 million residents across a 3,200 square mile area. It is a public authority and political subdivision of the Commonwealth. The MBTA operates heavy rail, light rail, commuter rail, bus, and commuter boat services.
The MBTA is undertaking the Fare Transformation program, which is making significant strategic investments in MBTA fare systems and processes to reliably and flexibly collect fares, improve policy flexibility, and speed transit service. The program is now in active development, with its first phase of improvements complete and the second underway. As it is rolled out, the project will provide lasting benefits to riders and the MBTA. More policy flexibility and regional mobility integration options will provide new revenue and partnership opportunities to the MBTA and new fare product options to riders and institutional customers. The future system will provide the MBTA the policy ‘levers’ to prioritize revenue, ridership, or equity goals over time. Increased payment convenience and improved bus service speeds (by enabling all-door boarding) will reduce barriers to ridership and expand mobility. New fare media and tools will make fare inspection faster and more consistent across transit modes and payment methods.
Note: This position will be assigned to the Fare Transformation project specifically. This is a project-specific position and is limited to the term of that project’s implementation. Employment beyond the Fare Transformation project implementation and/or reassignment onto other transformation projects is left to the discretion of the MBTA.
About the position
The Technical Project Manager will support the delivery of the hardware and software components of the MBTA’s next generation fare payment system, including the fare collection devices, payments technology, website and mobile app, customer support software, retail solution, APIs, integrations with other internal and external systems, tap processing and information security.
Primary Responsibilities
- Reports to the Fare Transformation Deputy Director of System Implementation.
- Coordinate stakeholder review of designs and prepare feedback for the Systems Integrator within tight timeframes.
- Manage input from a large number of stakeholders, including internal business owners, specialist consultants, customers, and senior staff and balance their sometimes competing interests.
- Conduct detailed reviews of designs developed by the Systems Integrator to ensure they are responsive to stakeholder feedback and verify compliance with Technical Requirements.
- Complete discovery work and document any new technical requirements.
- Recommend improvements based on an understanding of industry best practices, stakeholder feedback, usability and professional experience.
- Coordinate the work of specialist consultants working on the implementation of various aspects/stages of the technical solution.
- Lead the technical design, development and implementation of software designed for MBTA riders, business units and partners.
- Report on the status of implementation work.
- Define action items resulting from meetings and tasks required to meet objectives.
- Track and update the status of dozens of tasks every day, keeping the team informed, removing blocks and advancing to closure within the timeframes required by the project timeline.
- Identify risks and dependencies, establish mitigation plans, and escalate as necessary.
- Analyze business rules and proposed fare policy changes and review technical designs to ensure that the system can support business needs.
- Analyze customer use cases and review technical designs to ensure that the system can support user needs.
- Review the Systems Integrator’s test plans and oversee lab tests to ensure that all customer use cases are covered.
- Use the Compliance Matrix (a database of technical requirements) to track and report on the compliance of delivered solutions.
Minimum Qualifications
- Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited institution in transportation planning, public policy, public administration, social science, technology or a related field.
- Two (2) years of experience either with design/ implementation/ operation of a technology system.
- Strong project management background.
- Proficiency in the Microsoft Office suite.
- Effective organizational, analytical, time management, interpersonal and multi-tasking skills.
- Ability to understand, interpret, and apply laws, rules, regulations, policies, procedures, contracts and technical requirements.
- Demonstrated ability to quickly earn the trust of sponsors and key stakeholders; and to mobilize and motivate cross-functional teams.
- Ability to think strategically.
- Ability to be comfortable under pressure, able to prioritize and balance multiple projects and priorities.
- Experience with defining, writing and enforcing technical requirements.
- Experience with developing, implementing and overseeing test plans and test reports.
- Experience using online collaboration tools (e.g. Slack, Asana, Basecamp, etc.)
- The ability to work effectively with a diverse workforce.
Preferences
- Experience working in transit or similar environment.
- Experience working with or in a government agency.
- Master’s Degree in from an accredited institution in transportation planning, public policy, public administration, social science, technology or a related field.
- Experience in policy implementation for a transit agency.
- Experience working with the design/implementation/operation of a transit system technology, such as fare collection systems, vending machines, parking payment systems, toll collection systems, fire alarms, elevators or customer assistance kiosks.
- Experience with public procurement.
- A PMP or other Project Management certification.
Substitutions
- Masters degree may be substituted for one (1) year of experience
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion:
CTD is dedicated to creating a diverse and inclusive environment—it’s essential to the work we do. In order to effectively partner with MBTA departments and do our best work for riders, our team must reflect the wide variety of people who use the MBTA’s services. We welcome people with different strengths, experiences, and backgrounds who share a passion for improving people’s lives. Our team is deeply committed to diversity, inclusion, and continual learning. We strive to foster an environment where each individual is valued, feels a sense of belonging, and is welcomed to bring their best self to work.
Here at CTD, we provide equal opportunity for all employees and applicants. We recruit, hire, train, promote, compensate, and manage all personnel without regard to race, color, national origin, cultural identification or expression, socioeconomic background, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, family status, marital status, learning style, neurodiversity, genetics, disability, age, veteran status, or any other non-merit based or legally protected grounds.
Research has shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply for roles unless they believe they meet all qualifications. We strongly encourage candidates from marginalized groups to apply, even if you don’t believe you meet every one of the job qualifications listed. We’re committed to maximizing the diversity of our team and want to hear from anyone who is passionate about our efforts and interested in supporting our work for riders.
