Job Summary

The Director of Traffic serves as the designated City Traffic Engineer, providing leadership and strategic direction for traffic engineering through planning, design, and operation of the City of Fort Collins multimodal transportation network. This position ensures compliance with MUTCD standards and all applicable federal, state, and local traffic laws and regulations from design, installation, and maintenance. The Director of Traffic guides policy integration with initiatives such as Vision Zero, the Active Modes Plan, and the Climate Action Plan, ensuring that operational decisions align with long-term mobility, safety, and sustainability goals. Serving as the City’s technical authority in traffic engineering, this role balances regulatory compliance, data-driven analysis, and community priorities to deliver a safe and efficient transportation system.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

The following duties and responsibilities are illustrative of the primary functions of this position and are not intended to be all inclusive.

• Leads policy initiatives and strategic efforts, including Active Modes Plan, Vision Zero, and Our Climate future, to align transportation engineering practices with safety, mobility and sustainability goals.
• Develops and coordinates work activities of the Traffic Operations division with other City departments or divisions as needed in order to sustain or enhance service levels to the public.
• Develops short-term and long-range plans and the departments annual budget based on the goals and growth objectives of the department.
• Provides a safe and efficient transportation system through effective signals, signage and pavement markings.
• Oversees operation and development of City’s Traffic Management Center.
• Manages all aspects of development review, signal timing, Neighborhood Traffic Mitigation, and work area traffic control.
• Oversees and directs the work of signal construction and maintenance operations; including on-site project work in collaboration with signals team.
• Performs development review, evaluates traffic impact studies and their effects on the existing transportation system, and addresses related issues at Planning and Zoning Board meetings.
• Leads day-to-day operations for the Signals and the Signs & Pavement Markings teams, ensuring coordinated work planning, prioritization of service delivery, and alignment with operational, safety, and regulatory priorities.
• Oversees traffic calming efforts where applicable and effective.
• Assists and participates in transportation planning which involves streets planning.
• Listens and responds to citizen concerns and requests.
• Reviews plans to ensure appropriate traffic engineering solutions are in place to mitigate development impacts.
• Testifies as an expert witness in court cases on behalf of the City.

City Competencies

• Demonstrated cultural competence to effectively interact, work, and develop meaningful relationships with people of diverse identities, perspectives, and cultural backgrounds.
• Strong learning orientation. Leverages all resources and is creative in ways of learning for self to continue adapting to changing issues and trends.
• A desire and ability to understand the diverse needs of internal and external customers, and to create experiences and deliver services that exceed their expectations.
• A desire and ability to utilize digital tools for organizational information, individual, and teamwork.
• Experience building teams and implementing practices to lead others well in an inclusive, high-performance organization. Skill in integrating and synthesizing others’ viewpoints to build alignment of diverse perspectives to achieve results.
• Capable of creating conditions of emotional safety and demonstrates self-awareness and regulation in responding to others.
• Capable of systems thinking to see interdependent relationships and recognize multiple causes and effects of community issues, to predict or anticipate the consequences of policy decisions, and to community and organizational resources.
• Strong ability to assess alternatives in terms of their financial, revenue, social, environmental, and strategic advantages and disadvantages and propose solutions.

Certifications/Licenses/Specialized Training

• Licensed Professional Engineer, Professional Traffic Operations Engineer (PTOE) is considered a preferred qualification.

Required Knowledge Skills and Abilities

• Extended in-depth knowledge of federal, municipal, county and state engineering and public works standards, practices, and materials.
• Comprehensive understanding of multimodal transportation principles, and ability to integrate these modes safely and efficiently in the layered transportation network.
• Experience with capital project construction management.
• Advanced knowledge of traffic engineering practices and procedures, including design and construction, and ability to apply full scope of theory, principles, concepts, and methodologies.
• Ability to effectively manage and coordinate the work of diverse technical and field teams, ensuring alignment with organizational goals.
• Responsible for setting strategic direction of the work groups and larger organization.
• Serve as resource to Executive Leadership and other Directors, providing guidance and troubleshooting complex traffic operations related issues.
• Ability to provide clear and effective verbal, written, and graphic communication addressing wide audiences on complicated traffic issues.
• Ability to recognize and implement best practices; focusing on developing and/or improving processes.
• Advanced knowledge of federal, state, and local traffic codes and standards, and other regulatory guidelines.
• Ability to provide clear and effective verbal, written, and graphic communication addressing wide audiences on difficult traffic issues.
• Knowledge and ability to use traffic engineering software and systems such as Synchro and Centracs Systems.
• Ability to effectively manage/resolve conflicts.