City of Hillsboro, OR
Hillsboro, OR
Recruiter:
Robert Colichio
The Hillsboro Community and Economic Development Department is seeking a skilled and visionary Transportation Systems Division Manager to lead a high-performing team of professionals in driving key projects and initiatives vital to the City’s continued growth. In this pivotal role, the Manager works across multiple teams with diverse areas of expertise to support the community’s complex transportation, land use, economic development, and housing needs. Hillsboro offers a fast-growing environment where this position manages a broad range of high-profile projects.
The Transportation Systems Division Manager serves as a strategic leader in guiding, developing, and implementing the City’s Transportation Systems Plan. As a key advisor to Department and City leadership, the Manager collaborates with internal and external stakeholders to shape policies, programs, and initiatives that enhance the overall well-being of the community. This position requires the application of advanced management principles with a critical impact on the organization, utilizing strategic and visionary thinking to oversee the Division’s activities. The Manager leads the development and execution of a strategic vision that aligns with the Department’s mission and development objectives, while simultaneously overseeing the Division’s work plan, budget preparation, and expenditure monitoring.
The Manager provides essential leadership and operational direction to the planning teams, fostering a positive environment focused on achieving divisional and City-wide goals. This includes prioritizing work assignments, conducting performance evaluations, coordinating staff training, and overseeing the adherence to all City policies and procedures. This position is responsible for maintaining a healthy, productive working environment and managing personnel actions, including hiring and disciplinary actions. To ensure holistic success, the Transportation Systems Division Manager works closely with other divisions to align transportation efforts with broader economic and community development initiatives, evaluating operational effectiveness and implementing process improvements and resource optimization.
Financial and project stewardship are core components of the role, as the Manager manages the Division budget, contract approvals, and financial reporting. The position provides project management oversight for special and complex transportation projects, defining and monitoring scope, budget, and schedules while providing necessary technical guidance. Key responsibilities include developing transportation financing for planned developments, drafting agreements with land use applicants regarding infrastructure, and managing transportation system development charge considerations for new development projects. Additionally, the Manager oversees other transportation-related plans, studies, and data modeling, and responds to technical questions and complaints while resolving conflicts through diligent research and problem-solving.
As one of the City's primary representatives, the Manager serves as a liaison to various boards, commissions, and the City Council, providing technical support and staff recommendations on complex planning issues. The Transportation Systems Division Manager builds and maintains strong relationships with local, regional, state, and federal agencies and stakeholders to ensure that all requirements are met on time and in a fiscally responsible manner. This involves actively pursuing regional and federal funding to support City initiatives and influencing transportation-related policies and procedures at all levels of government. By advising and consulting with City management and various agencies, the Manager ensures that the City’s transportation programs are expertly coordinated and aligned with the long-term vision of the community.
The Transportation Systems Division Manager is a strategic, decisive, and humble working manager who excels at balancing technical depth with visionary community development. As a technical translator, this leader possesses the unique ability to distill complex transportation data into digestible, actionable insights for the City Council and stakeholders. This successful candidate is a regional diplomat, a seasoned advocate who confidently protects Hillsboro’s interests in highly visible environments while remaining composed and non-reactive under pressure.
A profound technical foundation is essential for success. The successful candidate will bring an extensive background in engineering logic applied to policy, demonstrating mastery of traffic operations analysis at both the macro (regional travel demand) and micro (intersection function) levels. The ability to provide advanced technical support for complex land development and to identify when modeling outputs lack real-world viability is essential.
Hillsboro is a results-oriented jurisdiction, and the successful candidate embodies this proactive, solutions-focused culture. They are calculated risk-takers who are comfortable navigating gray areas to find different, more effective paths for difficult projects. This role requires high political savvy and a collaborative spirit to build consensus across various City Departments, presenting a unified front to the community’s investors and residents. The ideal leader listens to staff expertise and treats colleagues as true partners in problem-solving.
The Transportation Systems Division Manager is an inspiring leader and executive sponsor dedicated to the performance and growth of their team. Hillsboro is looking for a leader who is personally committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion, someone who translates these principles into daily practice and fosters a workplace culture built on responsiveness and transparency. Above all, the successful candidate will be an approachable, high-energy leader who rejects a pass-through management style in favor of active engagement and meaningful impact.
At least 10 years of transportation engineering or planning, construction, and/or utilities management experience, including at least three years of management and leadership experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience sufficient to successfully perform the essential duties of the job, as listed above, is required.
A bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, transportation engineering, or transportation planning with major coursework in transportation engineering, transportation systems planning, public administration, or a closely related field is required. The selected candidate must hold a current driver’s license with a safe driving record. While not required, holding an Oregon Professional Engineer License is beneficial.
Mission
To provide City services that support a safe, sustainable, and inclusive growing community, while cultivating Hillsboro’s hometown livability.
Vision
Growing great things in a place where you are supported, connected, and belong.
Values
The City of Hillsboro is a full-service City known for its forward-thinking, visionary approach and a reputation for excellence in long-term strategic and fiscal planning. The City operates under a Council-Manager form of government, in which the City Manager has broad executive authority to implement policies set by the City Council and oversees the local government’s day-to-day operations. The organization continues to enhance its support for its community by embracing a continuous improvement mindset in its work.
Hillsboro has 1,074 full-time employees and 409 part-time/temporary employees with a Biennial-Year 2025-27 Budget of $1.94 billion. The City has three collective bargaining agreements representing Police, Fire, and Library employees. Services are provided through 11 City Departments, including the City Manager’s Office, Economic & Community Development, Finance, Fire & Rescue, Human Resources, Information Resources, Library, Parks & Recreation, Police, Public Works, and Water.
City employees are passionate about fostering a culturally inclusive community like the residents they serve. Building inclusive systems and developing policies that place equity at the forefront takes leadership, time, resources, a commitment to learn, and a dedication to creating a culture where individual identities do not predict outcomes. To reflect this ongoing commitment, the Hillsboro City Council adopted the following guiding principle in 2025:
We Build Inclusive Systems: Build inclusive systems by exemplifying diversity, equity, and inclusion in policymaking and service delivery. We seek to engage the broader Hillsboro community, removing barriers and creating accessible opportunities for all. By fostering accessibility and honoring our community’s unique identity, we create a welcoming, innovative, and thriving environment for all.
The City adopted its Equity Statement in 2019 and continues to advance equity through its development of policies, programs, and services, and through its allocation of time and resources to create a culture where race does not predict outcomes.
The City of Hillsboro plans to continue delivering responsive, high-quality services in a future full of opportunities, challenges, and change. The Strategic Plan guides operations over the next 10 years to cultivate Hillsboro’s hometown livability and advance services that support our safe, sustainable, inclusive, and growing community.
Mission
The Economic & Community Development Department aims to deliver a complete community that provides exceptional places to live, work, and play through thoughtful community planning, responsive permitting, and intentional implementation.
Vision
Create and support a strong and vibrant community.
The Transportation Systems Division prepares and maintains the City’s Transportation System Plan (TSP). The TSP examines the needs and deficiencies of the current transportation system, forecasts future needs, and provides a plan for future transportation investments over the next 20 years. The TSP includes individual system modal plans for walking, bicycling, motor vehicles, transit, and freight. The Division serves as the primary point of contact for stakeholders and agency partners on the design and operation of a well-functioning, safe transportation network aligned with the City’s plans, policies, and goals. The Division plays significant roles in identifying and securing funding for various transportation initiatives and conducting analysis for a variety of transportation systems and projects. Members of the Division also participate in Development Services-related work, reviewing development applications and determining the transportation impacts and required improvements of such projects. The Transportation System team also represents the City with County, Regional, State, and Federal partners on development and advocacy of policies, plans, and projects of interest to the Hillsboro community.
Hillsboro is one of Oregon’s most diverse and dynamic cities, with a steadily growing population of approximately 112,000. More than 45% of Hillsboro residents are from communities of color, and approximately 30% speak a language other than English at home.
More than 50,000 employees commute to Hillsboro by car, bicycle, bus, or MAX Light Rail train to work at companies such as Intel, Nike, and Genentech. Hillsboro is the largest City in Washington County and serves as the county seat.
The City of Hillsboro is ideally located in the Pacific Northwest—10 miles West of Portland, just an hour’s drive from the beautiful Cascade Mountains and Columbia River Gorge to the East, and the sandy beaches of the Pacific Ocean to the West.
Frequently ranked on national lists as one of the “Best Places to Live in the United States,” Hillsboro has earned praise for having:
Known as the “high-tech hub of Oregon” or the “tallest tree in the Silicon Forest,” Hillsboro has some of the best land, power, and water resources in the country. With its thriving economy, Hillsboro is the home of Oregon’s fourth-largest school district, two higher-education campuses, more than 30 parks, and approximately 1,500 acres of designated green spaces, including Jackson Bottom Wetlands Preserve, the Rock Creek Trail, and the Orenco Woods Nature Park.
The Hillsboro community proudly supports creative expression and the arts, and Downtown Hillsboro is the home of the Walters Cultural Arts Center and the highly regarded Bag&Baggage Productions professional theatre company. The Hillsboro Hops, the only professional baseball team in the Portland metro area, entertain fans during home games at the City’s baseball stadium, Hillsboro Ballpark, and are in the process of building a new, state-of-the-art ballpark on the Gordon Faber Recreation Complex.
Throughout the summer, Hillsboro residents can shop for fresh berries and cherries, along with other seasonal produce, at weekly farmers’ markets. Annual community events include the Oregon International Air Show, the Hillsboro Latino Cultural Festival, the La Strada dei Pastelli Chalk Art Festival, Juneteenth Celebration, Pride Party, Lightopia holiday lights, and one of the largest Fourth of July parades in the Northwest.
The salary range for the Transportation Systems Division Manager is $132,070 – $173,795 and will depend on the qualifications of the successful candidate. The City of Hillsboro offers a comprehensive and competitive total compensation package, including high-quality benefits, and prioritizes employee well-being. For a complete breakdown of the City’s extensive Benefits Package, please review the Employee Benefits Guide.
Applications will be accepted electronically by Raftelis at raftelis.com. Applicants complete a brief online form and are prompted to provide a cover letter and resume. The position will be open until filled, with a first review of applications beginning June 6, 2026.
Please direct questions to Robert Colichio at rcolichio@raftelis.com and Niayla Hairston at nhairston@raftelis.com.