| Project Number |
OTP-110-CA
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| Departments |
OTP
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| Division |
Office Of The President
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| Location |
2 Broadway, New York NY
|
| Position Title |
Research Associate
|
| Positions Available |
2
|
| Major(s) Preferred |
Computer Science Miscellaneous Business Administration Architecture & Engineering Transportation
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| Overview of Department |
The New York City Transit Office of the President is seeking interns to focus on projects in the office portfolio. Our group of experienced MTA staff, former management consultants, transportation planners/engineers, and social scientists are tasked with helping the agency address its most pressing and persistent challenges, working directly with the agencys senior executives and operational managers in Subways, Buses, Paratransit, Security, and other support areas.
Projects are typically one of three types:
1.Reviewing and redesigning processes and strategies. These projects follow a management consultant-style approach of research, fact-based analysis, problem solving and prioritization. They generally include a significant amount of data collection, data analysis, process review, and process optimization. Example projects include reviews of maintenance inspection and repair workflows; development of new deployment strategies for field-based teams; reviews of jobs selection and workforce management workflows; and designs to streamline exceptions to regularly scheduled bus and train services.
2.Solving complex analytical and technical problems. These projects require intensive data analysis, quantitative research, statistical sampling, and development of planning or service improvement tools. Example projects include building visualizations of subway and bus service; using data to pinpoint specific service and workforce management problems; and developing tools for executive decision-making.
3.Improving data processing and performance reporting. The higher quality and more accessible information generated by these projects support executive decision-making. The work requires an ability to find insights in large and complex data sets. Example projects include analysis of the efficacy of specific interventions using various causal inference methods; usage of maintenance data to pinpoint recurring failures; analysis of data processing workflows; and visualization of performance metrics and other indicators through web-based reporting tools.
|
| Project Responsibilities |
Interns must bring a passion for addressing the challenges of a complex system like New York City Transit: improving processes and the tools needed for better performance, expanding the use and value of data for better decision decision-making, rationalizing governance and organizational structures to manage challenges and opportunities more optimally. Solutions will be based on analysis of operations, workforce, and financial data and must be viable within the constraints of a high-visibility public entity with a diverse set of constituents.
Interns may interact with many internal users including operational managers at all levels, functional support managers, schedulers and other data-oriented staff, and senior management to define and execute project work. In addition, they will often work with external parties as needed to carry out best practices research and collect comparative data.
|
| Qualification Background |
All candidates must have:
-Excellent technical, quantitative, and qualitative analytical skills
-Excellent research skills
-Interest in public transportation and transit issues
-Able to work independently and with very detailed information
-Proficiency in MS Excel and MS PowerPoint
- In addition to strong problem solving and sophisticated analytic skills, interns must bring communications and presentation skills and be able to engage with clients at all levels of NYCT, from senior leadership to front-line employees. Interns must be always resourceful and solution-oriented.
Other highly desirable skills include:
-Familiarity with emerging technologies, including automated data collection in transit applications, workflow optimization, project management, and spatial analysis
-Familiarity with programming languages
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| Summer Project |
No
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