Mid Level Planner

Sasaki is a 300+ international planning and design firm headquartered in Boston, MA, with locations in Denver, New York, and Shanghai, China. We have a dynamic creative culture with a reputation and body of work that spans over sixty-five years.

Sasaki is looking for innovative, self-driven, and creative planners with 4-7 years of relevant experience to join our multidisciplinary firm. We would love to welcome a new team member who is eager to jump into a wide range of planning projects, equipped with strong analysis, research, and storytelling skills - verbal, graphic, and written.

What you will bring:

• A strong grasp of foundational planning concepts and the ability to independently complete tasks related to a range of complex planning topics and contexts.
• Demonstrated ability to work on multiple projects and tasks simultaneously.
• Organizational and management skills, with attention to detail and ability to coordinate tasks on small projects or internal teams
• Curiosity and enthusiasm for working across a variety of client and project types, with experience in one of our core markets (civic sector, campus, or master planning) or a technical expertise (e.g., sustainability, transportation, etc.)
• Knowledge of and comfort with Adobe Suite workflow (INDD, AI) and Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint)
• Strong written and verbal communication (planning reports, memoranda, and day-to-day communication)
• Strong quantitative and qualitative analysis skills and the ability to structure and interpret data-informed physical planning processes
• Cultural competency in engaging with planning concepts in a variety of contexts

What you will do:

• Lead research and analysis
• Oversee junior planners
• Play a substantial role in coordinating our internal interdisciplinary project teams.
• Develop more client-facing and project management skills as you advance in this position.
• Develop experience with marketing and business development and contribute to innovation in your discipline.
• Present clear graphic communication and storytelling, displaying understanding of cultural sensitivities and craft narratives for complex stakeholder and client groups.
• Lay out presentations, reports, and leading the creation of graphic content

Experience & Education:

• Master’s degree in planning or a related field or a bachelor’s degree in planning or related field with a preference for at least four years of relevant experience (We welcome applicants who may have had a non-typical path into planning - we’d love to hear about it in your cover letter.)

Planners at Sasaki share a common set of core competencies, but also have a range of complementary strengths and interests. The successful candidates will possess some or most of these attributes:

• Experience contributing to community engagement processes and public speaking
• Familiarity with directing spatial analysis workflow and software (ArcGIS, QGIS)
• Familiarity with project implementation processes (e.g., zoning code, design review, etc.)
• Proficiency with languages spoken in frequent project locations (Spanish and Chinese)
• Degree in architecture, landscape architecture, urban design, or another design field
• Experience working as a part of an interdisciplinary design team in an office setting
• Experience with emerging topics in planning and design
• Exposure to scope development, budget management, and sub consultant management for planning projects. Familiarity with project pursuits (proposal development, strategy, interviews, etc.)
• Ability to coordinate multiple junior staff members and support project leadership
• A unique superpower that we haven’t thought to ask about, but that will make an impact on our projects and practice

If you possess these skills and qualities and want to know more about our special team, we would love to hear from you!