Transportation Planner

Freese and Nichols is looking for a Transportation Planner in the Greenville, Columbia, or Charleston, South Carolina offices. As a Transportation Planner, you will lead and support complex transportation planning efforts for public-sector clients across South Carolina. You will play a key role in shaping long-range transportation plans, corridor studies, and policy-driven initiatives while working closely with traffic engineers, project managers, and client agencies. This role is well suited for an experienced planner who enjoys client interaction, technical leadership, and contributing to the growth of an integrated transportation practice.

What You’ll Do

• Lead and manage transportation planning studies, including corridor studies, long-range transportation plans, feasibility studies, and policy-driven planning efforts
• Serve as a project manager or technical lead on planning assignments, managing scope, schedule, budget, and quality
• Act in an advisory capacity on technical, regulatory, and policy aspects of transportation planning
• Coordinate closely with traffic engineers, designers, and project managers to deliver integrated transportation solutions
• Interface directly with clients, agencies, and stakeholders to support project execution and long-term planning goals
• Prepare and review technical memoranda, reports, and presentations for clients and public meetings
• Support proposal development, statements of qualification, and client interviews related to transportation planning work
• Mentor planners and technical staff and support knowledge sharing within the planning team
• Represent Freese and Nichols at public meetings, conferences, and professional organization events
• Support QA/QC processes for transportation planning assignments

Qualifications

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in urban planning, transportation planning, architecture, landscape architecture, or a related field
• 10+ years of professional planning experience, with a focus on transportation or urban planning
• Demonstrated experience managing or leading complex planning studies for public-sector clients
• Strong understanding of transportation planning principles, regulatory frameworks, and policy considerations
• Experience preparing high-quality technical reports, plans, and client-facing deliverables
• Ability to coordinate multidisciplinary teams and manage multiple assignments concurrently
• Strong written and verbal communication skills

Preferred

• Master’s degree in urban or transportation planning or a related discipline
• AICP certification or progress toward certification
• Experience working with state DOTs, MPOs, or local government agencies
• Experience supporting proposal development and business development activities
• Active participation in professional planning organizations such as APA

About Freese and Nichols

At the heart of our culture is our LEADS values (Learn continuously, Engage as family, Act with integrity, Deliver quality, and Serve always). Each year, our employee engagement survey confirms that our leaders and our employees live our values.

We strive to be the firm of choice for clients and employees through innovative approaches, practical results, and outstanding service. For more than 130 years, we have been planning and designing the infrastructure our communities need: developing water supplies, designing roadways and bridges, preparing for natural disasters, and much more.

Besides our comprehensive benefits package (see more at ), we offer paid overtime for salaried employees, an annual bonus, and access to company cabins in Red River, New Mexico and Banner Elk, North Carolina. We are proud of our flexible work environment which includes a hybrid schedule with up to 40% of remote work, and an alternative work schedule program which provides a day off every other Friday.

Join our team of 1,300+ employees as we grow from Virginia to Colorado.