Careers at KAI

Overview

KAI continually seeks people who share our enthusiasm for the transportation profession and our excitement in having a positive impact on our communities. Such candidates are sought after for professional, administrative, technical, and corporate roles. Our firm has a specific interest in helping individuals find the career path that best suits them. Many of our employees come from different backgrounds and experiences, which adds to our diversity and allows us to offer unique perspectives on all aspects of project work and careers. The KAI core principles and commitment to hiring people who share similar goals, principles, and outward focus lead to natural and real friendships that transcend the workplace. The youthful and energetic staff at KAI sponsors showers, birthday parties, picnics, and other events. Likewise, the office environment at KAI is energetic, team-oriented, and professional. All staff levels leave their office doors open to encourage free discussion of problems and questions. This team approach results in a high level of trust and respect among staff. The interaction promotes an environment where staff at all levels are open and willing to help each other and call on others.

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Evolution of Careers

Ideally, KAI seeks to be the place where individuals grow both personally and professionally, as opposed to simply providing a “job” to a person seeking employment. The interests and passions of our staff lead and direct the firm’s activities, whether it’s venturing into new applied research areas or using state-of-the-art technologies and practices in our work. By following our staff, we create opportunities for all employees. Thus, we look for employees who will not only take advantage of the opportunities provided, but who will also create new ones for others.

The following graphic offers a visual representation of the typical progression of work focus as the average career unfolds:

Transportation Analyst

KAI offers a unique experience to new transportation analysts entering the industry. In the beginning of their career at KAI, analysts are mentored by at least one senior engineer or planner that is dedicated to the analysts' professional development. While in this mentorship program, analysts will perform a wide variety of project tasks under the guidance of an experienced engineer/planner. These tasks include traffic operations analysis, functional design, transportation planning, safety analysis, signal design, roundabout study, research, and technical writing. Transportation analysts also have the opportunity to conduct and manage field surveys and data collection. Further, analysts have opportunities to gain diverse project experiences, participate in client and project team coordination, travel, consider geographic options, and be involved in public processes. Beyond the technical element of their work, analyst's perspectives and contributions are sought in company-wide planning efforts, intern mentorship opportunities, internal committees and task forces, and the recruiting and interviewing process.

Project Manager

KAI project managers are service-oriented and collaborate with internal and external team members to guide and deliver project work. Project managers prepare the scope of work, fee estimate, and contract for each project, considering each client's unique project needs. They schedule staff and coordinate with internal managers to ensure adequate resources are available. KAI project managers help develop staff and ensure that transportation analysts have the knowledge, resources, and tools necessary to conduct their analyses. KAI project managers are the "face" of the firm to the client and public. The decisions and actions of KAI project managers balance and reflect the best interests of the firm, the client, the profession, and society; they are responsible for assessing risk and resolving conflicts. A successful project manager proactively manages the needs and expectations of clients, team members, and all others with which KAI interacts.

Project Principal

KAI project principals provide project management and client relation support. Specifically, project principals transfer their experience through considering strategic and tactical project work needs that can benefit the client and KAI project manager. A principal's role can vary by assignment. Some projects require a special emphasis on project management support (scope of work, schedule, and budget) while other projects may require principals to provide a stronger technical role. In all cases, the emphasis is placed on assisting the client and KAI project managers to develop solutions that meet the project's needs. Internally, KAI project principals help emphasize staff development. A project principal may serve this role on projects across several KAI offices and, in doing so, benefit a wide variety of staff. A successful project principal identifies project needs and expected levels of effort early, interacts with the project manager (and client, as needed) throughout the key steps of the project, and collaborates with the project team to achieve a successful final product.

Administration

KAI administrators work in a wide variety of roles. Administrators assist the engineers and planners with carrying out the activities that keep the offices and firm running smoothly. Given the unique firm-wide perspective at KAI, each administrator contributes to the firm in a different way, one that is line with personal interests and skills. Some of the more standard tasks of administrators include answering phones, shipping, ordering supplies, and arranging travel. In addition to these tasks, some KAI administrators work in areas such as proposal development, marketing, technical editing and writing, and hiring coordination. Administrators are encouraged to explore the ways that their range of skills can contribute to the success of the firm.

Business Services

KAI business services staff primarily focuses on supporting and developing our people, and on managing the physical and financial resources of the firm. Our human resources staff provides a wide range of assistance, ranging from new hire orientation to managing employee benefit programs, from paid-time-off system management to immigration process coordination, and from performance review support to staff development plans / coaching. Our business staff manages the risks facing KAI such as the review, negotiation, and execution of reasonable contract provisions with Clients, employment law compliance, and negotiation of billing rates and overhead rates with third parties. Finally, our accountants draft and issue Client billings and process payments. Our accountants also support daily operations through processing payroll, check requests, and expense reports. Each facet of business services works to support internal staff and external clients in an efficient, friendly manner.

IT Services

KAI offers a challenging experience to IT technicians. Our IT staff supports users across the country and often has the opportunity to travel among our offices. Specifically, the IT staff provides support to users on a variety of issues related to software, hardware, telephone, and computer network; they design, develop, and implement applications that benefit the company and its clients; they manage and maintain the overall system to minimize downtime; and they test, evaluate, and implement new solutions that keep KAI on the leading edge of technology.

Graphic Communications

KAI graphic communicators have many unique opportunities in the field of graphic communications. Many KAI projects involve public events that require presentation graphics in a wide range of media. Static presentation display boards, slide presentations, animated graphics, video, offset lithography, and the web are all used on projects across a wide range of geographic locations. Effective graphic communication is frequently a key element in the success of many KAI projects. Often KAI projects require highly technical information to be presented in an understandable format to facilitate the communication of complex engineering concepts to a non-technical audience; many times the key decision makers on a project are non-engineers unfamiliar with engineering jargon. This distillation of complex technical concepts requires a high level of graphical visualization and translation. In addition, at KAI all graphic design related to corporate image, business development, and proposal preparation is also handled in-house. Similar to the graphic communication on KAI projects, the graphic facet of proposals is often a key element that successfully conveys the value of our services to potential clients.

Tech Services

KAI Tech services staff provides technical drafting and design support to the firm. These technicians assist engineers and planners in the production of graphic report figures, conceptual and analytical plans and sketches, and final design/construction plans. KAI Technicians maintain an expertise in several computer-aided drafting and design software programs including AutoCAD, Microstation, and ArchGIS. KAI Technicians are essential to producing project deliverables in a timely and accurate manner. They have a strong knowledge of jurisdictional requirements for several different agencies and municipalities as well as plan and graphic production. KAI Technicians also assist with geometric analyses by using add-on software programs such as Auto-Turn. Finally, KAI Technicians assist with project coordination by communicating with clients and agencies to ensure that our products reflect the most current and accurate data.

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Our Expectations

KAI strives to provide the highest quality products and services to our clients, staff, profession, and communities. We create a dynamic learning environment that provides challenges and professional growth opportunities. We work and play hard and expect our staff to participate in and contribute to this environment.

Our firm’s strength comes from its people and the people with whom we associate. By associating with the best, we guarantee we will always be learning new ways to do things, and pursuing challenges and growth opportunities. KAI continues to be led by entrepreneurial staff with diverse technical and geographic interests.

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Who We Are

In the 20 years since KAI opened its doors, the associates who now define the firm's reputation and quality of work came to the company one by one, each bringing with him or her the commitment, initiative, inquisitiveness, and risk taking that have led to our collective success. Their varied interests and backgrounds have expanded the firm’s capabilities and expertise into traffic operations, traffic safety, parking and parking management, transportation planning, functional and final design, transit planning and operations, pedestrian and bicycle considerations, and policy implications. As of mid 2006, KAI’s staff collectively represented 17 countries and 51 universities. They had earned bachelor’s degrees, master's degrees, and even doctorates. They were registered in 22 states as professional engineers (PE), professional traffic operational engineers (PTOE), and certified planners (AICP). These staff members come from both the public and private sectors, and have been educated as civil engineers, industrial engineers, mechanical engineers, chemical engineers, city and regional planners, mathematicians, physicists, geographers, computer scientists, information technology specialists, sociologists, psychologists, graphic specialists, artists, and accountants.

Few firms set the creation of independently successful employees as their primary goal. Yet that is exactly what KAI does. Employees must have an “outward focus,” which means putting the needs of clients, staff, the profession, and family ahead of their own. Independence and outward focus permeate KAI’s treatment of its employees, clients, projects, and society. Through excellent educational and professional development opportunities, meaningful work, and a healthy and collaborative work environment, KAI empowers its employees as they improve the larger community. The respect, responsibility, and freedom that KAI affords its employees set it apart from other firms.

KAI seeks innovative ways to apply contemporary academic analysis to optimize projects. Members of the firm participate in national transportation research and professional committees. From long range transportation plans to neighborhood traffic management, KAI combines transportation planning and traffic engineering to integrate solutions with community goals. Our staff also specializes in the creation and implementation of innovative, cost-effective solutions to urban and rural transportation issues. We use state-of-the-art analysis procedures and techniques to improve the movement of people and goods. Our primary professional goal is to positively affect the transportation environment -- this can be through large or small jobs for the public or private sector.

KAI's 20th Anniversary Historical Roadmap

KAI seeks innovative ways to apply contemporary academic analysis to optimize projects. Members of the firm participate in national transportation research and professional committees. From long range transportation plans to neighborhood traffic management, KAI combines transportation planning and traffic engineering to integrate solutions with community goals. Our staff also specializes in the creation and implementation of innovative, cost-effective solutions to urban and rural transportation issues. We use state-of-the-art analysis procedures and techniques to improve the movement of people and goods. Our primary goal is to impact and influence the transportation environment -- this can be through large or small jobs for the public or private sector.

KAI is committed to being An Equal Opportunity Employer.

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