Transit Data Specialist

• Full time, 40h/week
• Permanent
• Starting annual salary range: CAD 85,000 - 105,000
• Location: we’re primarily recruiting a Quebec or Ontario based person 
• Type: 90 % Remote working from home and 10 % travel for conferences, summits, etc.

• Open-minded and inclusive team that values care, collaboration, communication, accountability, pragmatism and diversity
• 20 annual vacation days and additional paid time off for sick days, parental obligation, bereavement, etc.
• Closed between Dec 25th and January 1st of every year (i.e. additional employer paid time off)
• Health premium reimbursement 
• Virtual health care service
• RRSP employer contributions
• Compensations for public-transit and shared-mobility passes, home office material, coworking space, and more.

Hundreds of millions of public transit passengers around the world rely on apps to get information on how to get around. These apps and transportation providers rely on data standards to structure and exchange this information on things like subway routes, bus schedules, network disruptions, fares, and many other useful pieces of passenger information. 

GTFS (General Transit Feed Specification) is a widely adopted open standard used by several thousand agencies across the globe such as the New York MTA, Tokyo Metro, and Paris RATP. This standard facilitates the dissemination of transit information to passengers through popular apps like Apple Maps, Google Maps, Transit, and Moovit.

At MobilityData, our mission is to enhance the traveler experience through the usage of open data standards for the mobility ecosystem in order to empower people to travel in the most sustainable ways across the globe. Our work includes facilitating discussions to advance standardization efforts for the benefit of global users, proposing new functionalities, and offering support through comprehensive documentation and training.

As a Transit Data Specialist, you will serve as the technical bridge between the global transit community and the evolution of GTFS. Reporting to the GTFS Program Manager, you will drive specification change requests, facilitate the resolution of complex technical discussions, support organizations implementing GTFS, and partner with the Engagement Team to expand GTFS adoption in various geographical markets.

Technical Stewardship & Community Support

• Engage with the global transit community to gather feedback, facilitate technical discussions, and support the evolution of GTFS.
• Develop and maintain GTFS proposal, documentation, and implementation guidance to support consistent implementation and improve data quality across the industry.
• Provide technical support to the community through public channels such as GitHub.

Community Engagement & Adoption

• Conduct research and gather community insights to identify barriers to GTFS adoption and opportunities to improve data quality.
• Represent MobilityData at conferences, workshops, webinars, and industry events by delivering presentations, participating in technical discussions, and engaging with stakeholders.
• Build relationships with transit agencies, technology providers, and other stakeholders by providing technical expertise to support GTFS adoption globally.

Internal Technical Leadership

• Lead internal knowledge-sharing efforts to ensure technical alignment across all cross-functional MobilityData teams.
• Provide technical guidance to Software Engineers and industry insights to the Product Manager to ensure MobilityData tools, including validators and databases, accurately reflect the GTFS specification and meet the needs of the transit data ecosystem.

• Bachelor's degree in a technical, quantitative, or transportation-related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• 2+ years of experience working with structured datasets or technical data specifications.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English, with the ability to communicate technical concepts clearly and collaborate effectively with diverse stakeholders.
• Ability and willingness to travel internationally, at least once a year, including possession of (or ability to obtain) a valid passport.

• Experience with GTFS and GTFS Realtime
• Experience communicating technical concepts to external stakeholders through presentations, workshops, webinars, or technical consultations.
• Professional proficiency in one or more languages in addition to English. Proficiency in Spanish or Portuguese is particularly valuable.
• Experience contributing to open-source communities or standards development.
• Experience writing or maintaining technical documentation.
• Knowledge of diverse, international public transportation systems.
• Experience using SQL and Python for data analysis and validation.
• Experience using AI-assisted tools to improve technical workflows, documentation, or data analysis.