Senior Performance Management & Innovation Intern

Job Description

Senior Performance Management & Innovation Intern | MBTA

The Tone:
This is a hybrid internship at MBTA, located in Boston, MA. MBTA strives to provide safe, reliable, and accessible transportation, envisioning a thriving region enabled by a best-in-class transit system. This role in the Office of Performance Management and Innovation (OPMI) is crucial for developing and tracking performance metrics and implementing strategic initiatives to enhance the rider experience through data analysis. The intern will directly contribute to making transit data transparent and actionable for both internal stakeholders and the public.

The TL;DR
• Role: Internship
• Type: Full-time
• Location: Hybrid, Boston, MA

• Team: Performance and Reporting team within the Office of Performance Management and Innovation (OPMI), reporting to supervisors.
• Mission: Provide analytical support to develop and track performance metrics, contribute to annual reports, and implement strategic data-driven initiatives to improve rider experience.
• Tech Stack: Python, R, Microsoft Excel, SQL

What You’ll Actually Do
• Develop Reports: Contribute to annual reports for internal and external stakeholders, including legislative reports on MBTA and MassDOT programs, refining performance measures as needed.
• Analyze Data: Write, review, and run scripts to process and analyze large datasets (up to several million records) using software like Python or R to extract findings.
• Communicate Insights: Create charts, graphs, infographics, slide decks, and report text to effectively communicate data findings to a wide range of technical and non-technical audiences.
• Ensure Data Quality: Perform Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QA/QC) on new and existing datasets to validate data accuracy and reliability.
• Support Operations: Perform ad hoc analyses as needed to support operations and answer various real-world questions across the MBTA and MassDOT.

The Must-Haves
• Background: Enrolled in a Master’s degree program in computer science, data analytics, math, physics, engineering, public policy, urban planning, economics, government, or a related field, for the entire duration of employment.
• Experience: Beginner experience with SQL, scripting tools like Python, and analytical software such as R. Intermediate experience with Microsoft Excel and working with large datasets.
• Skills: Above average attention to detail, strong organizational skills, ability to work effectively in a diverse and collaborative environment while also working independently, and effective written and oral communication in English.
• Bonus: Intermediate skills with analytical software such as R and scripting tools such as Python, an above average interest in public transportation, and 2-3 years of experience solving problems with a quantitative/analytical perspective, with an ability to communicate technical findings to non-technical audiences.