Internship Aerial Observer Jobs in Washington (NOW HIRING)

This Opportunity
WSP USA hosts hundreds of interns across the United States to gain hands-on, meaningful work experience to enhance their education and professional aptitude. Our interns gain exposure to real projects while working side by side with senior staff. Through our Developing Professionals Network, interns gain mentorship, networking opportunities and lifelong career connections.
Our Mid-Atlantic Planning team is seeking a Part-Time Transportation Planning Intern to work out of our Washington, DC office in Fall 2026. This temporary internship is open to students currently enrolled in an Undergraduate or Graduate degree program. The internship will require approximately 10-20 hours per week, with flexibility to accommodate academic schedules.
The selected candidate will support a variety of transportation planning projects focused on improving mobility, accessibility, and equitable transportation outcomes across the region. Working alongside planners and project managers, the intern will contribute to planning studies, public engagement efforts, data analysis, and technical documentation for projects involving transit, multimodal transportation, transportation demand management, corridor planning, transit-oriented development, and related initiatives.
Responsibilities may include collecting and analyzing quantitative and qualitative data, developing maps and visualizations, supporting stakeholder and public engagement activities, preparing technical memoranda and presentations, and assisting with transportation planning studies and funding initiatives. The intern will gain exposure to a broad range of transportation planning and project development activities, including transit system planning and optimization, rail and transit modernization programs, multimodal corridor planning, bicycle and pedestrian facility improvements, governance and organizational studies, Complete Streets implementation, and other transportation programs that help communities move safely, efficiently, and sustainably.
This role offers an opportunity to develop practical planning skills while contributing to projects that address real-world transportation challenges and help shape the future of mobility in our communities.
Your Impact

• Assist with collecting, identifying, and compiling observational, spatial, operations, and environmental data from multiple matrices for projects, research, field work, and surveys.
• Assist with preparing data and visualizations such as tables, charts, accurate reports, models, infographics, and 3D illustrations for the interpretation or presentation of data, findings, or analyses.
• Assist technical staff and project managers with the analysis, evaluation, and interpretation of facts and data obtained during field and site investigations, offering input with developing action plans to minimize impacts to the community, population, local economy, and environment.
• Use topographic maps, aerial photographs, GPS data, and other visualization tools to determine exact locations of project areas, site impact, and associated physical, urban, population, economic, and political sensitivities.
• Under general supervision, assist with preparing general plans, specific/master plans, zoning codes, permitting policies and/or development standards for assigned projects, with a particular emphasis on transportation and multimodal accommodation.
• Perform basic professional transportation planning work to gain further information on a particular problem or issue, verify site characteristics, and/or to assist with planning for future needs affecting equitable development, construction, transportation demand management, mobility planning, and multimodal access.
• Contribute to the preparation of technical reports summarizing research with findings and conclusions, generating complete, accurate, and concise documentation of technical memos, meeting minutes, transmittals, presentations, and other written materials.
• Work with cross-functional teams from a variety of disciplines in executing project work and providing future ready solutions for clients.
• Assist in updating project reporting for a variety of major infrastructure projects.
• Complete training on assigned tasks.
• Exercise responsible and ethical decision-making regarding company funds, resources and conduct, and adhere to WSP's Code of Conduct and related policies and procedures.
• Perform additional responsibilities as required by business needs.
• Please note that there is no relocation or housing assistance associated with this internship.

Who You Are
Required Qualifications

• Actively enrolled in an accredited Transportation Planning, Urban Planning, Environmental Planning, or related Undergraduate program with an anticipated graduation date of January 2027 or later.
• Must be 18 or older.
• Demonstrated interest in Transportation Planning, Urban Planning, Environmental Planning, or related field and have a strong desire to advance skills related to WSP's work and projects.
• Competent interpersonal and communication skills when interacting with others, expressing ideas effectively and professionally to an engineering and non-engineering audience.
• Capable of taking direction from leadership, mentors, and managers to executive projects.
• Basic proficiency with technical writing, office automation, software, spreadsheets, technology, and tools.
• Proven track record of upholding workplace safety and ability to abide by WSP's health, safety and drug/alcohol and harassment policies.
• Authorization to work in the United States at the start of the internship

Preferred Qualifications

• Actively enrolled in an accredited Transportation Planning, Urban Planning, Environmental Planning, or related Masters or PhD program with an anticipated graduation date of January 2027 or later.
• Experience with discipline-specific software (i.e., CAD, ArcGIS, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Creative Suite, Sketch-Up).
• Prior internship and leadership involvement on campus.

Compensation:
Expected Pay (all locations): $23.47 - $30.53 per hour
WSP USA is providing the compensation range that the company in good faith believes it might pay and offer for this position, based on the successful applicant's education, experience, knowledge, skills, abilities in addition to internal equity and specific geographic location. WSP USA reserves the right to ultimately pay more or less than the posted range and offer additional benefits and other compensation, depending on circumstances not related to an applicant's sex or other status protected by local, state, and/or federal law.
About Us
About WSP
WSP USA is the U.S. operating company of WSP, one of the world's leading engineering and professional services firms. Dedicated to serving local communities, we are engineers, planners, technical experts, strategic advisors and construction management professionals. WSP USA designs lasting solutions in the buildings, transportation, energy, water and environment markets. With more than 15,000 employees in over 300 offices across the U.S., we partner with our clients to help communities prosper.
www.wsp.com
WSP provides a flexible and agile workplace model while meeting client needs. Employees are also afforded a comprehensive suite of benefits including medical, dental, vision, disability, life, and retirement savings focused on providing health and financial stability throughout the employee's career.
At WSP, we want to give our employees the challenges they seek to grow their careers and knowledge base. Your daily contributions to your team will be essential in meeting client objectives, goals and challenges. Are you ready to get started?
WSP USA (and all of its U.S. companies) is an Equal Opportunity Employer Race/Age/Color/Religion/Sex/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity/National Origin/Disability or Protected Veteran Status.
The selected candidate must be authorized to work in the United States.
NOTICE TO THIRD PARTY AGENCIES:
WSP does not accept unsolicited resumes from recruiters, employment agencies, or other staffing services. Unsolicited resumes include any resume or hiring document sent to WSP in the absence of a signed Service Agreement where WSP has expressly requested recruitment/staffing services specific to the position at hand. Any unsolicited resumes, including those submitted to hiring managers or other business leaders, will become the property of WSP and WSP will have the right to hire that candidate without reservation - no fee or other compensation will be owed or paid to the recruiter, employment agency, or other staffing service.