TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING · ITS · TSMO · SAFETY

Engineering impact at the intersection of mobility, technology and safety.

Sathish Rao is a transportation engineering professional specializing in Intelligent Transportation Systems, Transportation Systems Management and Operations, real-time traffic management, advanced signal operations and traffic safety.

MSMBAPMPIMSA III
1,100+Signals within operational scope
12+Years of professional experience
100+Safety locations studied

01 — BIOGRAPHY

A transportation professional focused on measurable public impact.

My professional work centers on Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), Transportation Systems Management and Operations (TSMO), real-time traffic management, traffic signal systems, traffic safety and data-driven transportation engineering.

Across state, county and municipal transportation environments, I have worked at the intersection of engineering, technology and operations — translating complex transportation data into practical improvements in mobility, safety, reliability and system performance.

My career includes embedded roles supporting government transportation agencies, large-scale signal operations, safety engineering, transportation research and project management. I also contribute to the profession through research, technical leadership, professional associations, judging and speaking.

02 — LEADERSHIP

Leadership is demonstrated through responsibility, influence and contribution.

CRITICAL OPERATIONS

Large-scale traffic operations

Embedded traffic-operations work supporting a network of approximately 1,100 signals, including real-time incident response, signal timing adjustments, corridor management and operational troubleshooting.

TECHNICAL LEADERSHIP

ITS & signal systems

Advanced traffic-management and signal-operations work across government transportation environments, combining engineering analysis with real-time system performance.

PROFESSIONAL SERVICE

Judging & committee leadership

Expert judging for the ITE scholarship award and leadership through the ITE South Florida Section Talent Recognition Committee, alongside ITS America committee and working-group service.

INDUSTRY SPEAKING

Featured technical speaker

Invited as a featured expert speaker at an ITE South Florida Section collaborative event at Florida Atlantic University in April 2026 on real-time traffic operations using advanced traffic-management systems.

03 — PROFESSIONAL STANDING

Five dimensions of professional contribution.

01

Professional Memberships

ITE South Florida Section, ITS America, IMSA and PMI — with committee, working-group and professional service responsibilities.

View memberships →
02

Judging & Evaluation

Expert judge for the ITE Scholarship Award and Talent Recognition Committee Chair for the ITE South Florida Section.

View service →
03

Original Contributions

Transportation safety research on RCUT intersections, including empirical crash evaluation and Crash Modification Factor development.

View research →
04

Authorship

Scholarly transportation research distributed through federal, TRB and other research channels, with an active Google Scholar and ResearchGate presence.

Research archive →
05

Critical & Leading Roles

Embedded and senior transportation operations roles supporting public agencies, large signal networks, safety programs and complex engineering delivery.

View impact →

03 — IMPACT ACROSS ORGANIZATIONS

A career measured by contribution, not job titles.

GEORGIA DOT

Real-time signal performance

Senior traffic engineering and deputy project management responsibilities supporting TSMO and ITS functions, signal timing optimization, ATSPM performance and agency operations.

TSMOITSSignal Operations
PALM BEACH COUNTY / FDOT

Regional traffic management

Embedded traffic operations supporting real-time management, signal timing, CCTV-based incident response, diversion strategies and large-scale signal coordination.

$7.4M estimated Palm Beach County NPV savings.

RTMCATMSIncident Management
FDOT DISTRICTS

Safety engineering at scale

Transportation safety, signal retiming, operational analysis, field reviews, crash-pattern evaluation, corridor studies and engineering recommendations delivered across FDOT Districts 2, 4 and 6.

District 2District 4District 6
RESEARCH

RCUT safety evaluation

Research evaluating Restricted Crossing U-Turn intersections and developing a Crash Modification Factor, connecting empirical crash analysis to broader transportation-safety practice.

ResearchRCUTCMF
MONROE COUNTY

US-1 mobility performance

Travel-time, delay, level-of-service and reserve-capacity analysis supporting mobility evaluation and operational understanding along US-1.

Travel TimeLOSMobility
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH

Urban traffic operations

Traffic impact, operational and capacity analysis for key urban intersections using field reviews, Synchro/SimTraffic and engineering evaluation.

Urban MobilitySynchroOperations
MACOMB COUNTY

Countywide signal operations

Signal-network operations, troubleshooting, timing improvements, public-response coordination, field-device support and real-time operational oversight.

SignalsOperationsCoordination
MULTI-AGENCY PROGRAMS

Mobility & intersection performance

Traffic analysis, corridor evaluation, signal timing, travel-time studies and operational improvements supporting state, county and municipal transportation agencies.

MobilityTraffic AnalysisCorridors
PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Engineering delivery

Project coordination, engineering reports, stakeholder communication, benefit/cost analysis, NPV evaluation, quality control and multidisciplinary transportation delivery.

PMPDeliveryStakeholders

04 — CAREER JOURNEY

A progression of transportation leadership, research and delivery.

2025 — Present

AECOM · GDOT Signal Operations

Senior Traffic Engineering Consultant / Deputy Project Manager supporting TSMO, ITS, signal performance, ATSPM response and regional traffic operations.

2022 — 2024

AECOM · Palm Beach County / FDOT

Real-time traffic operations, signal timing, incident management, corridor retiming, performance analysis and operational improvements across a network of approximately 1,100 signals.

2020 — 2021

AECOM · FDOT District 4

Traffic-safety and operational improvement programs involving crash analysis, signal retiming, engineering recommendations, benefit/cost evaluation and agency review.

2019 — 2020

AECOM · FDOT District 2

Roadway, pedestrian and bicycle safety initiatives, fatal-crash reviews, operational studies, concept development and project prioritization across a broad program of locations.

2015 — 2019

AECOM · FDOT / Municipal / County Programs

Signal retiming, traffic safety, transit signal priority, operational analysis, corridor studies and multidisciplinary transportation consulting across public-agency programs.

2015

AECOM · Macomb County

Countywide traffic-signal operations, troubleshooting, timing improvements, field-device coordination, agency communications and operational research.

2015

City of Detroit Public Lighting Authority

Capital-program delivery, GIS mapping, operational planning and implementation support associated with large-scale public infrastructure modernization.

2014 — 2015

Research in Transportation Safety

RCUT and innovative-intersection safety research involving multi-state DOT coordination, statistical crash evaluation and development of evidence supporting federally sponsored transportation research.

2013

Amazon.com

Business analysis, competitive intelligence, pricing strategy and performance metrics supporting data-driven operational and management decisions.

2012

AE Group – Infrastructure & Real Estate

Infrastructure and real-estate project delivery through engineering coordination, planning, cost analysis, documentation, client-facing execution and project reporting.

05 — RESEARCH & AUTHORSHIP

Research that connects evidence with transportation safety.

FEATURED RESEARCH

Safety Evaluation of Restricted Crossing U-Turn (RCUT) Intersections

Research focused on before-and-after crash evaluation and development of a Crash Modification Factor. The supplied research record reports approximately 0.85 for total crashes and 0.78 for injury crashes.

PUBLICATION

Signalized RCUT safety evaluation

Research record and federal transportation-library references supporting the safety evaluation and CMF work.

RESEARCH PROFILE

ResearchGate

Central profile for publications, research records and scholarly collaboration.

Open ResearchGate ↗
SCHOLARLY RECORD

Google Scholar

Central scholarly profile for citation and publication discovery.

Open Google Scholar ↗
Research archive — selected subsequent studies and references 15+ links

06 — RECOGNITION & PROFESSIONAL SERVICE

Recognition for performance, expertise and professional contribution.

APR 2026 · ITE

Keynote Speaker for Industry Impact

Invited as a featured expert speaker at a collaborative ITE event at Florida Atlantic University, presenting on “Real-Time Traffic Operations Using Advanced Traffic Management Systems.”

MAR 2026 · ITE

Expert Judge for ITE Scholarship Award

Invited to serve as an expert judge for the ITE scholarship award, evaluating candidates within the transportation-engineering profession.

OCT 2025 · AECOM

Merit for Distinguished Performance and Contributions

2024 · STAX

Emerging Technologies / Intelligent Transportation Systems

JAN 2023 · AECOM

Project Management Professional Award

OCT 2022 · AECOM

Deliver to Win Project Excellence Award

DEC 2021 · AECOM

Outstanding Performance Award

2020 · UAGC

Leadership Development Grant

Dual-vetted institutional and corporate grant awarded for business and leadership development.

DEC 2018 · AECOM

High Performance Award

DEC 2014 · FHWA

Research Project Grant

Federal Highway Administration research grant associated with transportation-safety research.

JUN 2013 · AMAZON.COM

100% Quality Award

07 — PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS

Professional Leadership & Organizational Involvement

ITE

Institute of Transportation Engineers

Member · Talent Recognition Committee Chair

Selected by ITE South Florida Section leadership for committee leadership and professional recognition activities.

ITE ↗
ITS AMERICA

Intelligent Transportation Society of America

Member · Standing Committees & Working Groups

Professional involvement through subject-matter participation in transportation technology, policy and industry discussions.

ITS America ↗
IMSA

International Municipal Signal Association

Operational Member · IMSA III

Professional involvement in public-safety operations, traffic signal systems and technical practice.

IMSA ↗
PMI

Project Management Institute

Member · Project Management Professional (PMP)

Professional project-management membership and credential supporting complex transportation-project delivery.

PMI ↗

09 — CREDENTIALS

MSWayne State University
MBAUniversity of Arizona
PMPProject Management Professional
IMSA IIITraffic Signal / Public Safety Operations

ENGINEERING PHILOSOPHY

“The strongest transportation solutions are the ones that turn engineering evidence into measurable improvements for the traveling public.”

10 — CONTACT

Let's connect.

For professional inquiries, transportation engineering collaboration, research, speaking opportunities or project discussions.