Transit Performance and Reporting Analyst

Ryan Mahoney

Ryan Mahoney

Director of Product, FirstWho

“The hardest part is finding someone who cares more about accurate data than being right. You need an analyst who can tell an operations manager their on-time performance numbers are wrong without starting an argument. They have to check the data pipeline themselves and then explain the issue to a leader who isn't technical. Most applicants can write the query, but few stand by the result when things get heated.”

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Competency Questions

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Data Engineering & Governance

Manages the technical infrastructure, data quality, and governance frameworks required to support transit analytics and reporting with independent troubleshooting and optimization capabilities.

Data Architecture & Storage

Optimizes database schemas and manages storage costs.

Interview round: Cross-Functional Stakeholder Collaboration

Recall a project where you structured storage for historical data that was rarely accessed.

Positive indicators

  • Considers cost implications of storage
  • Maintains data integrity during archiving
  • Documents retention and access methods

Negative indicators

  • Deletes data to save space without policy
  • Stores everything on expensive high-performance storage
  • No plan for retrieving archived data

Attitude Questions

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Accountability Mindset

The consistent willingness to accept responsibility for outcomes, data accuracy, and reporting integrity, regardless of external factors, while actively seeking solutions to rectify discrepancies and maintain stakeholder trust.

Interview round: Hiring Manager Technical & Domain

How do you manage your workflow when multiple regulatory deadlines converge?

Positive indicators

  • Uses tracking tools
  • Flags risks
  • Negotiates timeline

Negative indicators

  • Misses deadlines
  • Sacrifices quality
  • Works in silence

Progression Framework

This table shows how competencies evolve across experience levels. Each cell shows competency at that level.

Data Engineering & Governance

5 competencies

CompetencyJuniorMidSeniorPrincipal
Data Architecture & Storage

Utilizes existing storage structures and queries data.

Optimizes database schemas and manages storage costs.

Designs data warehouse architectures and migration strategies.

Defines long-term data architecture vision and technology stack.

Data Governance & Security

Follows established governance protocols and access requests.

Manages user access roles and audits data usage.

Develops governance policies and ensures regulatory compliance.

Defines enterprise data governance framework and risk strategy.

Data Quality Assurance

Executes predefined data quality checks and reports anomalies.

Designs validation routines and troubleshoots data quality issues independently.

Establishes data quality standards and leads root cause analysis for systemic issues.

Defines organizational data quality strategy and integrates quality into architecture.

ETL Pipeline Management

Monitors existing ETL jobs and handles basic failures.

Develops new pipeline components and optimizes existing workflows.

Architects scalable ETL solutions and manages complex dependencies.

Sets standards for data ingestion and oversees enterprise pipeline strategy.

Regulatory Compliance & Audit

Collects data for compliance reports under supervision.

Prepares standard compliance submissions and maintains audit trails.

Interprets regulatory changes and adjusts reporting frameworks.

Leads regulatory strategy and represents organization in audits.

Performance & Business Intelligence

5 competencies

CompetencyJuniorMidSeniorPrincipal
Executive Reporting & Communication

Drafts sections of reports and validates data accuracy.

Presents findings to internal teams and manages report distribution.

Presents to executives and translates technical findings for business audiences.

Shapes communication strategy and represents analytics function externally.

Operational Data Analysis

Performs descriptive analysis on provided datasets.

Conducts diagnostic analysis and recommends operational changes.

Leads complex analytical projects and mentors junior analysts.

Directs analytical agenda and integrates insights into operations.

Performance Metric Definition

Calculates standard KPIs using defined formulas.

Refines metric definitions and identifies data sources for new KPIs.

Aligns KPIs with operational goals and validates metric accuracy.

Defines enterprise performance framework and strategic metrics.

Predictive Modeling & Forecasting

Runs existing forecasting models and validates outputs.

Develops regression models and tunes forecasting parameters.

Designs predictive models and integrates machine learning techniques.

Establishes modeling standards and oversees AI/ML strategy.

Strategic Reporting & Alignment

Assists in compiling data for strategic decks.

Creates regular strategic reports and presents to management.

Interprets data for strategic decisions and advises leadership.

Defines reporting strategy and drives organizational alignment.