We’re Hiring: Associate or Senior Associate
Focus Area: Zoning & Development Code
The Position: Cascadia Partners seeks an Associate or Senior Associate with a genuine passion for zoning and development code — someone energized by the details of how to translate vision into regulations that influence the built environment. You will diagnose code issues, draft creative solutions, and engage communities in the process. We’re open to a range of experience: a rising planner with clear, demonstrated interest and some hands-on exposure, or a more experienced planned who already leads code work and manages projects. What matters most is a demonstrated interest and aptitude for analyzing and writing development regulations.
What You’ll Work On: This role will focus on where vision and policy become implementable regulation. You will audit development codes to diagnose what is preventing the housing and development a community says it wants, engage the community and stakeholders in finding solutions, and draft the amendments that implement the community’s vision. Projects range from targeted code audits focused on specific issues to complete rewrites of an entire development code. This role will also have the opportunity to work on other types of projects in the firm’s portfolio, including urban analytics, comprehensive planning, urban design, and real estate feasibility.
Representative Technical Tasks:
Articulating community context and vision — Visit communities in person, facilitate stakeholder conversations, and review past plans to understand and articulate existing context and future vision.
Turning policy into reform strategy — Take broad policy direction such as housing affordability, sustainable urbanism, or community character and chart the path to achieve those goals through practical code reforms.
Diagnosing where a code falls short — Analyze a city’s development code to understand why the development a community wants is not being built and identify the specific regulations standing in the way.
Communicating ideas visually — Produce compelling diagrams, illustrations, and renderings that show what a code change would look like on the ground, making abstract regulations legible to residents and decision-makers.
Engaging the public and policymakers — Design and lead creative, effective ways to involve residents, planning commissions, and councils in shaping code — from hands-on workshops to public hearings — and translate what you hear into stronger regulations.
Testing development feasibility — Apply development feasibility analysis to proposed code changes — pro forma modeling, sensitivity analysis, and affordability analysis — to determine whether code updates, density bonuses, incentives, or requirements will work for the development a community is trying to encourage.
Drafting the solutions — Write clear, workable code amendments that remove those barriers, and translate them into the precise legislative language a jurisdiction can implement and administer.
Shaping better places through design standards — Develop the standards that govern how buildings meet the street, how a block feels at the sidewalk, and how new development shapes attractive, walkable neighborhoods — the creative challenge of translating what makes a great place into regulations that produce it.
Our Work: Cascadia Partners is a multidisciplinary planning and urban design consultancy headquartered in Portland, OR. Our team of ~25 works on 40–50 projects annually — citywide comprehensive plans, neighborhood master plans, housing policy, zoning code reform, scenario planning, and real estate feasibility studies. We work across the country, at scales from a single corridor to an entire region, and we focus on plans that actually get built.
Position Details: Depending on level, you will contribute to or lead code-focused projects — code audits, assessing barriers to housing development, statutory compliance updates, or full code rewrites. Responsibilities scale with experience, ranging from drafting code and analysis under direction (Associate) to defining project approaches, managing technical production and budgets, coordinating subconsultants, and serving as the client-facing lead (Senior Associate).
Our projects are geographically and topically diverse. You will work in major cities, fast-growing regions, and small towns — developing deep expertise that spans land use, housing policy, development economics, urban design, and community engagement.
Our Values: We are committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion on our team and in our work. We offer professional development stipends, frequent internal skill-building, every other Friday off, and 4 weeks starting paid vacation.
Required Qualifications
Demonstrated interest in zoning & development code: a clear, evidenced passion for regulatory land use work, whether through coursework, projects, writing, or prior roles.
Experience: Associate — 2+ years in urban planning, land use, public policy, law, or a related field; Senior Associate — 4+ years plus demonstrated project and people management.
Education: Master’s degree in Urban Planning, Public Policy, Law (JD), Geography, or a related field — or equivalent professional experience.
Regulatory Writing: the ability to write, or to learn to write, clear, precise, legally defensible code regulations as well as analytical documents.
Land Use Planning and Policy: working knowledge of the land use planning process, from setting broad goals and policies, writing the implementing codes, and administering development review.
Research: comfort reading and interpreting statutes, administrative rules, and dense development codes, and framing sound analytical questions.
Communication: a clear, concise writer and presenter, comfortable in client briefings and public settings.
Attention to Detail: the precision that is required for regulatory writing.
Desirable Qualifications
Oregon Land Use Law: familiarity with Oregon’s statewide planning framework and land use law.
Data & Spatial Literacy: comfort with GIS or quantitative analysis to support code work.
Visual Storytelling: capability to tell a story with data, graphics, and visuals; knowledge of principles of typography and graphic design.
AI Integration: experience using AI tools to augment and accelerate analytical and creative work.
Work Location
Candidates must be based in or willing to relocate to Oregon or SW Washington.
Portland metro–based staff work in our Pearl District office 2 days per week.
Travel to client locations required (approximately once every 1–3 months).
Compensation and Benefits
Associate: $70,000–$85,000 · Senior Associate: $85,000–$100,000, depending on experience and qualifications
Every other Friday off (36-hour average work week)
Gold-level health insurance, dental, life insurance, 401(k) with 3% employer match
Professional development stipend for training, conferences, and skill-building
Generous PTO:
4 weeks PTO in year one (prorated to hire date); 1 additional week per year of tenure, up to 8 weeks
11 paid holidays
Paid parental leave (dependent on state of residence)
How to Apply
Application materials can be submitted to Apply@Cascadia-Partners.com by Sunday, August 9, 2026 Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Please include in your email:
A note indicating whether you are applying as an Associate or Senior Associate
Cover letter describing your interest in zoning and development code work and your relevant experience
Résumé summarizing work and educational history
At least one writing or code sample — a code section, audit memo, staff report, or regulatory analysis you drafted that showcases your reasoning applied to a real problem
We are stronger because of our diverse team. Women, LGBTQ+ and people of color are encouraged to apply.