2024 40 Under 40: Kim Magee

One word to describe yourself: Creative

Alma Mater: University of Wisconsin-Madison

Fast fact about yourself: As a kid, I spent 4.5 years growing up in the Netherlands and crossed the border every school day to attend an international school in Belgium.

What’s your best experience on transit and what made it memorable? I have so many memorable experiences but this summer my family took a trip to the Pacific Northwest. When we were in Seattle, Wash., we took the monorail to the Space Needle and my kids were invited by the operator to sit at the very front where it is usually roped off for staff. My daughter got to honk the horn when we were departing and they had so much fun as we flew through the city. It was definitely a core memory for our family.

As a transit section manager with HDR, Kim Magee has spent her professional career designing and tailoring safe and reliable transit solutions to meet the needs of each community. Magee has shown an exceptional way of communicating project objectives through a collaborative approach to identifying goals and her commitment to finding sustainable transportation solutions. Her passion for transit and technical experience in commuter and light-rail design and construction has driven her career at HDR — from project engineer, to deputy project manager to her current role of office leader and transit section manager.

Magee is now leading the environmental clearance and preliminary engineering efforts on one of San Diego, Calif.,’s largest rail projects to date. The San Diego LOSSAN Rail Realignment Project will enhance safety, reliability and increase capacity along the Los Angeles-San Diego-San Luis Obispo, or LOSSAN, Rail Corridor by relocating the rail line from the eroding coastal bluffs of Del Mar primarily to a tunnel.
She quickly established herself as a trusted advisor and expert resource for rail among colleagues and the public agency client.

Magee’s involvement with the project began early in her career as a design engineer tasked with creating track design concepts for tunnel alignments and an alternatives analysis study.

Her dedication to the project elevated her to engineering manager and track lead, where she drove the development of the existing conditions reports, basis of design criteria, alternative analysis and technical evaluation to assess the feasibility of increasing speeds on the rail corridor. She quickly established herself as a trusted advisor and expert resource for rail among colleagues and the public agency client. The successful completion of this work paved the way for the client to receive $300 million in funding to advance the project.

As deputy project manager for the project, Magee is involved in every facet of project planning, development and staff workload on the latest phase of the proposed realignment. Her leadership stands out most through her diligent communication with stakeholders at all levels of the project.

She serves as a bridge between the environmental and engineering teams and many subcontractors. Magee also works closely with project leaders to assist key decision-making and is often sought after for her expertise on identifying and providing innovative solutions to concerns and issues that arise.

Magee knows the importance of developing and guiding the next generation of transit engineers. She continues to mentor engineers at all experience levels, including some who, like her, began their careers with no rail background. Despite the limited availability of rail engineering courses at colleges and universities, Magee’s passion and commitment has inspired many hopeful engineers in San Diego to pursue transit careers. Magee also assists senior staff who have retired from public agencies by supporting them with the transition into their new roles in the private sector.

An active member of the Women’s Transportation Seminar San Diego chapter, Magee is currently serving on the chapter’s scholarship committee. She helps promote and plan events to raise money to fund scholarships for high school, undergraduate and graduate students all over San Diego who are interested in a future career in transportation.

Accomplishment you’re most proud of and why?

While not a specific accomplishment, one of the things I’m most proud of is my ability to advocate for others and seeing positive outcomes. Oftentimes an individual’s needs can go unspoken and can be overlooked. I get a lot of joy out of helping my teammates, whether they’re fresh out of school or have 40 years of experience. Everyone needs a little help sometimes.

Is there a specific experience that led you to where you are today?

It was the Great Recession that led me to a career in transit. Initially, my emphasis was on structural engineering in college. After graduating in December 2007, my first job was for a two-person company (my boss and me) and involved developing structural designs primarily for low-rise commercial and residential buildings. However, less than two years into the housing crisis, I found myself having to look for another job. I took a position as an intern in the transit group of my previous company just to get my foot in the door, even though I had been out of school for two years. Getting to work on projects that improves public transit and benefits communities was so fulfilling, I’ve never looked back.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

I love working collaboratively with a project team to come up with creative solutions to solve complex problems. Having access to transportation is essential and I find great satisfaction in knowing that at the end of the day, what I do benefits individuals, communities and the environment.