Architectural Historian

DOWL•Lake Oswego, OR

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

DOWL is seeking a mid-level career Architectural Historian to join their Cultural Resources Management (CRM) team. This role focuses on preserving the architectural and cultural legacy of communities by contributing to a wide range of public and private infrastructure projects. The position is supervised by senior-level CRM professionals and requires a master’s degree in architectural history, historic preservation, or art history, along with specialized training and real-world experience in CRM. The Architectural Historian will play a vital role in delivering environmental documentation and compliance support under the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Responsibilities include leading or supporting background research, field surveys, site documentation for built environment resources, and lab work. The role also involves preparing technical reports and NEPA/Section 106 documentation, coordinating with agencies and stakeholders, writing proposals, managing deliverables and field teams, and participating in public engagement. This opportunity is for someone passionate about historic preservation and environmental compliance, seeking career growth through meaningful work, collaboration, and leadership within a respected infrastructure firm.

Requirements

Master's Degree in architectural history, historic preservation, or art history
4 years of experience (or 3 years of experience with an advanced degree)
Meet Secretary of the Interior's Professional Qualification Standards
A valid driver's license and a clean driving record
Proficient in Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel)
Intermediate understanding of technical fundamentals
Developing technical expertise in Market Sector Software
Basic familiarity with NHPA, NAGPRA, NEPA, ARPA
Basic familiarity with relevant state laws (e.g., SEPA, ORS)

Responsibilities

Lead or support background research
Lead or support field surveys
Lead or support site documentation (especially for built environment resources)
Lead or support lab work
Prepare high-quality technical reports
Prepare NEPA/Section 106 documentation
Coordinate with federal, state, and tribal agencies and stakeholders
Write proposals
Manage deliverables
Manage field teams
Actively participate in public engagement and consultation meetings
Perform moderately complex design tasks independently
Lead technical effort on small projects
Perform quality control of basic deliverables
Follow on large, complex projects
Lead a small team on simple tasks
Anticipate the needs of other technical disciplines and take responsibility for their results
Produce Technical reports and memos independently
Produce Cultural Resource Baseline Reports independently
Produce Phase 1 and Phase 2 reports independently
Produce Section 106 documentation independently
Produce Other cultural documents as assigned independently
Produce Field studies and investigations independently
Predict and deliver individual tasks within a set level of effort
Consistently meet budget and schedule expectations on projects
Engage in frequent client communications
Resolve issues on small projects
Attend client meetings
Consistently use situationally appropriate communication tools (e.g., email versus phone versus in-person)
Perform moderate to advanced levels of technical work on larger and more complex projects
Assist with some project management tasks
Perform other duties as assigned