Senior Archaeologist - Principal Investigator

SWCA Environmental Consultants•Albuquerque, NM

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

SWCA Environmental Consultants is seeking a Senior Archaeologist - Principal Investigator to join their team in the New Mexico/Four Corners business area, with offices in Albuquerque and Durango. The role involves leading and growing a developing team, supporting various projects in the region across multiple service areas like renewable energy, oil and gas, transportation, and site development. The selected individual will act as a Principal Investigator, ensuring technical rigor and Section 106 Compliance. This position is crucial for developing a strong cultural resources program, supporting existing clients, acquiring new business, supervising and mentoring junior staff, fostering teamwork, collaborating with other offices, and driving scientific and business excellence. This is a regular, full-time, salaried/exempt position based in Albuquerque, NM, with support for hybrid work environments. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.

Requirements

Eight years of relevant, progressively responsible experience, including some experience managing others.
Master’s degree in Archaeology or Anthropology.
Eight (8) years of relevant cultural resources experience, including at least three (3) years of progressively responsible experience with cultural resources projects, including fieldwork, consulting, technical QC, primary report authorship, and developing/implementing scopes of work through all stages from pre-field tasks to final report preparation.
Meets the Secretary of the Interior’s Professional Qualifications Standards for archaeology and/or architectural history.
Strong knowledge of Southwest U.S. archaeology, with experience conducting and leading archaeological projects in this geography.
Experience preparing NEPA documents to support Section 106 consultation for a variety of federal agencies.
Possess advanced skills and knowledge in one or more specialty scientific areas (e.g., lithic, ceramic, or faunal analysis; osteology; historical archaeology).
Demonstrated experience in supervising, mentoring, and providing leadership for other cultural resources professionals.
Applicants must be willing to participate in drug and alcohol screening as part of the pre-employment process, when required by project or client requirements.
Applicants must possess a valid driver's license and meet SWCA's driver requirements.
Candidates must be able to obtain and maintain all valid travel documents and identification required for work-related travel throughout the duration of employment.

Nice To Haves

Ten years of related experience is preferred; or any equivalent combination of experience, performance, training, and/or education.
Ten (10) years of relevant cultural resources experience, including five (5) years of progressively responsible experience with cultural resources projects, including fieldwork, consulting, technical QC, primary report authorship, and developing/implementing scopes of work through all stages from pre-field tasks to final report preparation.
Strong preference given to applicants with experience in New Mexico and holding New Mexico permits.
Ability to be listed on New Mexico State and New Mexico BLM cultural resources permits as both field supervisor and Principal Investigator.
Excellent technical writing skills with a record of completing technical reports in a timely fashion.
Must include experience with primary report authorship in a CRM context for a variety of project types and sizes, regions, and agencies.
Involvement with regional and national professional historic or archaeological societies.
Strong interest in developing business development skills as a “seller/doer” to develop productive business relationships with agency, client, and industry contacts.

Responsibilities

Lead and grow a developing team and support various projects in the New Mexico/Four Corners area.
Serve as a Principal Investigator to ensure technical rigor and Section 106 Compliance.
Lead and grow a robust cultural resources program.
Support existing clients and projects.
Capture new work and clients.
Supervise and mentor junior staff.
Encourage teamwork and cooperation.
Work with other offices.
Drive overall scientific and business excellence.
Strategically consult on and lead complex projects, overseeing the technical approach and ensuring quality assurance and quality control.
Lead by example in technical and soft skills, navigating client and team priorities.
Innovate standards and practices to enhance project quality and efficiency.
Serve as a go-to technical expert and consultant.
Guide projects, executing accountability for performance and ensuring milestones are met.
Assess risks and implement strategies for problem-solving.
Revise or suggest revisions to project scopes, schedules, and budgets.
Drive business growth and client success through technical excellence and innovation.
Contribute to SWCA's strategic planning.
Champion cross-disciplinary collaboration.
Mentor staff for impactful influence, coaching others in technical excellence, leadership, and strategy.
Develop specialized programs and protocols.
Foster team development and cross-training, promoting knowledge sharing and collaboration.
Establish and grow effective consultative relationships with external and internal clients and/or agency regulators and industry partners.
Follow applicable federal, Tribal, state, local, industry, contractual, and company regulations, standards, and specifications.
Perform related work as assigned.
Direct cultural resources field research, data collection, inventory, analysis, survey planning, and final report production.
Serve as the primary author and subject-matter expert for major technical reports, research designs, treatment plans, and related cultural resources documents.
Manage project financial performance and ensure established profitability and other financial metrics are achieved or exceeded.
Directly supervise cultural resources personnel and support their professional growth.
Assign staff to appropriate projects based on project requirements, technical qualifications, development opportunities, and employee engagement.
Support recruitment and hiring in partnership with senior leaders and Talent Acquisition.
Implement SWCA and client safety programs and contribute to developing project- or service-specific safety procedures.
Expand SWCA’s state and regional client base and revenue in archaeology, historic architecture, permitting, NHPA, NEPA, and related cultural resources services through agency and industry engagement.
Identify and manage prospects and proposals; prepare technical proposal content, develop competitive and profitable pricing, and make pursuit recommendations to the Program Director.