Senior Archaeologist - Principal Investigator

SWCA Environmental Consultants•Albuquerque, NM

1d•$87,838 - $114,618•Hybrid

About The Position

SWCA Environmental Consultants is seeking a Senior Archaeologist - Principal Investigator to join their team in New Mexico/Four Corners, 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 generation, oil and gas, transportation, and more. The selected individual will act as a Principal Investigator to ensure technical rigor and Section 106 Compliance, leading a cultural resources program, supporting existing clients, capturing new work, supervising and mentoring junior staff, and fostering collaboration. 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 and the position may close once a strong candidate pool is established.

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.
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

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 both technical and soft skills, navigating client and team priorities to deliver projects that meet professional and oversight agency standards.
Innovate standards and practices to enhance the quality and efficiency of client projects and outcomes, ensuring alignment with industry and regulatory standards.
Serve as a go-to technical expert and consultant, providing novel project strategies and applying technical excellence that considers client needs to meet project requirements.
Continuously guide projects, executing accountability for the performance of projects or delegated tasks and ensuring that project milestones are met and outcomes align with SWCA’s values and client expectations.
Assess risks and implement strategies for problem-solving.
Revise or suggest revisions to project scopes, schedules, and budgets as necessary to meet evolving project requirements and ensure successful outcomes.
Drive business growth and client success through technical excellence, innovation, and development of new methods and standards that advance SWCA's technical reputation.
Contribute to SWCA's strategic planning.
Champion cross-disciplinary collaboration, working closely with specialists to provide comprehensive technical support for projects.
Mentor staff for impactful influence, coaching others in technical excellence, leadership, and strategy, and also develop specialized programs and protocols.
Foster team development and cross-training, modeling and promoting knowledge sharing and collaboration among team members to enhance project outcomes, as well as team depth and redundancy.
Establish and grow effective consultative relationships with external and internal clients and/or agency regulators and industry partners (if applicable) to support successful projects.
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 in alignment with SWCA’s Career Landscape.
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.