Senior Ecologist

AECOM•San Diego, CA

18h•Hybrid

About The Position

AECOM is seeking an experienced Senior Ecologist to join their Southern California Natural Resources Group. This role involves leadership, mentorship, business development, and project management, with a focus on growth and sales within the natural resources sector. The position will manage and support projects in utility, energy, municipal, federal, and transportation sectors, with opportunities for specialized technical work in complex permitting and large-scale environmental compliance. This hybrid role can be based in San Diego, Orange, Los Angeles, or San Luis Obispo, CA offices. The position will support natural resource projects across California and potentially in Nevada and Arizona, including wildlife movement studies, Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs), and large-scale environmental constraints analyses. Key responsibilities include growing environmental project portfolios, managing projects involving impact assessments, mitigation planning, regulatory compliance, and permitting (CEQA/NEPA, 404/401, CESA, ESA), and preparing environmental documents. The role requires coordination with resource agencies, leading complex permitting projects, and participating in public review processes.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in related fields (biology, ecology, or project management/controls).
8 years of relevant experience or demonstrated equivalency of experience and/or education in natural resources/project management with experience and expertise in Southern California ecology.
Valid U.S Driver's license is required for this role.
US Citizenship is required.

Nice To Haves

Master’s Degree in related fields (biology, ecology, or project management/controls).
15+ years of experience in natural resources/project management.
Proven track record of bringing in new work, growing projects and clients and delivering winning proposals.
Experience with career development of junior and mid-level biologists.
Experience with protocol wildlife surveys, habitat assessments, and/or botanical surveys.
Possession of valid USFWS 10(a) permits to conduct wildlife protocol surveys in southern and/or central California.
Previous experience working on environmental programs in the utility, renewables, federal, and transportation sectors in southern and/or central California.
Data management experience, including electronic data collection in field; managing large data sets.
Willingness to work with multiple colleagues on a variety of initiatives.
Successful marketing/business development experience.
Ability to work in a high-paced environment where changing client priorities results in the need to determine creative ways to get the job done.
Candidate must be flexible and willing to support multiple projects.
Team player with excellent listening skills and diplomacy.
Wetland Delineation experience and certification.

Responsibilities

Effectively responds to RFPs and develops winning proposals, including assembling proposal materials and participating in client interviews.
Manages a team to prepare large, complex natural resources documents such as Biological Technical Reports, Biological Assessments, 2081 Permit Applications, Habitat Conservation Plans, Eagle Conservation Plans, and/or Delineation Reports, Aquatic Resources Permit Applications or other Federal and State Permit Applications.
Operates as primary author or senior reviewer as appropriate.
Become an AECOM Certified Project Manager.
Manage projects/tasks that include all aspects of environmental analysis (e.g., biological, cultural, air quality, traffic, etc.).
Manages projects with large-scale field efforts and intensive schedules.
Manages large-scale compliance projects requiring adherence to permit conditions.
Performs project management duties such as forecasting, tracking, accounting updates, invoicing, progress reports, and scheduling.
Reviews contracts for understanding of scope, fee, schedule, and deliverables, and all other contractual obligations.
Develops work breakdown structure for control and integrity of work to be performed as and defined by the contract.
Monitors and analyzes project costs, commitments, accruals, and changes, and takes corrective action where necessary.
Identifies trends and deviations in financial performance to project team with recommended courses of action.
Operates as primary point of contact for clients and resource agencies on projects.
Performs client management duties such as recurring status meetings, milestone check-ins, and day-to-day interfacing.
Focus on supporting career development of junior staff in the practice.
Participates in interviews with large or small teams for a variety of clients.
Contributes to growth of department through marketing pursuits including proposal preparation, interviews, and business development.