Forest Ecologist

About the opportunity

Do you thrive in the pursuit of delivering the very best in environmental consulting services for your clients? Projects will include sites across the United States within SWCA’s geographic footprint. The position will entail travel and short-term overnight efforts to collect field data, manage projects, and meet with clients. The position is based out of our Reno or Las Vegas offices, Nevada and will report to the Restoration Team Lead. This is a regular, full-time, salaried position with compensation based on individual qualifications and experience.

We are seeking a highly experienced, dynamic, self-motivated Forest Ecologist and Project Manager with strong interpersonal skills and experience to grow our team. You should have significant experience in ecological restoration projects, with specialized experience in wildfire planning and forestry. In addition, you would have interest and ability to support a variety of other restoration projects, including stream, river, meadow restoration, and green infrastructure projects. The successful candidate must have a strong skill set in collaboration and leadership, business development, federal and state permitting, field survey planning and execution, and data management.

What you will accomplish

• Support our restoration team in growing our wildfire planning and forestry service line, particularly within Nevada and Arizona.
• Work to build relationships with municipalities, state and local government, and Tribes to complete wildfire planning projects, which may include support of grant applications to secure funding for wildfire planning and forest resilience projects.
• Support our regional restoration team on projects, including the design of ecological restoration and enhancement projects. Project types typically include any of the following: wildfire planning and forestry, stream, river meadow, and/or green infrastructure.
• Conduct vegetation assessment, design, and reporting and support the development of construction plans for the above-listed project types.
• Supervise and mentor staff and collaborate with project engineers in the assessment, design, and reporting of the above-listed project types.
• Keep projects on schedule and on budget.
• Assist with the development of new clients, as well as managing existing clients/projects.

Experience and qualifications for success

• A minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in biology, ecology, natural resources management, or related degree required.
• General proficiency with ArcGIS and Microsoft Office Suite.
• Preferred to have advanced experience with GIS platforms, including AGOL, Field maps, Survey123 etc., and remote sensing and UAV technology.
• Experience working in forestry, silviculture, forest ecology, wildfire/fuels management, and/or fire ecology, including close collaboration with agencies at the local, state or federal levels.
• Experience interpreting and working under state statutes related to rare plant species, cactus / yucca harvest, timber harvesting, sawmill operations and timberland conversions.
• Experience implementing forest management plans, hazardous fuels projects and prescribed burn plans.
• Experience working with communities and agencies developing wildfire mitigation projects.
• Willingness to be trained in GIS, if not already proficient.
• Ability to work independently and collaborate with other project managers; multi-task regularly in a fast-paced environment with multiple changes; work under pressure; and meet tight deadlines.
• Prior experience in supporting development of proposals, business development, and client management preferred.
• Ability to manage project budgets and schedules.
• Prior experience in supporting development of proposals (including grant proposals) and business development, client management is a plus.

SWCA Environmental Consultants is a growing employee-owned firm, providing a full-spectrum of environmental services. With offices across the United States, SWCA is one of the largest environmental compliance firms and ranks among Engineering News-Record’s Top 200 Environmental Firms.

If you would like to contact SWCA regarding the accessibility of our website or need assistance completing the application process, please email accommodations@swca.com or call 480-581-5378. This contact information is for accommodation requests only and cannot be used to inquire about the status of applications.

EOE - women, minorities, individuals with disabilities and veterans are encouraged to apply.

Seniority Level

Mid-Senior level

Not ready to apply? Connect with us for general consideration.