Environmental Scientist II

At HDR, our employee-owners are fully engaged in creating a welcoming environment where each of us is valued and respected, and where everyone is empowered to bring their authentic selves and ideas to work every day. Each role across our organization contributes to our ability to make a meaningful impact on communities and the environment.

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We bring together experts across disciplines to solve complex challenges with bold thinking and technical excellence. Whether you're modernizing aging systems or pioneering innovative approaches, your contributions will make a meaningful difference in people’s lives. This isn’t just a job, it's a chance to lead change, drive progress, and leave a lasting legacy.

In this role, you will work on a wide variety of environmental compliance and natural resource projects as they relate to water, transportation, pipeline, renewable energy, power infrastructure, and building engineering and development projects. You will be expected to work collaboratively with other experienced environmental scientists and project managers, gaining valuable industry knowledge. You will support federal, state (primarily in the northeast including NY and NJ), and local environmental permits, National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) documentation, biological assessments and other environmental compliance documentation. You will assist senior and other mid-level scientists in the field and perform data processing associated with the collection of natural resource data.

Primary Responsibilities

• Serve as an Environmental Scientist supporting natural resources field studies and environmental permitting efforts.
• Perform wetland delineations and ecological/biological field surveys, including flora/fauna surveys, threatened and endangered species field surveys, data collection, interpretation, analysis, and technical report preparation, with oversight from senior staff.
• Prepare wetland and watercourse delineation reports, biological assessments, monitoring reports, mitigation plans, and related environmental documentation.
• Support development of federal permits and compliance documentation, including Clean Water Act Sections 404 and 401 Water Quality Certification permits.
• Assist in the development of NJDEP Division of Land Resources Protection permit applications (Waterfront Development, CAFRA, Flood Hazard Area, Coastal and Freshwater Wetlands).
• Experienced with permit development, compliance documentation, and planning in New York State including\: Joint Permit Applications, NYSDEC Protection of Waters, Coastal Erosion Management, Freshwater/Tidal Wetlands Permits, Industrial SPDES, SEQRA, and other environmental related permits.
• Define the level of environmental analysis needed including assessing and analyzing project impacts to identify permitting requirements; develop strategies to avoid or minimize project impacts, and prepare environmental constraints mapping.
• Prepare and review technical sections to support development of and NEPA/State environmental planning documentation such as environmental impact statements (EIS), environmental assessments (EA), natural resource reports, and other environmental documents.
• Conduct field work , including potential multi-day field assignments.
• Manage multiple tasks concurrently and collaborate with interdisciplinary teams.

Preferred Qualifications

• Significant experience performing wetlands, aquatics, terrestrial or other field surveys to support permitting and environmental compliance related tasks.
• Experience coordinating with federal, state and local regulatory agencies.
• Excellent written and verbal communications skills.
• Experience using mobile data collection tools and GPS equipment, and familiarity with ArcGIS software.
• Ability to travel for field assignments.
• 40 Hour HAZWOPER Training.
• Other potentially applicable certifications including\: Professional Wetland Scientist (PWS) or Wetland Professional in Training (WPIT), Certified Wildlife Biologist (CWB), Certified Professional Soil Scientist (CPSS), International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) Arborist, ESA Certified Ecologist, Certified Ecological Landscape Restoration Practitioner (CERP)
• In-depth knowledge of the northeast and/or Mid-Atlantic ecological setting preferred
• Experience with rare plant species survey protocols and agency coordination is a plus.
• Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science, Biology, Ecology, botany, or a closely related field.
• A minimum of 8-10 years of professional experience supporting environmental field studies and permitting.
• Extensive knowledge of wetland delineation methods and regulatory coordination.
• Extensive knowledge of regional flora and fauna required, including of listed threatened or endangered species.
• Strong technical writing and communication skills. (A writing sample of candidate’s professional paper, thesis, or project is welcome);
• Preference is given to local candidates

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