Environmental Scientist (Natural Resources)

Johnson, Mirmiran & Thompson is a dynamic, 100% employee-owned consulting firm with more than 2,800 professionals, providing a full range of multidisciplinary engineering, architecture, information technology, and related services to public agencies and private clients throughout the United States. JMT is currently ranked #50 on Engineering News-Record’s list of the Top 500 Design Firms.

Position Summary: This position will consist of full-time staff augmentation for a local governmental agency within its Environmental Services Department in the capacity of a Regulatory Compliance Coordinator. This position is responsible for coordinating environmental investigations, assessments, permitting, and other compliance activities for all capital improvement and maintenance projects within an assigned geographical service area. This also includes assisting the Regulatory Compliance Section Leader in coordinating environmental compliance tasks in support of the agency’s mission.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities

• Respond to Environmental Service requests for designated projects as submitted by various Divisions of the agency and manage subsequent environmental support tasks
• Manage consultants as necessary to perform designated support tasks, including requesting, reviewing, and approving proposals and bids to perform work and providing quality control and quality assurance of deliverables received from consultants and contractors
• Attend project team meetings and provide environmental compliance recommendations and status updates. Ensure compliance with Federal, State, and local environmental laws, rules, and regulations
• Support communications with the public and with environmental organizations, and coordinate with other District departmental staff, other local governments, State and Federal governments, and non-profit organizations to facilitate joint use projects within agency facilities
• Provide project management for environmental research and investigations, as required, and track projects in the District's applicable project tracking database
• Perform other duties that may be added or changed as the course and scope of the job directs

Nonessential Functions and Responsibilities

• Perform other related duties as assigned

• Must successfully complete and pass JMT's Motor Vehicle screening

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited four-year college or university in any one of the natural or earth sciences, environmental planning, or a related field
• At least five (5) years of experience in the management of projects for environmental compliance and Section 404 Clean Water Act permitting
• Requires experience in the review of detailed environmental site evaluations, including wetland delineations, and jurisdictional determinations of waters in the United States, threatened and endangered species habitat assessments and surveys, and cultural resources desktop reviews and surveys
• Expertise with USACE regulatory permitting under CWA Section 404 and/or RHA Section 10

Preferred Experience

• Master’s degree from an accredited four-year college or university in any one of the natural or earth sciences, environmental planning, or a related field
• Experience using ESRI ArcGIS or similar digital mapping software
• Advanced wetland delineation and/or hydric soils training
• Experience coordinating permit actions with the Regulatory Division of the USACE Galveston District
• Familiarity with the 1987 Corps Delineation Manual, the Atlantic and Gulf Coast, and the Great Plains Regional supplemental manuals.
• Experience preparing and/or overseeing preparation of biological consultation documents for ESA Section 7 and/or 10, including Biological Assessments and Biological Evaluations, and obtaining concurrence from USFWS
• Ability to evaluate projects for potential impacts to Federal and State civil works projects. and compliance with applicable environmental laws.
• Professional Certifications (e.g., Professional Wetland Scientist, Certified Wetland Delineator, Certified Wildlife Biologist, Certified Environmental Professional, Project Management Professional, etc.)
• Scientific collections permit from TPWD and/or USFWS for various species of plant and/or animal species (e.g., freshwater mussels, reptiles, amphibians, avifauna, fish, mammals, etc.)
• Experience using Microsoft Office applications (Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, and Excel)

Working Conditions

Work is performed within a general office environment approximately 90% of the time. Office work is generally sedentary in nature but may require occasional standing and walking. Office work is performed with adequate lighting and temperature, with no hazardous or unpleasant conditions caused by noise, dust, etc. Office work requires extensive use of a video display terminal (computer monitor).

Field work is required approximately 10% of the time and is conducted outdoors in heat/cold, wet/humid, and dry/arid conditions. Field work will require walking and carrying field equipment over typical outdoor terrain (rough and uneven surfaces or ground, such as deep sloping terrain, plowed or furrowed areas, or construction sites). Some lifting (up to 25 lbs) may be required as needed. When at field locations may be exposed to snakes, wildlife, wasps, bees, and other flying/walking insects, aquatic bacteria, viruses, and other micro-organisms, vibration, and/or noise in excess of 85 decibels.

Job Location

Candidates are preferred to be located in Houston, although highly qualified candidates will also be considered for other JMT offices within Texas, including Round Rock, Austin, McKinney, and San Antonio.

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by state or federal law.