Environmental Specialist (Power Innovation)

Williams-Sonoma; Salt Lake City (UT); On-site; USD 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Williams-Sonoma seeks an Environmental Specialist to assess risk, guide permitting strategies, and ensure regulatory compliance for energy infrastructure projects. You will coordinate with regulatory agencies, legal and technical teams to prepare complex permit applications and manage stakeholder engagement through development and construction.

Roles scale by level, with emphasis on permitting strategy, environmental reviews, and cross-disciplinary collaboration.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required for Environmental Specialist roles.
• Experience in environmental permitting and regulatory processes.
• Strong organizational and interpersonal skills.

Responsibilities

• Develops and improves environmental processes and policies.
• Assesses environmental risk and recommends actions.
• Participates in project planning, scheduling and cost estimating.
• Prepares complex permit applications and coordinates with partners.
• Lead and coordinate with regulatory agencies and project teams.

Skills

Environmental permitting

Regulatory risk assessment

Stakeholder engagement

Project management

NEPA knowledge

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

At Williams, we're powering a cleaner, more connected future, and that starts with you. Here, your work fuels communities, drives innovation, and helps deliver reliable energy the world depends on. Join a Fortune 500 team that invests in your growth, values your contributions, and challenges you to make a lasting impact every day.

As an Environmental Specialist you will assess environmental risk, support environmental planning and regulatory compliance, and manage projects or programs of varying complexity. Your scope, leadership responsibilities, and decision-making authority will correspond to the level at which you are hired.

In this role, you will support fast-paced Power Innovation projects by managing end-to-end permitting and regulatory approvals while ensuring compliance with local, state, and federal requirements. You will develop permitting strategies, coordinate across technical, legal, and regulatory teams, manage stakeholder engagement, and track regulatory obligations throughout development and construction. You will also support PUC/PSC approvals, advise on conditions tied to certificates, and help prepare assets for operational handoff.

Responsibilities will vary by level, with greater emphasis on permitting strategy, regulatory negotiation, and complex decision-making at more senior levels, and regulatory submittals, data compilation, coordination, and process management at other levels.

Responsibilities / Expectations

• Develops, maintains and improves environmental processes and policies and provides guidance on their application.
• Assesses environmental and regulatory risk, provides recommendations to address risk and participates in or manages the approved course of action, including required regulatory documentation.
• Participates in project planning and implementation, including scheduling, cost estimating, preparing environmental reviews and supporting documentation.
• Prepares and submits complex applications to procure environmental clearances and permits, renewals, approvals, variances and other authorizations and coordinates with company partners.
• Experience permitting energy or infrastructure projects in multiple western and south-central states, particularly Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming, is preferred.
• Possess strong knowledge of NEPA and federal permitting processes, with demonstrated ability to coordinate environmental reviews, consultations, surveys, and authorizations with federal agencies, including BLM, FERC, and USFWS. Identify regulatory requirements and permitting risks and work collaboratively with agencies, consultants, and project teams to maintain project schedules and achieve required approvals.
• Manage local planning and building permitting for complex energy infrastructure projects, coordinating site plan review, zoning requirements, and code compliance. Work directly with local jurisdictions, engineers, contractors, and internal project teams to resolve permitting issues, manage agency comments, and support construction and in-service milestones.
• Demonstrated ability to successfully lead and collaborate with multidisciplinary teams in a fast-paced project environment, coordinating permitting requirements across engineering, construction, environmental, land, operations, legal, and other project functions. Proactively identify permitting and regulatory issues, facilitate timely resolution of competing priorities, and maintain alignment between permitting, design, procurement, and construction activities to support critical project milestones.
• Identifies environmental training needs, conducts required training and provides guidance or mentorship appropriate to the position level.
• Cultivates relationships between Williams and regulatory agencies.
• Provides guidance and mentorship to others and participates in industry associations and environmental communities, as applicable to the position level.
• Leads projects or programs involving significant risk and complexity at the Environmental Specialist V level; develops project execution strategies, manages resource requirements and reports achievements.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Education / Years of Experience

Environmental Specialist III

Requires: Bachelor's degree and a minimum of four (4) years of environmental experience.

Environmental Specialist IV

Requires: Bachelor's degree and a minimum of eight (8) years of environmental experience.

Environmental Specialist V

Requires: Bachelor's degree and a minimum of fifteen (15) years of multifaceted environmental experience. Preferred: Minimum of ten (10) years of experience in environmental fields.

Other Requirements

• Demonstrates excellent organizational and interpersonal skills.
• Maintains safety as the utmost priority.
• Demonstrates proficiency in Microsoft Office applications and strong PC skills.
• Preferred: Expertise with project management and stakeholder engagement for projects requiring Public Utility Commission (PUC) or Public Serv