Managing Wetland Scientist

anchorqea; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 141,000 - 159,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Retirement plan with matching

Paid holidays

Vacation time

Sick time

Job summary

Anchor QEA in Seattle, WA seeks a Managing Wetland Scientist to lead wetland and aquatic resource studies in the Northwest, mentor staff, and drive permitting and project delivery. This senior role oversees scope, schedule, budget, and client relationships while coordinating with federal, state, and local agencies to support development, restoration, and regulatory compliance.

This role offers opportunities for business development and growth within Anchor QEA's multidisciplinary teams as part

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s in biology or related field required.
• 8+ years leading wetland and natural resource studies.
• Experience managing project scopes, schedules, budgets, and contracts.
• Experience with Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, and NEPA.
• Professional Wetland Scientist (PWS) or similar certification preferred but not required.
• Ability to lead field surveys and coordinate with agencies.

Responsibilities

• Manage natural resource assessments through planning, permitting, and monitoring.
• Lead field surveys (wetlands, habitat, bird surveys, etc.) with teams and clients.
• Author environmental documents such as critical area reports and mitigation plans.
• Manage project scopes, schedules, budgets, and contract requirements.
• Serve as client liaison and lead permitting/mitigation strategy development.
• Coordinate with federal, state, and local regulators for permitting and compliance.
• Provide QA/QC and review technical deliverables and reports.
• Deliver technical presentations to clients and stakeholders.
• Mentor junior and senior wetland scientists and habitat specialists.

Skills

Wetland delineation

Habitat assessment

Wildlife ecology

Fisheries biology

Botany

Habitat restoration

Project management

Mentoring

Technical presentations

Education

Bachelor’s degree in biology or related field

Master’s degree in biology or related field

Job description

Title: Managing Wetland Scientist

Location: Seattle, WA OR Portland, OR

Job Type: Regular Full-time

What’s the Opportunity?

Anchor QEA is seeking a Managing Wetland Scientist to lead wetland and aquatic resource studies in the Northwest. This is a senior role to lead field survey efforts and to mentor staff in wetland delineation, habitat assessment, wildlife ecology, fisheries biology, botany, and habitat restoration. The work will include writing to present ecological data and document environmental findings to support projects and obtain regulatory permits and approvals.

This position offers the opportunity to join a growing firm with a strong foundation in restoration, resilience, and development. Working alongside Anchor QEA’s multidisciplinary teams of planners, scientists, natural resource specialists, permitting professionals, landscape architects, engineers, and construction managers, the Managing Wetland Scientist will help mentor our team of junior wetland scientists.

This position includes responsibility for managing project scope, schedule, budget, and client relationships while supporting projects through permitting, contributing information that affects design, construction, and post-construction monitoring. The successful candidate will work closely with private-sector clients, federal, state, and local agencies, port authorities, and non-governmental organizations to support development, restoration, and mitigation projects that achieve environmental regulatory requirements and improve ecological function and environmental outcomes.

The role also offers some opportunities for business development and strategic growth, including cultivating client relationships, identifying new opportunities, preparing proposals, and helping expand Anchor QEA's restoration practice throughout the Northwest and beyond.

Responsibilities

• Manage natural resource assessments from planning through permitting and supporting design, construction, and leading post-construction monitoring of restoration and mitigation areas.
• Lead wetland and aquatic resource field surveys to collect data for environmental projects, coordinating with senior and junior staff, subconsultants, and clients. This includes wetland delineations, vegetation classification and habitat mapping, stream habitat assessment, bird surveys, and endangered species occurrence.
• Serve as primary author of environmental documents, including critical area reports, wetland and habitat mitigation plans, impact evaluations, biological and habitat evaluations, and scientific discipline reports
• Serve as project manager, deputy project manager, or task lead, depending on project complexity. Develop and manage project scopes, schedules, budgets, resource allocations, and contract requirements.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for clients, maintaining strong relationships and ensuring client objectives are achieved.
• Lead and advise on the development of permitting and mitigation strategies. Coordinate with federal, state, and local regulatory agencies to support project permitting, environmental compliance, and stakeholder engagement efforts.
• Lead teams completing technical studies that support permitting efforts. Provide technical review and quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) for project deliverables, including reports, plans, specifications, permit applications, and construction documents.
• Prepare and deliver technical presentations to clients, regulatory agencies, public stakeholders, and professional organizations.
• Provide mentorship for a team of junior and senior wetland scientists and habitat specialists.

What Are We Looking For?

• Bachelor’s degree and/or master’s degree in biology or a related environment or ecological field.
• 8+ years of progressively responsible experience leading wetland and natural resource studies to support development, habitat restoration, mitigation, or related environmental consulting projects.
• Proven ability to develop and manage project scopes, schedules, budgets, contracts, and subcontracts.
• Demonstrated experience managing multidisciplinary teams and successfully delivering projects on schedule, within budget, and in accordance with client expectations.
• Experience with local critical area codes, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, and National Environmental Policy Act.
• Experience leading Wetland and Stream Reports, critical area reports, mitigation plans, impact evaluations, scientific discipline reports, and permit applications such as Joint Aquatic Resource Permit Applications and Joint Permit Applications.
• Ability to lead field survey efforts and data collection for environmental projects, including the ability to safely traverse uneven ground, creeks, and other obstacles
• Experience coordinating with federal, state, and local agencies, including organizations such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, state environmental agencies, and local governments.
• Strong client management skills with a demonstrated ability to build and maintain relationships with private-sector, federal, state, municipal, and port clients.
• Excellent written, verbal, and presentation communication skills, including experience facilitating meetings and presenting technical information to diverse audiences.
• Ability to effectively manage multiple projects and competing priorities in a fast-paced consulting environment.
• Professional Wetland Scientist (PWS) or other relevant professional certification is preferred but not required.

What Can You Expect?

A collaborativework environmentwhere we encourage everyone to bring their authentic self. We offercompetitivecompensationand benefits. Benefitsdetailed below.

Who Are We?

Anchor QEA provides environmental planning, science, and engineering consulting services with the mission of transforming our environment and communities with integrity and vibe. With more than 500 people in offices across the United States, our collective vision is to be an inclusive, sustainable, and growing environmental innovator making generational impacts. By embodying our core values, we strive to be our clients’ first choice for solving their most challenging problems and to be our employees’ reason to be excited about going to work each morning. Learn more about Anchor QEA at www.anchorqea.com.

Applicants with a disability, who require a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or hiring process, may e‑mail their request to [e-mail]

Additional Information

We work hard to embrace diversity and inclusion.As an equal opportunity employer, Anchor QEA is committed to a diverse, multi-cultural work environment. Anchor QEA does not discriminate in employmentbased onage, race, creed, gender, religion, marital status, veteran’s status, national origin, disability or sexual orientation. Employment is contingent upon satisfactory results of a comprehensive background check.

Salary and Other Compensation

• Salary:$141,052 - $158,684
• Annual Bonus
• Other potential bonus types: Billable Time Bonus, Spot Bonus, Milestone Anniversary Bonus, Receiving Professional License/Certification Bonus, Peer-reviewed Publication Bonus, Employee Referral Bonus.

Base Level Benefits for Regular Full-Time Positions:

• Healthcare: Medical, dental, vision, basic life and AD&D insurance
• Paid Company and Floating Holidays: 7 paid company and 2 floating holidays annually
• Vacation: 2 weeks accrued paid vacation based on length of service. Vacation may vary by level.
• Sick and Safe Time: 80 hours annually
• Retirement Plan: 401k plan with an employer match * Further information on benefits: https://anchorqea.com/careers/benefits/

Employment is contingent upon satisfactory results of a comprehensive background check