Principal Consultant, Archaeologist

ERM; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 111,000 - 145,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid time off

Parental leave

Medical

Dental

Vision

Life insurance

Disability insurance

AD&D insurance

401(k)

Job summary

ERM is seeking a Principal Consultant, Archaeologist to lead cultural resources projects across the United States from a US office. The role emphasizes technical leadership, client service, and business development, guiding teams and mentoring staff.

Qualified candidates will have a graduate degree in Anthropology/Archaeology and an RPA, plus 6–8 years of experience. Occasional field travel and collaboration with multidisciplinary teams are expected.

Qualifications

• Graduate degree in Anthropology or Archaeology or equivalent experience.
• 6–8 years of related paid experience.
• Secretary of the Interior-qualified archaeologist listed as a Registered Professional Archaeologist (RPA).
• Demonstrated field experience and principal-level oversight for projects.
• Experience as author/reviewer on agency-reviewed technical reports (NEPA, etc.).
• Experience interacting with regulatory agencies as a consultant.
• Ability to work within multidisciplinary teams of archaeologists and specialists.
• Willingness to occasional travel to field sites.
• Experience with mapping equipment and field technologies (e.g., GPS, ArcGIS).
• Driver's License required for travel across client locations.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a permitted BLM Principal Investigator.
• Obtain BLM Cultural Resources Use Permits and other required permits.
• Provide QA/QC review of deliverables.
• Oversee desktop studies and field investigations (reconnaissance, survey, testing, excavations).
• Lead, supervise, and manage archaeologists across experience levels.
• Coordinate with unit leads and managers to support performance.
• Sign as PI or Task Manager for cultural resources studies on major projects.
• Ensure safety, efficiency, and adherence to scope, budget, schedule, and quality.
• Support multi-state infrastructure projects and site-specific work.
• Expand ERM’s profile through technical excellence and business development.
• Develop client relationships and drive revenue growth.
• Identify cross-selling opportunities for cultural resources services.
• Collaborate with environmental planners, GIS professionals, engineers, and others.
• Represent ERM in meetings with clients and partners.
• Manage subcontractor needs and quality.

Skills

Leadership

Mentoring

Client relations

Regulatory reporting

Multidisciplinary collaboration

Travel flexibility

Field methods

Education

Graduate degree in Anthropology/Archaeology

RPA qualification

Tools

Total station

GPS

ArcGIS FieldMaps

Survey123

Job description

As a Principal Consultant, Archaeologist, you will play a critical leadership role in advancing complex cultural resources projects based out of an ERM US office. This position offers the opportunity to guide high-impact projects, mentor and develop talent, strengthen client relationships, and contribute to ERM’s continued leadership in environmental and sustainability consulting.

Why This Role Matters?

ERM is seeking a highly motivated Principal Consultant, Archaeologist to join our growing Cultural Resources Services team. This role combines technical excellence, project leadership, team development, and business growth. The successful candidate will provide archaeological expertise throughout the United States while supporting project delivery, client service, and business development initiatives.

What Your Impact Is:

• Serve as a senior archaeological leader supporting cultural resources projects throughout the United States.
• Drive quality, consistency, and technical excellence across archaeological investigations and regulatory deliverables.
• Mentor and develop archaeologists while supporting team growth and succession planning.
• Strengthen existing client relationships and cultivate new business opportunities that contribute to ERM’s continued growth.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to deliver innovative and sustainable solutions for clients in the energy and infrastructure sectors.

What You'll Bring:

Required

• Graduate degree in Anthropology, Archaeology, or closely related field of study, or equivalent experience.
• 6–8 years of related paid experience.
• Secretary of the Interior-qualified archaeologist listed as a Registered Professional Archaeologist (RPA), with skills and experience that meet or exceed SHPO requirements.
• Demonstrated field experience and principal-level oversight for projects, including leading inventory, survey, testing, and/or data recovery efforts.
• Experience as primary author and/or third-party reviewer on agency-reviewed technical reports, including but not limited to Class I and Class III technical reports, sections of NEPA documents, Cultural Resources Treatment Plans, and related regulatory documentation.
• Experience interacting with regulatory agency personnel as a consultant representing client interests.
• Ability to work effectively within multidisciplinary teams of archaeologists and other technical specialists.
• Ability and willingness to occasionally travel to field sites.
• Previous experience with mapping equipment and other specialized field technologies (e.g., total station, GPS, ArcGIS FieldMaps, Survey123, or similar applications).
• Driver's License Required: This position requires a valid driver's license and/or the ability to operate a company vehicle due to the nature of job duties, which include frequent travel to various client locations across a large geographical area.

Preferred

• BLM Principal Investigator qualifications.
• Established experience obtaining BLM Cultural Resources Use Permits and other applicable federal and state permits.
• Demonstrated success managing large capital-project cultural resource programs and multidisciplinary teams.
• Experience supporting business development and client relationship management in the cultural resources consulting market.

Key Responsibilities:

• Serve as a permitted BLM Principal Investigator.
• Obtain BLM Cultural Resources Use Permits and other necessary federal and state permits required to execute projects and support new opportunities.
• Provide technical quality assurance and quality control review of deliverables prepared by other qualified archaeologists.
• Oversee teams conducting desktop studies and field investigations, including reconnaissance surveys, pedestrian surveys, testing, excavations, and construction monitoring activities.
• Lead, supervise, and manage archaeologists across varying experience levels, including participation in hiring, mentoring, training, and engagement initiatives.
• Coordinate with Cultural Resources Business Unit Leads, the Consulting Director for Archaeology, Area Managers, and Managing Partners to support team performance and project delivery.
• Serve as signing Principal Investigator and/or Task Manager for cultural resources studies associated with major capital projects.
• Ensure projects are delivered safely, efficiently, and in accordance with scope, budget, schedule, and quality expectations.
• Support projects ranging from multi-state linear infrastructure developments to smaller site-specific assignments.
• Expand ERM’s profile and market share in the cultural resources consulting market through technical excellence and business development activities.
• Partner with Managing Partners to deepen key client relationships, develop new client opportunities, and drive revenue growth.
• Identify and promote opportunities for cross-selling cultural resources services to existing clients.
• Collaborate closely with environmental planners, biologists, wetland specialists, GIS professionals, engineers, and other multidisciplinary experts.
• Represent ERM in communications and meetings with clients, teaming partners, subcontractors, stakeholders, and regulatory agencies.
• Identify subcontractor needs and manage subcontractor quality, performance, and scheduling as required.

For the Principal Consultant, Archaeologist position, the anticipated annual base pay is $110,600–$144,800(USD). Actual pay will depend on factors such as education, experience, skills, location, performance, and business needs. In some cases, pay may fall outside this range. This role may be eligible for bonus pay subject to the sole discretion of ERM and its policies and procedures (casual and fixed term/flex force employees are not bonus eligible).

We offer a comprehensive benefits package.

• Paid time off (vacation, sick, and floating holidays)
• Parental leave
• Medical
• Dental
• Vision
• Life
• Disability
• AD&D insurance
• 401(k)
• Other applicable benefits to eligible employees

Who We Are:

As the largest global pure play sustainability consultancy, we partner with the world’s leading organizations, creating innovative solutions to sustainability challenges and unlocking commercial opportunities that meet the needs of today while preserving opportunity for future generations.

At ERM we know that creating a diverse, equitable and inclusive work environment is an essential part of making our company a great place to build a career. We also see our diversity as a strength that helps us create better solutions for our clients. Our diverse team of world-class experts supports clients across the breadth of their organizations to operationalize sustainability, underpinned by our deep technical expertise in addressing their environmental, health, safety, risk and social issues. We call this capability our “boots to boardroom” approach for its comprehensive service model that allows ERM to develop strategic and technical solutions that advance objectives on the ground or at the executive level.

ERM is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.

Thank you for your interest in ERM!