Principal Consultant, Renewables

Environmental Resources Management, Inc.; Irvine (CA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 161,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid time off

Parental leave

Medical, dental, vision benefits

401(k)

Job summary

ERM is seeking a Principal Consultant, Renewables to oversee Impact Assessment, Planning and Permitting for renewable energy facilities in the United States. The role leads environmental permitting across local, state and federal levels, including NEPA and CEQA reviews, to enable solar, wind, and related development at scale.

You will manage complex projects, mentor junior staff, and collaborate with ERM’s global teams to share best practices while advancing the low carbon economy in the U.S.

Qualifications

• Requires a degree in environmental studies or related field or 8+ years of equivalent experience.
• 6+ years of project management, licensing and permitting experience, especially in renewables in California.
• Experience with federal, state and local permitting; experience preparing applications/documents for renewable energy projects.
• Experience guiding clients to obtain multi-media permits and approvals for new/expanded facilities.

Responsibilities

• Manage complex permitting and compliance for renewable energy and tech projects focusing on NEPA/CEQA and agency regulations.
• Lead preparation of permitting documents for energy/industrial facility development and decommissioning.
• Oversee project delivery activities: report writing, data collection, literature review, and client recommendations.
• Prepare discipline-specific reports and state-level environmental reviews to meet regulatory requirements.
• Serve as project manager, task manager, technical expert, and QA/QC of deliverables.
• Contribute to permitting strategies, due diligence, impact assessments, and quality control.
• Prepare technical proposals and participate in business development with clients and leads.
• Manage quality, budget, schedule, and scope; collaborate with other ERM teams on impact assessment and siting & permitting.
• Expand ERM’s profile by leveraging client relationships and delivering high-quality services.

Skills

NEPA/CEQA experience

Permitting leadership

Project management

Stakeholder coordination

Education

Bachelor's or Master’s degree in environmental studies or related field

Tools

GIS

Job description

ERM is seeking a Principal Consultant, Renewables overseeing Impact Assessment, Planning and Permitting for renewable energy facilities. This role will lead environmental impact assessment and permitting for renewable energy facilities and other major capital development projects including solar developments, technology infrastructure and offshore and onshore wind energy projects. The ideal candidate will have experience permitting complex development projects in the power and/or technology sector along with technical expertise leading environmental, local, state-level, and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) reviews for large-scale capital projects. It is preferred and desired that the candidate has experience developing permits and permitting strategies for renewable projects, particularly to support local land use permitting processes, including securing Conditional or Special Use Permits, identifying requirements or local municipalities and counties (e.g., buffer widths, vegetative screening, water quality monitoring, local storm water review criteria), analyzing the potential for variances, and working with developers to optimize layouts based on local permitting requirements. As part of ERM’s planning team you will be leading consulting on a range of environmental, social, and health impact assessment projects to build a sustainable business both regionally and nationally, while networking with ERM’s global technical teams to share best practices across the industry. This position will focus primarily on environmental impact assessment and federal, state and local permitting to facilitate the development, construction, and operation of commercial-scale energy facilities and support the low carbon economy transition in the U.S. Our portfolio of projects are often fast-paced, multi-faceted, and geographically diverse with clients developing facilities ranging from onshore wind and solar to offshore wind. The position will require a candidate to work both independently and with teams of subject matter experts, so successful candidate must have the ability to manage varying priorities and multiple tasks while forging a cohesive delivery team to meet concurrent deadlines on multiple projects. This is an excellent opportunity for an environmental professional looking to advance their career with a global environmental leader and be part of ERM’s continuing growth in the renewable energy sector.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Manage and perform complex permitting and compliance associated with renewable energy and tech sector development projects with an emphasis on local, state, and federal permitting, including but not limited to compliance associated with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and regulations of federal agencies such as U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and state-level agencies, including California Department of Fish and Wildlife and Regional Water Quality Control Board.
• Manage and lead the preparation of permitting documents for energy/industrial facility development, expansion, maintenance, or decommissioning, with a focus on local permitting.
• Overseeing project delivery activities such as report writing, data collection, data and literature review, and developing recommendations for clients.
• Manage preparation of discipline-specific reports, permitting documents, NEPA/CEQA documents, and state-level environmental reviews consistent with applicable federal, state and local regulatory requirements.
• Serve in roles ranging from project manager, task manager, technical expert, and QA/QC of deliverables.
• Contribute technical, subject matter or project management expertise on permitting strategies, due diligence reviews, environmental critical issues assessments, impact assessment deliverables, and overall quality control review.
• Prepare technical proposals and participate in business development with existing clients and identified leads as well as help to expand our growing renewable projects and team.
• Manage and work within quality/budget/schedule expectations and scope-specific assignments.
• Collaborate with other ERM practitioners to execute impact assessment and capital project permitting (ERM services broadly include baseline studies, environmental impact assessment, routing studies, land planning, and facility siting & permitting).
• Expand ERM’s profile and market share through your existing client relationships, building and deepening ERM’s existing relationships, and delivering high quality, and reliable service.

REQUIREMENTS:

• Bachelors or Master’s degree in environmental studies, environmental management, wetland science, planning, geography or related natural resources science field of study; or 8+ year's equivalent experience.
• 6+ years of project management, licensing and permitting experience, including strong project experience in renewable energy or similar practice across California.
• Experience with federal, state, and local permitting, in particular with the preparation of applications and documents related to the development of renewable energy projects.
• Experience assisting clients in obtaining multi-media permits and approvals for new or expanded facilities.
• Experience overseeing and coordinating desktop and online studies or research on natural resource or resource planning topics, Geographic Information System, map interpretation (National Wetland Inventory, U.S. Geological Survey, aerial photography).
• Demonstrated ability to research and prepare concise and accurate technical documents including presentation of findings to clients, stakeholders, and/or regulatory agencies.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills and organization/analytical skills; experience recording/writing detailed technical data and reports.
• Ability to multi-task, maintain flexibility, travel, and work independently with minimal supervision.
• Demonstrated ability to mentor and develop junior team members – excellent people skills, responsive, collaborative, versatile, effective in a fast-paced environment, and service-oriented.
• 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.
• This position is not eligible for immigration sponsorship.

For the Principal Consultant, Renewables position, the anticipated annual base pay is $110,000-$161,000 (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, including paid time off (vacation, sick, and floating holidays), parental leave, medical, dental, vision, life, disability, AD&D insurance, 401(k), and 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.