Principal Geologist or Scientist - Environmental Assessment and Remediation

Geosyntec Consultants, Inc.; Fresno (CA); On-site; USD 135,000 - 189,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive benefits

Paid time off (PTO)

401(k) plan

Job summary

Geosyntec Consultants, Inc. invites a Principal Geologist or Scientist to lead its Environmental Assessment and Remediation practice in California, with a focus on Fresno and the Central Valley.

The role emphasizes senior technical leadership, client development, and delivery of complex environmental investigations and remediation programs. Ideal candidates have 10+ years of environmental consulting experience, strong California regulatory knowledge, and a track record of growing client

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in geology or closely related science field (required).
• California Professional Geologist (PG) license preferred.
• 10+ years of environmental consulting experience with client development and project management.

Responsibilities

• Lead business development strategy for Fresno, Central Valley, and Northern California.
• Serve as Client Manager or senior technical advisor for key clients.
• Provide leadership for environmental investigation, remediation, and long-term monitoring projects.
• Lead multidisciplinary projects from planning through delivery, including scope, design, permitting, and client engagement.
• Prepare and supervise technical reports, work plans, and proposals; manage budgets and schedules.
• Mentor staff and drive growth for the Fresno office and Northern California operations.

Skills

Geology

Hydrogeology

Client relationships

Project management

Regulatory knowledge

California market

Education

Bachelor's degree in geology

Advanced degree in geology/hydrogeology

California Professional Geologist license

Job description

Overview

Are you interested in building a meaningful career that can help make a positive impact on the world?

At Geosyntec, we partner with clients to solve complex challenges at the intersection of the environment, water, natural resources, and civil infrastructure. We are seeking a Principal Geologist or Scientist to help lead and grow our Environmental Assessment and Remediation practice in California, with an emphasis on supporting the Fresno office, Central Valley market, and broader Northern California operations.

This is a high-impact leadership opportunity for an accomplished environmental consultant with strong technical expertise, established client relationships, and a proven ability to develop, sell, manage, and deliver complex environmental investigation and remediation programs. The successful candidate will help strengthen Geosyntec’s regional presence, expand our environmental consulting capabilities, and support strategic growth across industrial, municipal, energy, solid waste, transportation, and government markets.

In this role, you will provide senior technical leadership, client and business development vision, project delivery oversight, and people leadership for multidisciplinary teams working on complex environmental assessment, remediation, compliance, and restoration projects. You will mentor and develop high-performing staff, cultivate long-term client relationships, and collaborate with regional and national leaders to deliver innovative, technically sound, and practical solutions.

Our work includes a broad range of technically challenging and high-value projects, such as:

• Environmental site assessment, site characterization, and remedial investigations involving soil, groundwater, soil vapor, sediment, and surface water.
• Remediation planning, feasibility studies, remedial design, remedy implementation, construction oversight, and long-term operations, maintenance, and monitoring.
• Vapor intrusion assessment and mitigation, soil gas investigations, risk evaluation support, and regulatory strategy development.
• Projects involving petroleum hydrocarbons, chlorinated solvents, metals, PFAS, PCBs, and other emerging or complex contaminants.
• Regulatory programs and projects involving the California Regional Water Quality Control Boards, DTSC, CUPAs, CERCLA, RCRA, CalEPA programs, and local agencies.
• Technical strategy, permitting support, stakeholder engagement, and advisory services for public- and private-sector clients.

Our clients span the industrial, institutional, energy, solid waste, transportation, municipal, and public-sector markets, offering the opportunity to work on impactful projects that address critical environmental and resource challenges.

This position offers the opportunity to:

• Lead and grow a strategic environmental assessment and remediation practice in California, with a focus on Fresno, the Central Valley, and Northern California.
• Develop and expand client relationships across environmental, industrial, energy, solid waste, transportation, public-sector, and private-sector markets.
• Serve as a Client Manager, Account Lead, or senior technical advisor for key strategic clients.
• Work on complex projects that address critical environmental, groundwater, remediation, compliance, and infrastructure challenges.
• Collaborate with recognized technical experts across Geosyntec’s national and international consulting platform.
• Make a lasting impact through strategic growth, mentorship, technical excellence, and exceptional client service.

Geosyntec is an innovative, international engineering and consulting firm serving private and public-sector clients to address new ventures and complex problems involving our environment, natural resources, and civil infrastructure. Our engineers, scientists, technical and project employees serve our clients from offices across the world. Ranked by ENR as one of the top environmental engineering design firms, Geosyntec is internationally known for its technical leadership, broad experience, and exceptional client service.

We invest in our people. Each employee is unique, and your career at Geosyntec will be too. We offer competitive pay and benefits, and well-being programs to support you and your family.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Lead business development strategy for the Fresno office, Central Valley market, and broader California environmental assessment and remediation practice, including identifying opportunities, developing client relationships, expanding existing accounts, and leading proposal efforts.
• Serve as a Client Manager, Account Lead, or senior technical advisor for one or more strategic clients.
• Provide senior technical leadership for environmental investigation, remediation, compliance, restoration, and long-term monitoring projects.
• Lead complex, multidisciplinary projects from planning through delivery, including scope development, technical strategy, investigation design, feasibility evaluation, remedial design, permitting, construction support, regulatory negotiation, quality review, risk management, and client engagement.
• Direct preparation and review of technical reports, work plans, feasibility studies, remedial action plans, design documents, permit applications, regulatory submittals, proposals, and client correspondence.
• Manage project performance, including scope, budgets, resources, schedules, quality standards, profitability, contracts, subcontractors, and multidisciplinary team coordination.
• Set practice vision, support recruiting and team development, mentor staff, and help drive strategic growth for the Fresno office and Northern California operations.
• Collaborate with professionals from multiple disciplines and offices to provide integrated, practical, and future-ready solutions for clients.
• Represent Geosyntec in meetings, presentations, and negotiations with clients, regulators, teaming partners, contractors, industry groups, and other stakeholders.
• Interpret and summarize technical data and regulatory requirements to support sound scientific conclusions and defensible client recommendations.
• Promote and model a strong health and safety culture, which is fundamental to our operations.
• Complete required OSHA/MSHA health and safety, first aid, CPR training, and medical monitoring, as applicable and paid for by the firm.
• Drive personal, company, and rental vehicles to client, project, office, and other business locations, as needed.

Education and Licensure

• Bachelor’s degree in geology, hydrogeology, earth sciences, environmental science, or a closely related science field. (required)
• Advanced degree in geology, hydrogeology, environmental science, or a related discipline. (preferred)
• California Professional Geologist (P.G.) license or other professional certification. (preferred)

Skills, Experience and Qualifications

• At least 10 years of directly relevant environmental consulting experience, including significant client development and project management responsibilities; or equivalent combination of education and experience. (required)
• Consulting experience with investigation and remediation of contaminated soil, groundwater, soil vapor, sediment, and vapor intrusion issues. (required)
• Experience with contaminants including petroleum hydrocarbons, metals, chlorinated solvents, PFAS, PCBs, and/or emerging contaminants. (required)
• Strong understanding of California environmental regulatory programs, including DTSC, Regional Water Quality Control Boards, CERCLA, RCRA, CUPA programs, and other CalEPA or local agency requirements. (required)
• Demonstrated success developing client relationships, leading business development efforts, winning work, and growing consulting services. (required)
• Experience leading multidisciplinary teams and mentoring early-, mid-, and senior-level professionals. (required)
• Strong project, program, and financial management experience, including scope, budgets, resources, schedules, profitability, risk, quality, and client satisfaction. (required)
• Experience preparing and supervising technical reports, proposals, work scopes, pricing, budgets, and project performance metrics. (required)
• Ability to work collaboratively and influence across offices, practices, and disciplines, including with senior leadership, clients, regulators, teaming partners, and staff without direct reporting relationships. (required)
• Strong oral and written communication, technical writing, presentation, negotiation, and client engagement skills. (required)
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced consulting environment, manage multiple priorities, meet deadlines, and travel to client facilities or project sites, as needed. (required)
• Experience with remedial design, remedy construction, construction oversight, and operation and maintenance of environmental remedies. (preferred)
• Experience supporting major industrial, municipal, energy, solid waste, transportation, or government clients. (preferred)
• Established professional network and client relationships within California environmental markets. (preferred)
• Current OSHA 40-hour HAZWOPER training and refreshers. (preferred)
• Health and safety training, medical monitoring, and client-driven drug and background testing may be required.
• Valid U.S. driver’s license and satisfactory driving record for business travel. (required)

This opportunity will be posted for at least five days. Below are the potential compensation ranges that we in good faith believe are applicable for this role at the time of this posting and are only applicable for jobs to be performed in the specified location(s) below. The typical base salary range for this position is just one component of Geosyntec’s total compensation package for employees. Actual compensation will be determined based on education, experience, skill set and location.

• Minimum Salary: $135,070/year / Maximum Salary: $189,100/year (Fresno, CA)

We offer a comprehensive benefits package including paid holidays, vacation, sick, and personal paid time off, medical, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance, 401(k), and other benefits to eligible employees.