Principal Technical Consultant, Paleontologist

erm; Raleigh (NC); On-site; USD 130,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

ERM is seeking a highly motivated Principal Technical Consultant, Paleontologist to join our Raleigh office. In this senior leadership role, you will provide technical excellence, project leadership, mentorship, and business development support while guiding paleontological, cultural resource, and environmental compliance challenges across North America.

This full-time, salaried position emphasizes leadership, client relationships, and delivering high-quality environmental studies and technical

Qualifications

• Graduate degree in Paleontology, Geology, Earth Sciences, Biology, Anthropology, Archaeology, or related discipline.
• 8+ years (10+ years preferred) of professional experience related to paleontological resources.
• Experience leading assessments, surveys, monitoring programs, mitigation efforts, and agency consultation.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership and oversight for paleontological and cultural resource projects.
• Manage project teams, schedules, budgets, and deliverables.
• Support strategic business development and client relationship management.
• Ensure regulatory compliance and technical excellence.

Skills

Leadership

Project management

Communication

Education

Graduate degree in Paleontology

Geology or Earth Sciences

Anthropology/Archaeology

Job description

ERM is seeking a highly motivated Principal Technical Consultant, Paleontologist , to join our global consulting firm as part of our Cultural and Paleontological Resources Services team. This is a full-time, salaried position based in our ERM Raleigh office. In this senior leadership role, you will provide technical excellence, project leadership, mentorship, and business development support while helping clients navigate complex paleontological, cultural resource, and environmental compliance challenges throughout North America.

Why This Role Matters

As a senior technical leader, you will play a key role in advancing ERM's paleontological resources services while supporting integrated cultural resources programs across North America.

What Your Impact Will Be

• Serve as Principal Investigator, Permit Administrator, or technical lead on paleontological resource investigations and permitting programs.
• Provide QA/QC review of deliverables prepared by paleontologists, archaeologists, and cultural resources specialists.
• Lead desktop studies, field investigations, monitoring, mitigation, fossil recovery efforts, and resource management planning.
• Collaborate closely with archaeologists and cultural resources specialists on multidisciplinary projects.
• Lead, mentor, and support mid-level and junior staff.
• Serve as primary author or senior reviewer for environmental studies and technical reports.
• Support business development, proposals, and client relationship management.

What You'll Bring

Required

• Graduate degree in Paleontology, Geology, Earth Sciences, Biology, Anthropology, Archaeology, or related discipline.
• 8+ years (10+ years preferred) of professional experience related to paleontological resources.
• Experience leading assessments, surveys, monitoring programs, mitigation efforts, and agency consultation.
• Strong understanding of NEPA and related environmental review requirements.
• Strong leadership, project management, and communication skills.

Preferred

• Experience supporting integrated paleontological and archaeological resource management projects.
• Experience supporting energy, mining, transportation, technology, water, or infrastructure projects.
• Demonstrated success in business development and proposal preparation.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership and oversight for paleontological and cultural resource projects.
• Manage project teams, schedules, budgets, and deliverables.
• Support strategic business development and client relationship management.
• Ensure regulatory compliance and technical excellence.

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.