Staff Archaeologist

SWCA, Incorporated; Pasadena (CA); On-site; USD 58,000 - 83,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Travel and lodging costs covered

Per diem for project work

Job summary

SWCA Environmental Consultants is seeking a temporary Staff Archaeologist to support the Southern California Cultural Resources Program. You will coordinate field activities, lead crews of surveyors and excavators, and assist with site forms and technical reports for renewable energy and land development projects.

Responsibilities include overseeing fieldwork, maintaining QA/QC, and contributing to reports and planning documents, with travel across Southern California and a typical field-based

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Anthropology or Archaeology or a closely related field.
• 1 year of cultural resources field experience, including leadership of archaeology crews.
• Experience managing projects across varied types, sizes, regions, and agencies.
• CRM experience across diverse project types with increasing responsibility.
• Experience with archaeology in Southern California.
• Knowledge of federal, state, and local cultural resources laws and regulations.
• Valid driver’s license and ability to operate a 4WD on rugged roads.
• Ability to travel, work long hours outdoors, and lift up to 40 pounds.

Responsibilities

• Performs field and office tasks under supervision, guiding field crews.
• Coordinate field activities and lead crews of surveyors, monitors, and excavators.
• Assist with site forms and technical reports for energy and land development projects.
• Develop project deliverables and contribute to technical reports and planning documents.
• Communicate progress and issues clearly to management and team members.
• Adhere to company policies, standards, and safety requirements.
• Perform data collection, processing, and analysis in field and office settings.

Skills

Field leadership

Crew supervision

Project coordination

Technical writing

QA/QC review

Education

Bachelor's degree in Anthropology/Archaeology

Tools

Tablets

Bluetooth GPS receivers

Mobile software

Job description

About the opportunity

SWCA Environmental Consultants is seeking a temporary Staff Archaeologist to join our Southern California Cultural Resources Program. Under the supervision of a Cultural Resources Team Lead and Project Manager, this role performs field and office tasks while providing day-to-day guidance and support to archaeological field crews.

The Staff Archaeologist will help coordinate field activities and lead crews of archaeological surveyors, monitors, and/or excavators. The role may also assist with office-based tasks, including the preparation of site forms and technical reports in support of renewable energy, oil and gas, energy transmission, transportation, and land development projects. Some projects include overtime hours or prevailing wage rates and often require travel and overnight stays. Project-related travel and lodging costs are covered, and per diem is provided for project work requiring overnight stays.

This role supports projects throughout Southern California, with anticipated fieldwork across the region.

This is a temporary, full-time, hourly/non-exempt position with benefits. The position will be primarily field-based and offers an excellent opportunity to continue developing field leadership and technical skills within SWCA’s expanding practice.

Field Supervisory Responsibilities:

Depending upon project assignments, this role may serve as the lead for field survey crews, independently directing daily work activities, promoting safe and productive work practices, communicating project and personnel issues to management, and providing performance-related feedback in support of successful project delivery.

Application Deadline:

Our team will begin reviewing applications immediately, and interviews will be scheduled with qualified candidates on a rolling basis. The application process will remain open until we have received a robust pool of qualified candidates. Once we have identified suitable individuals, we may close the application process without prior notice. We appreciate the time and effort invested by all applicants and will carefully consider each submission.

What you will accomplish

• Performs assigned tasks with appropriate supervision, demonstrating the ability to prioritize project work based on client requests and project requirements.
• Contributes productively to team efforts, seeking input from colleagues and project managers to ensure task accuracy and adherence to professional standards.
• Oversees the work of teams for data collection, processing, analysis, and quality control tasks.
• Develops components of project deliverables, contributing to technical reports and planning documents in collaboration with interdisciplinary team members.
• Communicates task progress and issues effectively, ensuring transparency and facilitating timely resolution of any challenges.
• Participates actively in team projects, fostering a collaborative work environment and sharing information to enhance project outcomes.
• Completes assigned data collection tasks in the field or through research, as well as data processing and analysis tasks.
• Ensures adherence to policies and professional standards, maintaining the integrity and quality of work.
• Follows applicable federal, Tribal, state, local, industry, contractual, and company regulations, standards, and specifications.
• Performs related work as assigned.

Additional Job‑Specific Responsibilities

• Coordinate day-to-day field activities and provide field leadership to archaeological survey, monitoring, and excavation crews.
• Support coordination with clients, agency representatives, project managers, and interdisciplinary teams to meet project requirements.
• Contribute to the preparation of technical reports, work plans, proposals, literature reviews, and curation materials.
• Apply SWCA’s Quality Assurance/Quality Control procedures to assigned fieldwork and project deliverables.
• Promote team safety, contribute to project safety planning when applicable, and identify and communicate potential field hazard.

Experience and qualifications for success

• Bachelor’s Degree in Anthropology, Archaeology or a closely related field.
• One (1) year of experience in cultural resources field activities, including experience leading archaeology crews on a variety of project types and sizes, regions, and agencies.
• Some experience in managing projects, including working on a variety of project types and sizes, on all project aspects (from pre-field tasks through final report preparation), in multiple regions, and with a variety of regulatory agencies.
• Experience in cultural resources management (CRM) with a variety of project types, sizes, regions, and agencies, with demonstrated increasing levels of responsibility.
• Experience with the archaeology of Southern California.
• Expertise in federal, state, and local laws and regulations related to the management of cultural resources (National Environmental Policy Act, Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, and Section 106 and Section 110 of the National Historic Preservation Act).
• Experience providing QA/QC review of field documents, site forms, and reports
• Current valid driver’s license and the ability to safely operate a 4wd vehicle on rugged, backcountry roads required
• Ability to travel to a location, walk and conduct fieldwork for long hours, sometimes in inclement weather, rugged terrain, and often at high altitudes, and the ability to carry equipment and supplies weighing up to 40 pounds is required.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in Anthropology, Archaeology, or a related field.
• Two (2) years of experience in cultural resources field activities.
• One (1) or more years of experience managing projects.
• Meets the Secretary of the Interior’s Professional Qualifications Standards in archaeology, including at least one year of supervisory experience in prehistory and/or history.
• Eligible to be listed as a qualified Field Director under SWCA's California Bureau of Land Management (BLM) statewide permit
• Demonstrated technical writing skills with a record of completing technical reports in a timely fashion.
• Demonstrated experience working with interdisciplinary team of subject matter experts and planners.
• Experience and interest in business development, proposal writing, and client management.
• Experience supervising junior staff.
• Experience collecting field data utilizing modern mobile technology (tablets, Bluetooth GPS receivers, mobile software).