Project Biologist

About Us

Sequoia Ecological Consulting, Inc. (Sequoia) is a small, woman-owned environmental consulting firm that specializes in environmental planning, wildlife and fish biology, botanical, and arboricultural services from the planning stages through permitting and compliance during project implementation. We serve federal, state, and local public agencies, as well as private clients throughout California. Sequoia’s team develops creative solutions to complex projects through proactive planning, collaboration, and attention to detail.

You’re Excited about this Opportunity Because…

You share our values. You will thrive supporting environmental permitting and compliance projects based in our Walnut Creek office. You will leverage your understanding of biology, state and federal regulations, and project management to lead moderately complex projects or programs located throughout California for a variety of clients. We are looking for a dynamic individual who enjoys working independently and with teams.

You are experienced in project management and coordination, deliverable oversight and QAQC, business development, field survey coordination, impacts analysis, permit assessments, and report preparation for biological work. This individual will be a member of the Sequoia supervisory team and will supervise 2-4 team members. Travel may be necessary, with mostly day trips within the Sacramento and/or San Francisco Bay areas.

Occasional overnight travel will also be expected.

• Act as field lead on projects, including supporting Staff Biologists and Field Techs
• Interpret compliance packages, permits and project scopes to ensure compliance in the field
• Prepare Biological resources technical reports and/or habitat restoration plans for moderately complex projects.
• Participate in field mapping of existing biological resources for large and/or complex projects
• Write sound Biological Constraints Analyses. Consistently show thoughtful reasoning on impacts, impact avoidance measures, and recommendations. Assess potential constraints to development and construction based on documented conditions and applicable laws/regulations protecting biological resources (such as Endangered Species Act and Clean Water Act) and assess potential effects on biological resources of proposed developments or actions.
• Prepare documents that are consistently free of glaring or repeated technical and grammatical errors.
• Interact/Coordinate with clients on a weekly basis
• Support permit applications through completion of the application, project descriptions and species accounts.
• Perform protocol-level and/or focused surveys for sensitive (e.g., federally listed Threatened or Endangered) plant or animal species.
• Develop cost estimates and scopes of work for complex construction compliance projects, under the direct supervision of a Principal
• Assist with marketing proposals
• Attend site walk-downs and pre-bid meetings
• Create and perform biological trainings for construction and/or operation crews.
• May act as a Project Coordinator to coordinate complex projects, resources and schedule
• Function as an Associate Biologist (Bio II) as needed
• Consistently comply with all company administrative and technical policies and procedures, including time and expense reporting, standard operating procedures and other company directives.

Have these minimum qualifications and knowledge:

• Bachelor’s degree in marketing, English, business administration, engineering, or a related field
• Demonstrated success working as an Associate Biologist (Bio II)
• Lead projects independently with minimal supervision
• Bachelor’s Degree in Biology or related field
• The equivalent of a minimum of 3 to 6 years of full-time wildlife fieldwork and technical report writing experience and at least 3 of those in California. Master’s Degree may substitute up to 2 years of experience, depending on degree and thesis work. Specialized federal 10(a)1(A) recovery permits and/or state MOUs relevant to Sequoia work may provide an additional year to count towards experience.
• Working understanding of California flora/fauna and regulatory…