Senior Utility Biologist - Remote

Senior Utility Biologist - Remote

We are the Environment & Planning Division of ICF. We are passionate about doing what’s right for our clients, our people, the communities where we live and work, and the environment. We are scientists, planners, program managers, communicators, economists, technologists, and strategists. We are collaborative, curious, and committed to excellence—these are qualities we value that make us who we are and inspire us to grow. If you perform well in a fast-paced, engaging, and collaborative environment, and would like to work with a varied team of industry professionals, we encourage you to learn more about ICF (www.icf.com) and consider applying to join our team.

ICF is looking for a Senior Biologist with deep skills and a strong desire to support our energy/utility lines of work. This position provides an excellent growth opportunity to continue growing in a subject matter expert role with leadership opportunities focused on environmental compliance and permitting efforts for energy/utility projects. The ideal candidate will have utility (energy, broadband fiber, water infrastructure) project and client management experience with technical expertise in biological strategies related to projects located on private, state, and federal lands.

Although the range below is wider to accommodate growth within the job, this position will have a starting pay range of $90,000 to $100,000 based on % match of qualifications/experience/responsibilities, location, and other. 

Key Responsibilities:

• Support the development of permit applications and environmental compliance documentation for agencies such as USFS, BLM, Caltrans, and state wildlife agencies on behalf of Utility and Transportation clients.
• An emphasis will be on leading and performing desktop constraints analysis for agencies, public lands, private lands, and municipalities. Role will involve writing, QA/QC oversight, ensuring consistency and adherence to written protocols and guidance. The ideal candidate will be technologically savvy and able to move between platforms, relational databases, GIS applications, Salesforce, and messaging/communications platforms.
• Candidate will staff and schedule fieldwork, track project compliance needs, liaison between client, contractor, and environmental team for project build-out.
• Strong interpersonal skills and an ability to work within and between teams are a must.  Teaching and mentorship of junior staff is expected.
• This is full-time, remote or office work with occasional fieldwork potential.
• Provides numerous growth opportunities into task/project/program management and client services, with pathways to a career in planning or regulatory permitting and/or personnel management.

What You Will Need

• Bachelor’s or master’s degree in Biological Sciences, Environmental Sciences, or other related field of study.
• 5+ years of demonstrable experience with utility and/or energy clients. 
• Must have valid driver’s license and successfully pass a Motor Vehicle Records (MVR) check.

What We’d Like You to Have

• The ideal candidate will be a biologist with a past experience with Southern California Edison, Pacific Gas and Electric, renewable energy, data centers, public works, and/or other related linear projects.

• Deep knowledge of biological permitting, construction implementation, species reviews and habitat assessments, field surveys for special-status species, and knowledge of natural communities and habitats.
• Experience writing biological constraints reports and knowledge of utility biological planning documents.
• Strong organizational skills and ability to interpret and synthesize regulatory guidance, field data, GIS mapping, and database queries (i.e. IPAC, NRS, CNDDB) into written deliverables

• in a high volume/fast turnaround environment. Must be detail-oriented and able to produce consistent high-quality work on short deadline.

• Past experience staffing and scheduling fieldwork, tracking project compliance needs, liaison between client, contractor, and environmental team for project build-out.

• Experience with workload allocation and partitioning, delegation of duties among capable team members.
• Experience conducting field surveys, conducting habitat assessments, and writing general reports for California plants and special-status wildlife species including mammals, herpetofauna, vernal pool branchiopods, nesting birds and raptors surveys.
• Favorable relationships with industry professionals.
• Demonstrable experience leading small teams.
• Experience with data entry and formatting, data querie