Senior Air Quality Specialist, Technical Leader

You’re a technically strong, solutions-oriented air quality expert with a passion for advancing environmental outcomes in California. You’re confident working independently, especially when it comes to complex emissions modeling and health risk assessments using tools like CalEEMod, AERMOD, and HARP—but you’re also energized by collaboration and mentoring others. You possess a deep understanding of CEQA/NEPA air quality assessments and excel when helping clients navigate regulatory frameworks or crafting effective project strategies.

You bring rigor to your work, care about getting the details right, and enjoy sharing your expertise to help elevate your team. If you're ready to bring leadership, vision, and technical excellence to impactful projects, we’d love to meet you.

Ascent is seeking a full-time Senior Air Quality Specialist, Technical Leader to join our AGENTs (Air Quality/Greenhouse Gas/Energy/Noise/Transportation) team in any of our offices:
Berkeley, Irvine/Orange County, Lake Tahoe, Sacramento, or San Diego. In a typical week in this role, you might:

• Independently conduct emissions modeling, including Health Risk Assessments using CalEEMod, Excel, AERMOD, EMFAC, HARP, and OFFROAD.
• Conduct, review, and provide QA/QC feedback on emissions modeling from software, including but not limited to Calero, Excel, AERMOD, EMFAC, HARP, and OFFROAD.
• Lead and direct marketing and business development pursuits, including developing capture strategies.
• Lead the preparation of proposals for midsized projects and assist with proposals for larger projects, providing technical input, contributing to proposal writing through scope and cost development, identifying opportunities, and engaging with proposal/interview teams.
• Collaborate with the AGENTs team to provide mentorship, build technical capabilities and services, ensure high-quality deliverables, and develop internal training materials and modeling protocols.
• Work collaboratively with Ascent’s Environmental Practice Group to ensure timely delivery of technical work meeting Ascent’s quality standards.

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

• Civil or environmental engineering, math, environmental science, atmospheric science, meteorology, geography, natural resources management, planning, or a related field.
• A minimum of 8 years of direct professional experience conducting CEQA/NEPA air quality and GHG assessments.
• Strong analytical, computer, spreadsheet, and writing skills are a must, and proficiency in emissions modeling software for development projects in California.
• Successful candidates will have demonstrated experience running air quality emission models (EMFAC, CalEEMod, OFFROAD, MOVES) and dispersion models (CALINE-4, AERMOD, HARP) to evaluate project-related construction and operational emission and health impacts.
• Candidate will have experience conducting emissions modeling QA/QC reviews, paying close attention to modeling methodologies and model accuracy.
• Familiarity with state and federal air quality and climate change environmental policy and regulation, including CEQA, NEPA, and Clean Air Act, preferred.
• Thorough understanding of the principles and practices, including meteorology, chemistry, and factors affecting air pollution distribution and effects.
• Understanding of US EPA, California Air Resources Board, and local Air Quality Management District or Air Pollution Control District air quality regulatory programs and their relationship to the Federal and State Clean Air Acts.

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