Coastal Resilience Specialist

Mid-Level Coastal Resilience Specialist

Straughan Environmental, Inc. is a successful, rapidly growing, woman owned business that provides high quality and cost-effective consulting services to a wide variety of clients in the governmental and private sectors. Straughan is committed to advancing sustainable and resilient communities. We are experts in environmental planning, design, assessments, and policy. Our staff consists of wildlife and wetlands scientists; geomorphologists and hydrologists, civil and environmental engineers;

inspectors; biologists and botanists; planners; cultural resource specialists; and GIS and CAD professionals. This combination of technical expertise and an understanding of policy make Straughan a highly competitive firm and a great place to advance your career.

Straughan is seeking a highly motivated and versatile Mid-Level Coastal Resilience Specialist with experience in nature-based solutions (NbS), resilience, and ecological-based design to join our water resources and coastal resilience team. This individual will support the planning, design, and implementation of sustainable and resilient projects that integrate ecological processes into engineering solutions. Work will include planning and design of coastal wetland restoration, living shorelines, built and natural infrastructure resilience, and coastal and compound flooding solutions.

The ideal candidate will have a strong understanding of coastal and watershed systems, climate resilience challenges (e.g., flooding, sea-level rise), and a passion for delivering innovative, sustainable solutions. This role includes collaboration with multidisciplinary teams to perform field assessments, modeling, design, and permitting for a variety of projects. Familiarity with grant-funded projects and grant pursuit is a plus.

Straughan operates under a flexible, hybrid workplace strategy. Employees work primarily from home, with schedules approved by their supervisor. While all candidates will be considered, we have a preference for candidates residing in Delaware, Maryland, or Virginia. Office reporting locations are our Headquarters (Maryland) and/or our Newark, DE office. Occasional travel for field work and client meetings is expected.

Straughan supports our staff with a comprehensive benefits package, including Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance; a 401(k) Retirement Plan with employer match; tuition assistance; PTO; 8 paid holidays;
Parental Leave; HSA/FSA; a flexible work schedule; and employer-paid short- and long-term disability.

The compensation range for this position is $90,000–$150,000. This range reflects the full span of qualifying experience and certifications for the role; final offers are commensurate with the selected candidate's experience level.

• Lead tasks or components of projects focused on nature-based and hybrid infrastructure solutions
• Support project managers with planning, budgeting, and execution of coastal and water resources projects
• Perform or support hydrologic and hydraulic modeling (e.g., HEC-RAS, SWMM, coastal/storm surge models)
• Design and support development of living shorelines
• Design and support development of coastal and upland wetland and floodplain restoration projects
• Design and support development of green stormwater infrastructure (bioswales, buffers, BMPs)
• Conduct alternatives analyses comparing gray and nature-based solutions
• Integrate climate resilience considerations (sea level rise, extreme precipitation, flood risk)
• Perform field assessments, site investigations, and data collection
• Prepare plans, specifications, reports, and visualizations
• Coordinate with ecologists, planners, GIS specialists, and stakeholders
• Support environmental permitting at local, state, and federal levels
• Participate in stakeholder and client meetings, presenting technical findings
• Mentor junior staff and support their development
• Support proposal development, cost estimating, and business development efforts
• Assist with construction phase services, including submittal review and site visits

Qualifications

Education:

Bachelor's degree in Biological/Ecological Science or Civil,…