Coastal Planner​/Coastal Resilience Planner

Coastal Planner / Coastal Resilience Planner About Us

We are a California-based environmental consulting firm with 500+ professionals and over 30 years of experience serving clients across the transportation, energy, water, infrastructure, private development, and government sectors. We are proud to be a Certified Great Place to Work, as reflected in the experiences our employees share on Glassdoor and the trust, connection, and sense of purpose felt across our company.

Our mission is to deliver practical, science-based environmental and planning solutions that support communities, infrastructure, and natural systems. At Rincon, people come first. We value collaboration, fairness, and transparency, and we are committed to creating an environment where everyone can grow, contribute meaningfully, and do their best work.

We are seeking a Coastal Planner / Coastal Resilience Planner to support Rincon’s Sustainability & Climate Resilience (SCR+) Practice with local coastal program (LCP) updates and amendments, coastal development permitting strategy, sea‑level rise (SLR) vulnerability assessments, SLR adaptation planning, shoreline management, and nature‑based solutions. You will help cities, counties, special districts, ports, and tribes plan for and adapt to coastal hazards (SLR, storms, erosion, flooding) while protecting public access, habitats, cultural resources, and working waterfronts—and then work with those clients to fund, permit, and implement priority projects.

This position requires strong technical analysis and data management skills; excellent communication and writing; applied knowledge of coastal policy and California’s Coastal Act/LCP framework; and an entrepreneurial mindset. If you’re excited to develop innovative, equitable, and implementable coastal resilience strategies with communities across California, we’d love to meet you.

This role may offer a hybrid work setup, blending time in the office with remote work as business needs evolve. We enjoy coming together in person to collaborate, connect with teammates, and partner with clients. We may prioritize candidates who live within 50 miles of a Rincon office. Eligible office locations for this role include Carlsbad, Fresno, Los Angeles, Monterey, Oakland, Palm Springs, Riverside, Sacramento, San Luis Obispo, San Diego, San Jose, Santa Barbara, and Ventura.

• Coastal Planning & Policy
  • Support LCP updates to integrate best‑available science on SLR, coastal erosion, storm flooding, sediment dynamics, and groundwater interactions.
  • Draft or review Land Use Plan policies and Implementation Plan regulations that address coastal hazards while protecting public access, scenic resources, Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Areas (ESHA), wetlands, cultural resources, and water‑dependent and water‑related uses.
  • Develop adaptation pathways and nature‑based strategies (e.g., living shorelines, dune enhancement, green‑grey hybrid approaches).
• Regulatory Strategy & Permitting
  • Prepare technical analyses and application materials to support coastal development permits (CDPs) and other permits/approvals, coordinating with clients and agency staff (e.g., California Coastal Commission (CCC), local governments, State Lands Commission, Regional Water Quality Control Boards (RWQCBs)).
  • Interpret and apply California Coastal Act and LCP policies, and align with related frameworks (e.g., CEQA, Clean Water Act Sections 401/404, Endangered Species Act (ESA)/California Endangered Species Act (CESA) coordination as applicable).
  • Track permit conditions and monitor compliance for approved projects.
• Technical Analysis & Resilience Planning
  • Conduct SLR vulnerability assessments and adaptation plans, shoreline change analyses, coastal hazards screening, asset criticality and risk assessments, and prioritization of resilience projects.
  • Utilize or interpret coastal modeling outputs (e.g., flood/erosion scenarios) and translate technical findings into clear policy and design guidance.
  • Develop implementation plans (phasing, triggers, cost ranges, co‑benefits, operations/maintenance) and capital project pipelines.
• Funding &…