Senior Air Quality Analyst

Acorn Environmental (Acorn) is seeking an experienced air quality and air permitting professional with strong analytical and writing skills to support air permitting, dispersion modeling, air quality impact analyses, and health risk assessments. This position offers the opportunity to work on a variety of projects, with a particular focus on assisting Native American Tribes with environmental compliance for energy, infrastructure, and economic development projects.

Position title and responsibilities will be tailored to the selected candidate’s experience and qualifications.

Acorn Environmental is a dynamic women-owned environmental planning and analysis firm specializing in services for tribal governments, public agencies, and private sector clients. We are experts in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), tribal environmental policies and ordinances, natural resources, and related environmental laws and regulations. We have a reputation for delivering high quality environmental services and endeavor to grow our team of experienced professionals by investing in the development of our people.

As a small business, our associates benefit from regular interaction and one-on-one guidance from highly experienced and successful environmental compliance experts. Our offices are located in El Dorado Hills and Carlsbad, California, but the majority of our staff enjoy working remotely. For additional information, please visit our website at:

As a small business, our staff are constantly collaborating in real-time to meet project deadlines as a team. This is a remote position; however, occasional travel for meetings, project coordination, or site visits is required. Typical tasks may include but are not limited to:

• Working closely with Acorn’s senior air quality technical director, as well as technical specialists, clients, and regulatory agencies to evaluate air quality impacts and support permitting and compliance.
• Preparing air permit applications and supporting analyses under EPA’s New Source Review (NSR) and Title V operating permit programs, including projects in Indian country.
• Developing emission inventories and potential-to-emit calculations for stationary sources and construction and operational activities.
• Evaluating permit applicability, emission limits, control technologies, and monitoring, recordkeeping, and reporting requirements.
• Conducting air dispersion modeling using AERMOD and associated preprocessing tools.
• Preparing air quality impact analyses and health risk assessments, including evaluating exposure to toxic air contaminants.
• Preparing technical reports and air quality and greenhouse gas sections of NEPA and CEQA documents.
• Reviewing equipment specifications, emissions data, modeling inputs, and results for accuracy and consistency.
• Coordinating with clients, engineers, equipment vendors, EPA, and state and local air agencies.
• Managing technical assignments within project schedules and budgets.

• Bachelor’s degree in environmental science, atmospheric science, environmental or chemical engineering, or a related field.
• At least three years of relevant experience in air quality analysis, air permitting, or environmental consulting.
• Experience preparing or supporting stationary source permit applications.
• Experience conducting air dispersion modeling, air quality impact analyses, and/or health risk assessments.
• Strong quantitative and analytical skills, including the ability to develop emissions calculations, evaluate complex datasets, and interpret modeling results.
• Excellent technical writing skills and the ability to explain technical findings clearly and accurately. A…