Environmental Permitting Specialist​/Wetland Scientist​/Biologist

Company Description

KPFF, a multi-office, multi-discipline engineering firm, champions Excellence, Trust, Relationships, Stability, and Passion. With over 60 years of experience, we foster a dynamic environment for creative solutions across diverse projects and scales. KPFF’s decentralized structure allows each office the flexibility to pursue projects aligned with their regional strengths and offers 1,300 team members in 27 nationwide offices abundant flexibility and growth opportunities.

Rooted in Seattle since 1960, KPFF excels as a collaborative team of consulting professionals driving innovative solutions and sustainable design. Join us to shape the built environment and drive impactful engineering solutions with your creativity and passion. Learn more at

In our Portland Civil + Survey office, we work on a wide variety of project types, serving public and private clients in land development, transportation, and municipal projects. This includes architectural-led building projects for higher ed campuses, sports facilities, schools, medical campuses, and mixed-use housing. In addition, we work on parks, trails, master planning, and include stormwater management and a sustainability focus on everything we do.

We believe in encouraging personal and professional growth, and we work hard at providing a solid structure with minimal organizational restrictions. We have a great group of collaborative and dedicated engineers in a family-friendly, business casual environment located in downtown Portland. KPFF is more than just the work we do, we are the relationships we build, both with our clients and with our co-workers.

KPFF Portland provides a hybrid, flexible work environment (3 days in-office/2 remote).

Job Description

We are seeking a full-time Environmental Permitting Specialist/Wetland Scientist/Biologist to join our Environmental Group in KPFF’s Portland Civil + Survey office. This position will work alongside our Senior Environmental Lead and will be an integral part of our environmental team as we continue to grow our environmental services capabilities and capacity. Our Environmental Group currently works on a wide variety of projects including but not limited to transportation, fish passage, port, boat ramp/kayak launch, parks, water intake, and school/campus projects.

A successful candidate will be interested in working in KPFF’s unique entrepreneurial environment – where you will experience growth based on your own competency, passion, and commitment and will be encouraged to work on what inspires you. Our flat organizational structure and minimal restrictions allow employees to work directly and independently with clients, while drawing upon the experience and resources of other professionals on the project team.

We are passionate about developing great engineers, surveyors, and environmental professionals. We offer generous benefits, competitive salaries and pay you for every hour you work.

• B.A./B.S (and/or advanced) degree in an applicable field (e.g., biology, botany, ecology, environmental science, water resources, or a related field)
• Minimum of 5 years of relevant experience, including the majority of the following:
• Knowledge of, and experience with, federal, state, and local environmental permitting regulations, including Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act, Clean Water Act (CWA) Sections 401 and 404, Endangered Species Act (ESA), Oregon Removal-Fill law, Washington hydraulic code, and local environmental ordinances in Oregon and Washington
• Wetland and Ordinary High Water delineation fieldwork and reporting, including ORWAP, SFAM, and Washington State Wetland Rating System;
  Professional Wetland Scientist (PWS) preferred
• Experience preparing Joint Permit Applications (JPAs) and Joint Aquatic Resource Permit Applications (JARPAs), Mitigation Bank Use…