Biologist

Overview

Harris’ growing Environmental, Engineering and Consulting Division does industry-leading work in environmental planning and compliance, community planning and housing solutions, engineering design, municipal and district finance, and one water solutions. Harris continues to expand the scope of these services while also building new capabilities in planning, climate change/adaptation, hazard mitigation, resilience, and management consulting. We are hiring an experienced Mid-level Biologist to join our Environmental Planning and Compliance Group out of our Salinas office.

The candidate must have a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and a minimum of six years of work in the field of biological consulting/biological field science. A Master’s degree can substitute one year of work. The successful candidate will have a strong work ethic, positive attitude, and proven record of working collaboratively in a team environment. A test of practical skills may be given to final candidates.

The biologist will be responsible for the following.

• Independently conducting or leading general biological reconnaissance surveys, habitat assessments, general and focused (including protocol) species surveys, jurisdictional aquatic resources delineations and pre-construction clearance surveys.
• Conducting or leading biological surveys and/or monitoring efforts for various field or construction projects.
• Authoring and/or assisting in preparing large, complex natural resources documents such as Biological Resources Technical Reports and other biological or aquatic resources documents and reports.
• Collecting field data appropriately, efficiently, and ethically, and assisting in managing field data.
• Following established data collection methodologies and systems and ensuring processes for data QA/QC and ethics of collection are adhered to.
• Managing portions of projects (tasks) or whole projects that include all aspects of biological analyses and being creative in thinking to strategize best approaches for clients.
• Performing work on projects with large-scale field efforts and intensive schedules including compliance projects requiring adherence to permit conditions.
• Providing species expertise and can guide, train, and mentor junior staff.
• Providing high-quality work on time and within budget.

The successful candidate will have a strong work ethic, positive attitude, and proven record of working collaboratively in a team environment.

• Bachelor’s degree in Biology (a Master’s degree can substitute for one year of experience)
• 6+ years of experience as a professional consulting biologist in Northern California with at least 3 years of experience in Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties
• Experience conducting focused nesting bird surveys and the ability to identify northern CA and central coast bird species and breeding/nesting bird behaviors; ability to advise on protection buffers during compliance monitoring
• Experience identifying northern CA and central coast wildlife and plant species
• Experience with federal or state listed or sensitive species including focused and protocol surveys and recommendations to avoid impacts
• USFWS 10a1A permit with Monterey and/or Santa Cruz County species or evidence of previous listing as Independent Investigator on another permit

• Experience with construction monitoring, environmental compliance, and providing education programs to construction personnel; ability to work with construction personnel, environmental compliance manager, and project managers to develop solutions while implementing permit conditions

• Understanding of CEQA, NEPA, resource agency permits, and local MSHCP concepts and requirements
• Ability to manage personal workload weekly and communicate with supervisors and project managers
• Ability to hike long distances over varying terrain and weather conditions
• Outstanding oral and written communication skills
• Data management experience, including electronic data collection in the field and managing large data sets
• Ability to work in a high-paced environment with changing client priorities

• Experience with restoration biology or ecology
• Experien…