Consultant, Environmental Biologist/Ecologist/Scientist

Shape the future of sustainable development while advancing your expertise in environmental science and ecology.

Join ERM as a Consultant, Environmental Biologist/Ecologist/Scientist and play a key role in delivering impactful projects that support renewable energy, power, technology, and oil and gas development. In this position, you will contribute directly to environmental permitting, impact assessments, compliance initiatives, and critical infrastructure projects across the mid-Atlantic and southeastern United States. This field-focused opportunity offers the chance to work alongside industry-leading experts, expand your technical capabilities in wetlands and species management, and build a rewarding career with a global sustainability consulting leader.

Why This Role Matters?

Environmental challenges are becoming increasingly complex, and organizations need trusted experts to help them develop responsibly while meeting regulatory requirements and sustainability goals. As a Consultant within ERM's Capital Project Delivery (CPD) team, you will help clients navigate environmental permitting, ecological assessments, compliance obligations, and development risks. Your work will support critical projects that balance environmental stewardship with business and infrastructure growth.

This role offers a unique opportunity to build hands-on expertise in wetland delineations, protected species assessments, environmental permitting, and compliance management while collaborating with a multidisciplinary team of scientists, planners, engineers, and project managers.

What Your Impact Is:

You will serve as a trusted environmental professional supporting project delivery across a diverse portfolio of development projects. Your contributions will help clients make informed decisions, achieve regulatory compliance, and advance projects responsibly from planning through execution.

You will:

- Support environmental assessments, permitting efforts, and ecological field investigations that inform critical business and development decisions.
- Conduct wetland delineations and environmental surveys that directly influence project planning and regulatory approvals.
- Contribute technical expertise related to rare, threatened, and endangered species assessments and habitat evaluations.
- Help clients identify environmental risks, develop mitigation strategies, and maintain compliance with applicable federal, state, and local regulations.
- Work closely with ERM project teams to deliver high-quality technical analyses, reports, and client solutions.
- Build long-term expertise in environmental consulting while gaining exposure to a wide range of industries, geographies, and project types.

What You'll Bring:

Required

- BS in environmental science, biology, natural resources, or related discipline, or equivalent experience.
- 3 to 5 years of relevant environmental experience or professional internships.
- Familiarity with field survey techniques and WOTUS delineations, including working knowledge of sub-meter accuracy GPS technologies and digital data collection platforms such as ArcGIS Field Maps, Survey123, and/or Bio App.
- Strong commitment to safety.
- Willingness and desire to support field assignments between 50% and 80% of the time during the field season (April to October).
- Working knowledge of field techniques for plant identification and their facultative rating, the 50/20 rule, soil sampling, hydric soil identification using the most current version of the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) Field Indicators of Hydric Soils, and wetland hydrology indicators.
- Detail-oriented with excellent critical thinking and troubleshooting/problem-solving skills.
- Effective written, verbal, organizational, and analytical skills.
- Experience recording and writing detailed technical data and reports and building tables and spreadsheets, including tabulation and manipulation of data.
- Ability to engage in multifaceted and dynamic situations and collaborate with a team of experts throughout the project lifecycle.
- Ability to multi-task, maintain flexibility, and work independently with minimal supervision.
- Demonstrated attributes to become a strong consultant, including being a team player, eagerness to learn and grow, self-starter who takes initiative, versatile, and service-oriented.
- Highly organized with exceptional attention to detail while maintaining a broader project perspective.
- High-level proficiency in Microsoft Office programs.
- Driver's License Required: This position requires a valid driver's license and/or the ability to operate a company vehicle due to the nature of job duties, which include frequent travel to various client locations across a large geographical area.
- Ability to pass a pre-hire background check and drug test.
- Ability to tolerate summer and winter weather conditions while working in the field.
- Ability to walk long distances in potentially rough terrain.
- Ability to lift and carry up to 40 lbs.

Preferred

- Experience leading field-based Waters of the United States (WOTUS), including wetlands delineations using the 1987 Corps Wetland Delineation Manual and applicable regional supplements.
- Experience performing protected species assessments and habitat evaluations.
- Experience researching rare, threatened, and endangered (RTE) species using federal and state databases.
- Experience managing environmental field data and preparing technical reports to support land development projects.
- Exposure to environmental permitting, NEPA documentation, environmental due diligence, and compliance management programs.
- Experience supporting renewable energy, power, technology, oil and gas, or other capital infrastructure projects.

Key Responsibilities:

- Perform wetland delineations using the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Wetlands Delineation Manuals (1987 and 1989) and Regional Supplements.
- With appropriate guidance and supervision, provide creative and fit-for-purpose technical analyses in your field of specialization and support analyses outside your primary discipline by collaborating with subject matter experts and multidisciplinary teams.
- Provide technical assistance on a wide range of capital infrastructure and other projects, including preparation of environmental assessments and environmental impact statements under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), environmental due diligence services, RTE habitat assessments, WOTUS delineations and reports, Phase I Environmental Site Assessments, and related environmental documentation.
- Perform project delivery activities, including conducting field surveys, collecting and organizing field data, performing research and literature reviews, writing technical reports, and developing recommendations and strategies for clients.
- Conduct tasks related to environmental assessments, including land use planning and facility siting, pipeline and transmission routing studies, renewable energy desktop and field-based environmental assessments and reporting, and development of permit matrices and risk assessments.
- Assist in the preparation of project-specific compliance management plans in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local requirements.
- Perform multi-media permitting and compliance documentation with an emphasis on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, and various state and local agencies.
- Work within quality, budget, schedule, and scope expectations while developing a foundational understanding of project management responsibilities.
- Support ERM Partners-in-Charge and Project Managers in delivering exceptional client value.
- Serve as an integral member of the Capital Project Delivery team and contribute to the overall success of the practice.

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This position is primarily field-based and offers extensive opportunities to develop expertise in wetlands, protected species management, environmental permitting, and erosion and sedimentation control compliance throughout the mid-Atlantic and southeastern United States.

Who We Are:

As the largest global pure play sustainability consultancy, we partner with the world’s leading organizations, creating innovative solutions to sustainability challenges and unlocking commercial opportunities that meet the needs of today while preserving opportunity for future generations.

At ERM we know that creating a diverse, equitable and inclusive work environment is an essential part of making our company a great place to build a career. We also see our diversity as a strength that helps us create better solutions for our clients. Our diverse team of world-class experts supports clients across the breadth of their organizations to operationalize sustainability, underpinned by our deep technical expertise in addressing their environmental, health, safety, risk and social issues. We call this capability our “boots to boardroom” approach for its comprehensive service model that allows ERM to develop strategic and technical solutions that advance objectives on the ground or at the executive level.

Please submit your resume and brief cover letter. Based on review of these responses, shortlisted candidates will be invited for interviews.

ERM does not accept recruiting agency resumes. Please do not forward resumes to our jobs alias, ERM employees or any other company location. ERM is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes.

ERM is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.

Thank you for your interest in ERM!

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