Environmental Scientist 1

~ At Woodard & Curran, there’s nothing we love more than a tough engineering challenge. ~

We handle a wide range of water and environmental issues—solving complex problems with creativity and tenacity. That’s how we make a difference to our clients, people, and planet. Our company was founded on a simple concept: provide a safe and enjoyable place to work with opportunity, integrity, and commitment, and we will attract talented people. Those people are at the heart of our firm, solving some of the most pressing water and environmental challenges for our clients.

Position Overview

Woodard & Curran is recruiting an entry-level scientist to work in our Atlanta, Georgia office who can support environmental assessment and remediation projects as part of a multi-disciplinary team. Successful candidates will be interested in wetland ecology and restoration, wildlife biology, soil science, hydrology, environmental policy, geography, botany, earth sciences, natural resources stewardship, and water resource management.

This position would report to and interact with senior scientists and project managers, and would be involved with linear utility, oil and gas, and other environmental engineering projects. The right candidate will be professional, courteous, self-motivated, and diligent.

Responsibilities

• Typical field work activities would include wetland and waterbody delineations, stream assessments, threatened and endangered species habitat surveys, GPS data collection, environmental sampling (i.e. soil, surface water, ground water, sediment, vegetation, etc.), and erosion control inspections.
• Typical office duties would include technical report preparation, preparation of environmental permit applications, desktop GIS analysis of project sites, GIS mapping of field-collected scientific data, development of presentations for technical workshops and conferences, communication with local/state/federal regulatory agencies, and some client communications.

Typical technical tasks are shown below:

• Wetland delineations using the appropriate regional supplements to the USACE Wetland Delineation Manual.
• Identification of ephemeral, intermittent, and perennial streams using the North Carolina DWQ stream ID methodology.
• Preparation of USACE Section 404 permit applications and Georgia EPD state waters buffer variances.
• Biological assessments such as aquatic and terrestrial habitat surveys, avian surveys, benthic macroinvertebrate surveys, and fisheries surveys.
• Erosion and sediment control permitting and best management practices (BMPs) recommendations.
• Environmental sampling while following appropriate sample integrity and chain-of-custody procedures.
• Phase I Environmental Site Assessment reports.

Qualifications

• BS degree in natural resources, ecology, forest resources, environmental science, wildlife management, biology, or related discipline.
• 0-2 years of wetland delineation and stream assessment experience.
• Knowledge of southeastern U.S. flora and fauna, especially wetland flora.
• Proficiency with GPS technology (Trimble, Garmin, Terrasync/Pathfinder Office, ArcMap, etc.).
• GIS experience.
• Formal wetland delineation training is preferred, but not required.
• OSHA 40-hour HAZWOPER certification is preferred, but not required.
• Ability to work long, physically demanding hours in a variety of weather conditions in remote locations.
• Ability to traverse uneven terrain and carry equipment (up to 40 lbs.).
• Advanced written and verbal communication skills.
• Willingness to travel as project requires.