Sound Watershed is seeking talented professionals who are interested in careers in planning, design and management of water-related natural environments to achieve the protection, enhancement, and restoration of stream and watershed ecosystems. We offer significant opportunities for professional and technical advancement in a cooperative and supportive work environment.

We are not your typical consulting company.  We seek professionals seeking a lifestyle that includes committed and dedicated technical work, personal & professional development, fun in the field, and contributions to growing the business at all staffing levels.

We are seeking career natural scientists, engineers, managers, planners and technicians with strong multi-disciplinary knowledge and/or interest in a variety of natural and physical sciences, including (but not limited to):

• Hydrology & Geomorphology
• Ecology
• Biology & Botany
• Forestry
• Environmental Planning & Documentation
• Restoration Design
• Watershed Science
• Erosion Control
• Civil Engineering
• and/or other similar skills

Projects typically involve creek and watershed restoration, sustainable watershed management, forestry, land-use management, environmental policy, and support for environmental permitting and documentation.

Sound Watershed works in a variety of landscapes throughout northern California and western Nevada.  Occasional travel and field work is required, and may include working late nights, early mornings and/or weekends.  Tele-commuting is available, and candidates from areas outside the Oakland/San Francisco area will be considered for appropriate positions.

We have several exciting active projects including:

Alameda Hydrologic Data Acquisition – Sound Watershed is responsible for maintaining over 70 stream and rain gages and associated data throughout Alameda County.  This project also involves collecting peak flow data during large runoff events.

Squaw Creek Restoration Design – providing a preliminary restoration design for the creek and meadow downstream of the famous ski resort.  We are also maintaining 3 stream gages for this project, including regular data downloads and discharge measurements.

Alameda County Environmental Documentation – Sound Watershed is supporting the County with a variety of support tasks involving flood control channels

Explicit Riparian Design – Sound Watershed is working to develop the next generation of riparian buffer design associated with forestry operations in California and Washington


and many others...

Associate Natural Scientist/Engineer – this role is responsible for developing various analyses and diagnoses of environmental problems that lead to effective design and management recommendations.  Projects typically involve creek and watershed restoration, sustainable forestry, land-use management, environmental policy, and support for environmental permitting and documentation.

The ideal candidates for this role will have a recent degree in a natural science discipline and a demonstrated interest in working on a wide array of analytical, design and field tasks.  Candidates should also have experiences that demonstrate core skills including:

• The ability to evaluate and describe important natural processes in the field, especially related to hydrology, geomorphology, fisheries, forestry, engineering or similar
• Solid computer skills, including use of spreadsheets, scientific models, and GIS skills (primarily ArcGIS)
  
• The ability to work both independently and within multi-disciplinary teams
  
• Exceptional communication skills
  
• The ability to focus on attention to details and work semi-independently

Senior Associate/Project Manager – Sound Watershed is seeking to hire a Senior Associate/Project Manager to assist the company in providing services to clients, leading staff, and developing new markets that broaden the company's natural resource consulting expertise.  The position involves:

• field work in a wide variety of settings in Northern California
  
• writing technical reports, grants & proposals 
  
• coordinating and managing the work of other staff and clients
  
• review and quality control of work products 
  
• contributing to the growth and development of the business
  
• implementing marketing and proposal efforts in coordination with other staff
  

Experience with environmental analysis (CEQA, NEPA), other environmental documents and permits from state and federal agencies involved with watershed issues is an element of this position.   Developing restoration designs and/or management approaches is another key element.

The successful applicant may draw from expertise in a variety of fields, including earth science, hydrology, biology, engineering, planning, forestry, ecology or other natural resource background.  At least 8 years of experience is required, and an advanced degree is preferred.  We are primarily seeking individuals interested in a long-term position leading toward a Principal-level status in 1-5 years.  



Environmental Field Technician– this role provides support for various environmental tasks both in the field and laboratory setting.  Formal degrees, while helpful, are less important than a strong desire to work on a variety of data collection and processing tasks.  Typical tasks are likely to include:

• Maintaining field sensors and electronic dataloggers
• Topographic surveys and mapping
• Stream monitoring and measurements
• Field data collection
• Lab sample processing of soils, sediments, water and/or vegetation samples
• Data entry and plotting

Ideal candidates will have knowledge and experience in the following skills and abilities:

• The ability to use precision measurement tools, including survey equipment,  stream instruments, field sensors, dataloggers, etc.  Such tools often involve computers, electronics and mechanical aptitude 
• The ability to read and create maps
• Identify and measure various vegetation and animal species, habitat characteristics and landforms
• Systematically document data and observations in written form
• The ability to operate a variety of vehicles on both land and water
• The willingness to work on call, including 24/7 availability during winter storm-chasing duties

  

Admin Support - we are seeking a special individual who has a strong desire to contribute and support people in every way imaginable.  Tasks include light book-keeping, administrative paperwork, coordinating staff resources, office filing, running errands, and providing personal support to staff in any variety of ways.  Support will blur the lines between personal and professional areas, and may extend across several businesses.  The more you are able to contribute, the more rewards you'll experience.

HOW TO APPLY:

Please complete and submit the following form to express interest in one of these positions.  We will contact you to follow up.

PLEASE NO PHONE CALLS

And another hint:  Attention to details is an important indicator of success.  Please be sure your submissions follow our instructions closely.

Thank You!!