The San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) provides scientific support to communities, local government, and agencies to plan and implement resilient, ecologically functional shorelines. We make scientific information accessible for decision-makers by bringing wetlands and estuarine ecology, geomorphology, sediment science, and landscape design to discussions on Bay shore planning.
We write influential regional documents that inform stakeholders, such as the Adaptation Atlas and Sediment for Survival. We partner with local governments, community organizations, resource agencies, flood control districts, NGOs, wastewater districts, transportation agencies, land trusts, and others to develop strategies for shoreline adaptation with multiple benefits.
SFEI seeks a talented entry- or mid-level physical or natural scientist to join our team in the Resilient Landscapes Program.
The position offers an opportunity to work with an outstanding multidisciplinary team of scientists on innovative nature-based projects that help improve the resiliency of communities and wildlife to land use change and various aspects of climate change. We are looking for someone who can start immediately.
Position Description
The position consists of working on applied science projects in shoreline and bayland environments around San Francisco Bay including tidal ecosystem restoration, integrated planning with wastewater and transportation agencies, shoreline resilience mapping, regional monitoring, and climate-change adaptation planning in the Bay Area.
Bay Area location preferred, but will consider remote location.
Primary position responsibilities will include:
- Investigating historical, contemporary, and future fluvial and tidal hydraulic and sediment processes.
- Advancing landscape-scale conservation and adaptation planning using a quantitative approach.
- Collaborating to synthesize information from interdisciplinary teams, including community-based organizations, technical advisors, and agency partners.
If you are excited about this role, but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this, or one of our other roles.
Qualifications
We seek highly creative and technically-strong candidates with expertise in the ecology of tidal wetland ecosystems (or related fields) and knowledge of San Francisco Bay.
Required Experience:
- Bachelor's or Master's degree in a related field (e.g., geomorphology, ecology, hydrology, environmental science, environmental planning, landscape architecture, geology, geography, etc.).
- For candidates with a bachelor’s degree, a minimum of 2 years of relevant experience is required.
Required Skills:
- Strong scientific and technical background, quantitative skills, a background in GIS, and the ability to synthesize information for diverse audiences.
- Excellent communication skills, including the ability to convey findings clearly in writing and presentations.
- Demonstrated experience in concurrently managing multiple projects and tasks, maintaining organizational efficiency, and balancing priorities and deadlines.
Preferred Skills:
- Knowledge of San Francisco Bay tidal ecosystems or dynamics.
- Project management experience, including the ability to lead projects and manage budgets, schedules, and deliverables.
- Experience in community-based planning and facilitating discussions with diverse stakeholder groups.
In addition, the candidate should have expertise or experience in some of the following areas:
- Sea-level rise vulnerability and adaptation
- Geomorphic and hydrologic/hydraulic processes
- Relationships between hydrogeomorphic and ecological dynamics in riverine and tidal ecosystems
- Groundwater processes
- Numerical modeling (e.g., hydrologic, hydraulic, water quality, groundwater flow)
- Geospatial or geostatistical analyses
- Wastewater management
- Landscape change and historical ecology
- Wetland monitoring and assessment
- Ecosystem services (e.g., flood protection, heat island effect reduction, or human health benefits)
- Landscape-scale conservation and restoration
- Graphic design using Adobe tools or similar desktop publishing software
- Data visualization using Adobe tools (Illustrator, Indesign, Photoshop), AutoCAD, Rhino, or similar software
Salary & Benefits Highlights
- This will be an Environmental Analyst or Associate Environmental Scientist position. The anticipated salary range is $76,500 - $80,000 for Environmental Analyst and $80,000 - $87,750 for Associate Environmental Scientist (Bay Area salary ranges are listed; note that salary ranges for other locations are 10-15% lower depending on location). Salary ranges take into account many factors for making compensation decisions including but not limited to experience, education, internal equity, and organizational needs. We generally do not offer salaries at or near the top of the range.
- Matching contributions to retirement plan (immediate vesting) (403B)
- Medical Insurance: health, vision, dental with employer and employee contributions
- 12 paid holidays
- Vacation days starting at 3 weeks
- Hybrid workplace
Closing Date: February 2, 2024
