Project Based Wetland Scientist

Location and Work Arrangement 

This is a Minnesota based position, and candidates must reside in Minnesota. Our field work is concentrated in the Twin Cities metro, with roughly 20 percent in greater Minnesota and occasional work in western Wisconsin. You need to live within reliable driving distance of the metro, and we prefer candidates within about a two-hour drive of Victoria, Minnesota. 

The role is hybrid. Office work such as offsite assessments, permitting, and reporting can be done remotely on your own schedule. Field work such as delineations, site assessments, and mitigation monitoring is in person and cannot be done remotely. We are not able to consider out of state or fully remote candidates for this position. 

Who We Are 

Midwest Wetland Improvements (MWI) is a small, specialized environmental consulting firm dedicated to restoring and protecting the water resources and habitats that are critical to life. We blend wetland science, water resources engineering, stream ecology, and landscape architecture to deliver creative, science-based solutions across Minnesota and Wisconsin. 

We work with clients of every size and type: homeowners, engineering firms, municipalities, watershed districts, developers, federal agencies and non-profit conservation groups. We bring the same depth of expertise to each one. We take pride in the details, collaborate tightly across disciplines, and do work that makes a measurable difference in the wetlands, streams, and watersheds of the Upper Midwest. 

The Opportunity 

A large firm will slot you into one stage of the process; you delineate, and someone else designs; you monitor, after someone else oversees construction and maintenance. At MWI, you’ll do all of it. As our wetland scientist, you’ll run delineations, carry permits through agency review, support mitigation banking design and approvals, complete hydrology and mitigation monitoring, write the environmental review documents that tie it together, and oversee contractors. Often on the same project, start to finish. 

We’re expanding our wetland sciences practice, and there’s genuine room to shape how it grows professionally and financially as MWI grows. If you’ve wanted to own projects instead of pieces of them, this is your job. 

Who It’s For 

We’re hiring this role as a part-time, project-based role to start, sized to our current project load and growing as the work does. This is a great fit for a seasoned professional who is looking to ramp back up in the professional world, or step back from a demanding schedule and is not ready to stop doing work that matters. Focus on the projects that interest you, set your own pace, and, if you are inclined, pass on what you know to the next generation of our team. It is an equally good fit for an established scientist who wants to bring existing client relationships to a firm that will let them run with them. If you’re an established professional who can bring a book of work with you, we should especially talk since there’s room to grow faster. Tell us what you’re looking for, and we’ll build the role around the right person. That’s something only a small firm can credibly offer. 

What You’ll Do 

Field & Technical 

• Lead and conduct wetland delineations on large- and small-scale sites following the Corps of Engineers Wetland Delineation Manual and the applicable Regional Supplements (Midwest Region and Northcentral & Northeast Region).
• Identify and document hydric soils (Munsell colors, redoximorphic features), hydrophytic vegetation, and wetland hydrology indicators.
• Perform wetland functional and condition assessments (e.g., MnRAM in Minnesota; rapid assessment methods in Wisconsin) and Floristic Quality Assessments.
• Conduct vegetation surveys, plant community classification, habitat assessments, soil surveys, and rare / threatened & endangered species surveys.
• Evaluate potential wetland mitigation, restoration, and bank sites for feasibility and ecological lift.
• Collect and manage field data with sub-meter GPS / GNSS units and ArcGIS Field Maps / Survey123 to complete ArcGIS Pro / ArcGIS Online mapping and analysis.

Regulatory & Permitting 

• Assess federal jurisdiction (Waters of the U.S.) and prepare Approved and Preliminary Jurisdictional Determination requests in the current post-Sackett landscape.
• Navigate Minnesota Wetland jobshiringnearme.org Act (WCA) review, MN DNR Public Waters, and Technical Evaluation Panel (TEP) coordination.
• Navigate Wisconsin’s nonfederal wetland program, WDNR wetland identification and confirmation, and ePermitting submittals.
• Prepare and manage Clean Water Act Section 404 / 401 permit applications, state permits, and exemption requests.
• Author environmental review documents—Environmental Assessment Worksheets (EAW), Environmental Assessments (EA), and Environmental Impact Statements (EIS)—under NEPA and Minnesota / Wisconsin state equivalents.

Mitigation, Banking & Monitoring 

• Develop wetland replacement, restoration, and mitigation plans, and support wetland bank establishment (prospectus, banking instrument, credit accounting).
• Coordinate with the Interagency Review Team (IRT) and MN BWSR or WI DNR on banking and credit approvals.
• Conduct mitigation and monitoring site visits and prepare annual monitoring reports measured against performance standards.

Client, Business & Team 

• Serve as project lead and communicate directly with clients and agencies and carry projects from scope to close.
• Develop proposals and work plans and support business development and client relationships.
• Mentor and build junior staff; provide QA/QC review of deliverables.
• Stay current with evolving wetland science, delineation methods, and regulatory change.

What You Bring 

Required 

• Bachelor’s degree in environmental science, ecology, biology, botany, soil science, natural resources, or a related field (Master’s a plus).
• 5+ years of professional wetland delineation experience (consulting preferred); 10+ years preferred for a practice-leading role.
• Demonstrated delineation experience using the Corps Manual and the applicable Regional Supplements.
• Working knowledge of Minnesota and/or Wisconsin wetland regulations and permitting (WCA; WDNR nonfederal program; CWA Section 404/401).
• Strong field skills in hydric soil identification, hydrophytic plant ID, and wetland hydrology indicators.
• Strong technical writing for delineation reports, permit applications, and monitoring reports.
• Proficiency with ESRI ArcGIS Pro / ArcGIS Online and GPS / GNSS field data collection.
• Ability to self-direct, manage multiple projects, and meet deadlines in a flexible environment.
• Minnesota residency, a valid driver’s license, and reliable transportation. Field visits, delineations and monitoring visits are concentrated in the Twin Cities metro, with some travel in greater Minnesota and occasional trips to western Wisconsin. Overnight travel is infrequent.
• Professional Wetland Scientist (PWS) certification through the Society of Wetland Scientists.
• Minnesota Wetland Professionals Wetland Delineator status
  (or eligibility and willingness to obtain).
• Wisconsin DNR Assured Wetland Delineator status (or eligibility and willingness to obtain).
• Experience with wetland mitigation and banking (credits, banking instruments, IRT coordination).
• NEPA / MEPA / WEPA environmental review experience (EAW, EA, EIS).
• Familiarity with MnRAM, Floristic Quality Assessment, and state rapid-assessment methods.
• Experience with threatened & endangered species, MN / WI Natural Heritage data, and rare plant surveys.
• Ordinary High Water Mark (OHWM) / watercourse delineation, Phase I ESA, or related environmental due-diligence experience.
• Familiarity with the 2025 proposed WOTUS rule and the heightened jurisdictional documentation it requires.
• Strong background in wetland science across the Upper Midwest and Great Plains regions.

Why MWI 

• A real say in how the firm runs. You’ll have direct access to ownership and a genuine voice in how we work and grow. Not a suggestion box, but a seat at the table.
• A faster path to senior responsibility. There’s no one in line ahead of you. Your path to leading projects, and eventually a team, moves as fast as you’re ready for.
• Flexibility a large firm can’t match. Hybrid and project-based, built around real life rather than a rigid schedule or a daily commute.
• Work you can stand in. Restoring and protecting the water resources and habitats that are critical to life—tangible, ecological, and visible in a way a lot of AEC work isn’t. You’ll see what you helped build.
• Whole projects, not pieces of them. No matrix of departments, no handoffs, no being “the one specialist” on someone else’s project for years. You scope it, you do it, you see it through.
• A team that invests in you. We support professional development, licensure and certification, and growth into new project types. Because a stronger team builds a better firm and better outcomes for Minnesota’s and Wisconsin’s natural systems.

Our Mission 

Restoring and protecting the water resources and habitats that are critical to life.