Wildlife Biologist

We are looking for a Wildlife Biologist to join our team and tackle complex ecological challenges across California.

At WRA, you’ll play a key role in supporting a wide range of projects—from ecological restoration and open space management to water and wastewater infrastructure and climate resiliency initiatives. While our work spans the state, this role will primarily focus on projects in the San Francisco Bay and Estuary.

Your work will take you from the coastal salt marshes of the Bay and Pacific Coast, to the grasslands and vernal pools of the Central Valley, and into the Sierra Nevada mountains. As a mid-level professional, we’re looking for someone who is motivated, intellectually curious, and eager to learn from our team of experienced biologists. We are especially interested in candidates with experience working with special-status species and a passion for encountering some of the rarest wildlife in the continental United States—while continuing to grow both technically and as a project manager.

You will lead and conduct fieldwork, perform data analysis, and prepare technical reports to support regulatory compliance for restoration, development, and infrastructure efforts. The ideal candidate brings experience with field assessments, permitting with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), as well as impacts and mitigation evaluations for CEQA and other regulatory approvals.

To be considered for this role, candidates must reside within approximately 45 minutes of our San Rafael, Emeryville, and Petaluma offices. This proximity ensures you can actively contribute to our collaborative team environment and be available for local field site visits as needed.

In this role, you will:

• Manage preparation of biological technical reports, restoration/mitigation monitoring reports and species-specific survey reports with oversight and guidance from senior team members
• Conduct CEQA analyses focused on biological resources, including existing condition evaluations, impact assessments, and mitigation recommendations, for IS/MNDs and EIRs
• Make ecological management recommendations based on results of ecological surveys and monitoring data
• Conduct and lead field surveys for various species and engage with other WRA staff to lead multi-disciplinary field efforts
• Collaborate with other technical staff (e.g., biologists, wetland delineators, arborists, GIS specialists) and sub-consultants (e.g., archaeologists, historians) in the completion of technical studies (desktop or field-based)
• Work with engineers to review their designs to help avoid and minimize impacts to regulated species, protected aquatic resources and other sensitive areas
• Prepare environmental permit applications and technical documents to support inter-agency consultations (e.g., Section 7 of the Federal Endangered Species Act)
• Prepare letters, reports, and/or memorandums, which may include detailing results of surveys or assessments
• Apply your understanding of the regulatory permitting environment in California to projects
• Evaluate project sites for jurisdictional streams and wetlands as well as habitat for special-status species
• Collaborate closely with WRA’s senior regulatory permitting specialists and CEQA/NEPA planners to develop environmental scopes of work and budgets
• Build and apply skills needed to interact directly with clients and regulatory agencies to manage projects

To be successful in this role, you will need: 

• A Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Ecology, Biology, or other Natural Resources-related field
• 3 years of consulting experience, including direct experience in the identification and ecology of Northern or Southern California wildlife and habitats
• Technical knowledge of California’s wildlife species, habitats, and applicable state and federal regulations
• Experience substantially assisting project managers, and a desire to be mentored in managing WRA’s environmental work
• Direct experience working multiple projects and tasks; able to determine project and task urgency in a practical way
• Direct experience with aquatic resources permitting and endangered species permitting
• Direct experience handling logistics for remote fieldwork (e.g., travel, lodging, equipment, scheduling staff)
• Experience in CEQA/NEPA wildlife review and analysis, restoration project land management, and compliance with state and federal requirements during and after project construction
• A knack for working independently as well as harmoniously with others
• A baseline understanding of Geographic Positioning Systems (GPS) mapping
• To be organized and practice attention to detail
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite programs (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and G-Suite (Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Drive, Calendar, etc.)
• A valid driver’s license and reliable transportation (while WRA has fleet vehicles that can be reserved for field use, during busy field seasons a truck may not always be available)
• The ability to walk, hike, and work outside for long periods of time
• Willingness to learn and participate in tasks outside the specific job role

WRA has an established internal leveling system for our staff that maps to salary bands that have been informed by market data. Our leveling system is dependent on years of relevant industry experience, education, and the level of responsibility and autonomy at which you’re expected to operate.

The salary range for this position is $85,000 – $110,000 which represents 2 job levels that WRA is open to considering for this role. In your first conversation with our recruiter, we will discuss leveling and compensation with you to make sure that expectations are aligned. 

Who are we?

WRA’s an employee-owned environmental consultancy. We are a tenacious team of planners, engineers, and scientists, and we aim to leave the lands we love better than we found them. 

Our clients and partners hire us because we’re skilled at navigating through challenging projects involving wildlands, parks, community spaces, and infrastructure. We bring over four decades of expertise, long-standing relationships, and connections to our local communities to make sure that projects are pursued in responsible ways where both people and the environment thrive. 

As an organization, we believe that independence and interdependence are not mutually exclusive. We invest in systems, processes, and employee programs to support our staff’s collective engagement and success. At the same time, we encourage our employees to operate with an ownership mindset, taking responsibility for outcomes and being true to our commitments. 

WRA’s company vision is to cultivate a sustainable future where people and the environment thrive, and that effort starts first with our staff. We are committed to building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive work environment, and we have developed flexible policies, internal practices, and are investing in programs that prioritize learning and sustainability. We aim to create conditions that allow employees to prioritize their families, lead healthy and balanced lives, and to bring their authentic selves to work every day. We believe that by creating an exceptional workplace, our employees will be able to do their best work and be able to meaningfully contribute to the sustainability of the environment and the communities in which we live.

WRA is an equal opportunity employer, and we are committed to creating a diverse environment. We recruit, employ, train, compensate and promote regardless of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, disability, age, veteran status, and other protected status as required by applicable law.