Fish Passage Program Lead (Hydraulic Engineer)

Who We Are

We are a 100% employee-owned environmental consulting firm who values diversity and inclusion and celebrate the differences that make each of us unique. Our culture is built on mutual respect, recognizing that our variety of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives leads to better solutions, which fosters our continued success for our employee-owners and clients.

Who You Are

ESA is seeking a mid-senior level Hydraulic Engineer to lead an established and growing Fish Passage Program. We have both current and prospective work in the design of Fish Passage barrier replacement projects, including WSDOT preliminary hydraulic designs (PHD), WSDOT design build, and barrier removal projects for other federal, county, city, and tribal clients. Our restoration design team is actively engaged in a wide variety of coastal, estuarine, and river analysis, design, and construction implementation projects.

Our ideal candidate:

We are seeking an engineer with 8+ years’ experience in design and implementation of Fish Passage projects and who meets the requirements for a Stream Design Engineer (SDE) per WSDOT guidance. You will step into a lead role on current projects with support from experienced engineering staff with skills in SRH2D, MicroStation, and in development of PHD’s (with state certification). You will work with northwest regional leadership and firmwide engineering practice leaders to advance ESA’s Fish Passage Program, including staff development, business development, and project leadership.

What You Will Do for ESA

You will thrive in a fast-paced, challenging environment and be able to manage multiple responsibilities and deadlines, while working on a team or independently. Specific responsibilities of this position include:

• Serving as a technical leader in ESA’s Environmental Hydrology & Design group, with responsibility for fostering technical excellence in our river restoration design team. This may include developing and overseeing design workflows and protocols; mentoring, supporting and/or supervising more junior staff; recommending staffing assignments and training; and participating in staff recruitment.
• Leading engineering design development for several exciting large-scale multi-objective restoration projects, including overseeing and reviewing engineering design plans, specifications, construction schedules, cost estimates and technical reports. You will collaborate with other engineers, hydrologists, fluvial geomorphologists, landscape architects, ecologists, biologists, and other specialists in advancing restoration approaches and other project solutions from concept to implementation.
• Collaborating with other engineers, landscape architects, ecologists, and other specialists to develop river restoration approaches and other project solutions.
• Preparing and reviewing engineering design plans, specifications, construction schedules, cost estimates and technical reports for large-scale, multi-objective river restoration projects primarily in the Pacific Northwest.
• Working collaboratively with clients and interdisciplinary teams to deliver project assignments on time and within budget.
• Participating in business development and marketing efforts, including preparing scopes of work and budgets for proposals or contract negotiations, providing technical input, and participating in interviews.

ESA has established multiple pay ranges tailored to the economic factors in the geographies in which ESA staff reside. For this position the range is $100,879 – $151,318 or $112,088 – $168,132 annually based on our anticipated hiring locations as noted in the above job details. Actual compensation is determined by a number of factors including but not limited to an individual’s related experience, education, skills, and the city in which the applicant lives.

What’s Special About ESA

Joining ESA means becoming part of a close-knit team of environmental professionals who contribute to outstanding projects, improve environmental stewardship, and advance a more sustainable and resilient future for our communities and wild places.

At ESA, we provide benefits such as medical, dental, and vision insurance (paid at 70% for you AND your family), annual allocations of company shares through our ESOP, a 401(k) plan with company match, and paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays, to name a few.

We also provide specific programs whether you want to further your technical expertise, sharpen your business acumen, or help lead the next generation of employee-owners. We want to support you in reaching your career goals through tuition reimbursement, professional development bonuses, and attendance at conferences.

What’s Special About Out Environmental Hydrology & Design Team in the Pacific Northwest

Our EH&D team includes civil, river, and coastal engineers, hydrologists, geomorphologists, ecologists, and landscape architects who provide expertise for a wide range of clients across the Pacific Northwest. We collaborate with our ESA colleagues in other discipline areas to provide full life-cycle services in design and permitting of projects for federal, state, municipal, tribal, and non-profit clients throughout Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. Our work matters because it helps restore lost ecological processes to aid in species recovery and it helps communities shape a positive future for their citizens. We value creative thinking, teamwork, and multi-disciplinary and cross-disciplinary engagement and integration.

In accordance with ESA’s duty and responsibility to provide and maintain a safe workplace that is free of known hazards and to minimize the exposure to potential hazards, any employee who works from an ESA office or conducts any other in-person ESA work-related activity is required to submit their proof of vaccination status or have received an approved exemption and accommodation.

ESA is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to a diverse and inclusive work environment. (EOE M/V/F/D)