Sediment Scientist

We are Herrera
Envision yourself at a growing, employee-owned company that inspires and empowers you to deliver your best performance while making a difference in the world.
We are Herrera, a science, planning, and design consulting firm dedicated to working with clients to develop holistic solutions that provide social and environmental benefit. We protect the environment every day by providing a diverse range of consulting services to cities, counties, state and federal agencies, Tribes, non-profits, and private clients throughout Washington, Oregon, California, Montana, Wyoming, Alaska, and western Canada.
For over 40 years, Herrera has cultivated a collaborative, caring, and values-driven culture that empowers our employee-owners to achieve excellence while ensuring we have fun along the way. By providing our employee-owners with the autonomy to pursue their professional interests and through encouraging them to grow, we benefit from high employee-owner retention that contributes to our longstanding partnerships with clients.
Our Values

• Treat everyone with respect and dignity, always.
• Insist on integrity, objectivity, and social and environmental ethics in our work.
• Act as stewards of the environment upon which we depend.
• Research and outreach, learn and teach.

Your Opportunity
We are seeking a Sediment Scientist to join our team and help deliver a diverse range of engineering and environmental services. This includes projects for cities, counties, state and federal agencies, Tribes, and private clients throughout the West Coast and Rocky Mountains. This position will support our Sustainable Development practice area on sediment monitoring and remediation projects as well as upland Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS) projects. Typical projects involve marine or freshwater sediment sampling, investigation of adjacent upland areas, preparation of sediment characterization reports and management plans, and occasional construction oversight for sediment dredging or capping, creosote pile removal, or beach restoration projects. This position will require you to perform work in the field up to 30% of your time.
In this role we will count on you to:

• Prepare sediment sampling and analysis plans (SAPs), and quality assurance project plans (QAPPs) for sediment investigations and related projects
• Evaluate the fate and transport of environmental contaminants in various matrices with an emphasis on marine and freshwater sediments
• Lead sediment sampling efforts using a variety of coring and grab sampling techniques
• Write site characterization reports comparing sediment chemistry, bioassay, tissue, and bioaccumulation results to Washington State Sediment Management Standards (SMS)
• Complete quality assurance review and validation of laboratory analytical data in accordance with various protocols and local jurisdictions
• Assist with RI/FS projects and compare results to SMS, MTCA, and site-specific cleanup levels

Other duties you will be responsible for:

• Coordinate with the analytical laboratory to order sample collection containers, completing sample chain of custody forms, and packaging and delivering samples to the lab
• Manage data using spreadsheets (Microsoft Excel) or a database (SQL, Microsoft Access) Upload lab data to Ecology's Environmental Information Management system

Minimum Qualifications
Education, Experience, & Licensure/Certifications

• 5+ years of relevant sediment experience
• Bachelor's Degree in environmental science, marine science, geology, or similar field
• Experience using Washington State Sediment Management Standards (SMS) and Sediment Cleanup User's Manual under Chapter 173-204 WAC and MTCA to interpret laboratory analytical results and summarizing data in tables and figures

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities

• Experience writing Work Plans, SAPs, and QAPPs and conducting sediment/environmental investigations
• Experience using field meters, sampling equipment, GPS units, and working with Microsoft programs including Excel
• Attention to detail and ability to organize and compile accurate field data and observations
• Willingness to travel for field work and flexibility to work on a variety of project types in sometimes challenging field conditions
• Experience with sediment cleanup actions at the Lower Duwamish Waterway and other CERCLA site in Washington and Oregon is a plus

We are proud to support our employee-owners by offering the following compensation and benefits:

• This position is salaried and exempt from overtime; the annual salary range is $83,210 - $154, 230
  • Please note that a variety of factors go into determining the final salary rate
• Flexible hybrid work culture
• Medical/prescription drug/dental/vision insurance for employees and dependents; employees covered at no cost on base plan with buy-up options available; company contribution for dependents
• Section 125 flexible benefits plans - healthcare and dependent care
• Company-paid life insurance for employees; option to purchase additional life insurance for employees and dependents at employees' expense
• Company-paid long term disability insurance for employees; option to purchase short-term disability insurance at employees' expense
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) - we are 100% employee owned!
• 401(k) retirement plan
• Paid vacation, accrued bi-weekly, equivalent to 10 days per year for a 40 hour/week employee and prorated for employees working 24-39 hours/week
• Paid sick leave, accrued bi-weekly, equivalent to 10 days per year for a 40-hour/week employee and prorated for employees working 24-39 hours per week
• Flexible paid holidays (10)
• Paid volunteer time (8 hours annually)
• Company-paid annual membership dues for one professional organization
• Professional development / continuing education allowance
• Discretionary annual bonus
• Transit benefit

To learn more, please visit our website at:www.herrerainc.com
We Are Committed to Equal Opportunity, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
At Herrera, we celebrate our differences as much as our similarities. We know the best outcomes come from interdisciplinary, diverse, and inclusive teams. Our values are ever-present in the people, culture, and work we do, they are not just a few sentences on our website. We treat people with respect and act with integrity and objectivity. Our employment decisions are based on knowledge, skills, and abilities, and have nothing to do with your race, color, gender, gender identity, age, religion, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, medical history, reproductive health decisions, political ideology, veteran status, or physical appearance. As an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer, we encourage women, minorities, veterans, disabled veterans, and individuals with disabilities to apply for our open positions. We are also a member of E-Verify. To learn more about E-Verify, read the E-Verify Notice and the Right to Work Notice.