The Opportunity:
Tetra Tech Inc., an industry leader and nationally recognized engineering and consulting firm, is seeking a professional, motivated, and technically accomplished candidate to fill a (remote) Principal Paleontologist / Paleontological Resources Business Line Lead role for our Federal NEPA, Environmental Compliance, and Resource Management and Planning team.
The candidate selected will become a part of the Tetra Tech Environmental Government Services division and will lead the development of a paleontological resources practice supporting Department of Defense and other federal contracts, as well as state, municipal, commercial, infrastructure, energy, transportation, and other sector projects.
The Principal Paleontologist will serve as Tetra Tech's senior technical authority for paleontological resources and will be responsible for developing the business line's technical capabilities, project portfolio, client relationships, staff resources, quality control procedures, and strategic growth. The position will support paleontological resource assessments, surveys, monitoring, inadvertent-discovery response, fossil salvage and collection, mitigation planning, agency coordination, repository relationships, and technical reporting.
The ideal candidate will have a dynamic history of paleontological resource management, environmental compliance, geological and paleontological field investigations, and program leadership. The candidate should have experience working with federal, state, and local agencies; engineering and construction teams; land-management agencies; museums and repositories; and private-sector clients.
The successful candidate will be expected to establish and grow a nationally recognized paleontological resources practice while coordinating closely with Tetra Tech's cultural resources, NEPA, geology, natural resources, GIS, environmental compliance, engineering, and construction management teams.
This is a full-time salaried remote position.
Responsibilities:
The Principal Paleontologist / Paleontological Resources Business Line Lead will serve as Tetra Tech's senior technical and business development leader for establishing and growing a nationwide paleontological resources practice. The role will combine technical oversight, project delivery, regulatory compliance, client development, staff coordination, quality assurance, and strategic business-line growth.
• Develop and oversee a nationwide portfolio of paleontological resources projects.
• Serve as Tetra Tech's senior technical lead for paleontological assessments, sensitivity evaluations, surveys, monitoring, fossil discovery response, mitigation, collection, and curation.
• Establish and implement the technical framework for the paleontological resources business line, including service offerings, procedures, quality control processes, staffing plans, training, and technical guidance.
• Lead the preparation, review, and approval of paleontological assessments, survey reports, monitoring plans, mitigation and treatment plans, inadvertent discovery procedures, technical memoranda, and other deliverables.
• Provide technical direction for field surveys, construction monitoring, fossil discovery response, excavation, salvage, specimen documentation, and related field activities.
• Coordinate with project managers, construction managers, geologists, archaeologists, biologists, engineers, environmental planners, GIS specialists, and other technical staff to integrate paleontological resources into multidisciplinary projects.
• Identify new project opportunities and develop relationships with federal, state, municipal, commercial, infrastructure, energy, transportation, mining, water, and construction clients.
• Prepare and submit proposals, scopes of work, cost estimates, labor categories, schedules, technical approaches, and staffing plans to support project delivery and strategic growth.
• Maintain working relationships with federal and state agencies, land management agencies, utilities, engineering firms, construction contractors, museums, universities, repositories, laboratories, fossil preparation facilities, and subcontractors.
• Provide technical support for compliance with NEPA, the Paleontological Resources Preservation Act, federal and state regulations, agency policies, permit conditions, and other applicable requirements.
• Support federal and state permitting and authorization for paleontological surveys, monitoring, excavation, collection, and disposition.
• Develop and maintain procedures for specimen documentation, chain of custody, locality confidentiality, repository acceptance, collections transfer, cataloging, and long-term curation.
• Establish and maintain relationships with qualified repositories and laboratories to support specimen preparation, collections management, and curation.
• Ensure the quality, accuracy, and timely delivery of paleontological surveys, monitoring activities, technical reviews, consultation, and other work products.
• Provide technical guidance and coordinate the work of senior paleontologists, field paleontologists, paleontological monitors, geologists, GIS specialists, subcontractors, and other project staff.
• Monitor field activities and communicate with project managers, construction personnel, and field staff regarding progress, discoveries, schedule, and project requirements.
• Serve as a paleontological resources technical lead or field supervisor when required.
• Train and mentor environmental, cultural resources, geology, and construction compliance staff on paleontological identification, monitoring, discovery response, documentation, and reporting.
• Develop, track, and maintain project schedules, budgets, staffing plans, resource forecasts, and deliverable milestones.
• Coordinate with Tetra Tech's Cultural Resources business line on projects involving both paleontological and archaeological resources, including integrated discovery response procedures.
• Review and approve technical reports, field forms, monitoring records, site documentation, maps, databases, and other project deliverables.
• Support business line metrics, annual operating plans, resource forecasts, and strategic growth initiatives.
• Conduct activities in accordance with internal procedures, applicable legislation, regulations, and industry standards.
• Work safely at all times and report health and safety incidents and concerns.
• Other duties may be assigned as required.
Qualifications:
The ideal candidate will be an experienced paleontological resources professional with the technical expertise, project management skills, and business development experience needed to establish and lead a nationwide practice. The candidate should have a strong understanding of applicable federal and state requirements, demonstrated experience managing multidisciplinary projects and field programs, and the ability to develop client relationships, mentor staff, and deliver high-quality work in a consulting environment.
• Master's degree in paleontology, geology, earth sciences, biological sciences, or a closely related field is preferred. A bachelor's degree in one of these disciplines, combined with substantial relevant experience, may be considered.
• Minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible experience in paleontology, geological sciences, paleontological resource management, environmental consulting, or a related field.
• Demonstrated experience managing paleontological resources programs, projects, field investigations, construction monitoring, or environmental compliance assignments for federal, state, municipal, commercial, infrastructure, energy, transportation, mining, water, or construction projects.
• Professional experience should include a combination of technical project delivery, field investigations, agency coordination, report preparation, staff supervision, quality assurance/quality control, and business development.
• In-depth knowledge of paleontological resource management requirements applicable to federal, state, and local projects.
• Knowledge of the Paleontological Resources Preservation Act, applicable federal regulations and agency policies, state paleontological resource requirements, NEPA, and related environmental compliance processes.
• Experience preparing paleontological resource assessments, survey reports, monitoring plans, treatment plans, mitigation plans, inadvertent-discovery procedures, and technical reports.
• Experience coordinating with federal and state agencies, land-management agencies, construction contractors, engineering firms, museums, universities, repositories, and other stakeholders.
• Experience with fossil identification, documentation, evaluation, collection, excavation, salvage, preparation, cataloging, or curation is required.
• Experience serving as a principal investigator, permittee, qualified paleontologist, project paleontologist, or equivalent technical authority is preferred.
• Federal paleontological permitting experience is strongly preferred.
• Ability to evaluate project conditions and make technically sound recommendations regarding paleontological sensitivity, monitoring, fossil discoveries, significance, mitigation, and treatment.
• Ability to lead multidisciplinary teams and coordinate multiple projects, staff, schedules, budgets, and deliverables.
• Ability to develop client relationships and contribute to business development, capture planning, and proposal preparation.
• Knowledge of federal contracting, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts, task-order work, subcontracting, and A/E or environmental-services delivery models is preferred.
• Experience with ESRI products, including ArcGIS Pro, Field Maps, Survey123, or similar field-data collection and mapping applications, is preferred.
• Experience with paleontological locality databases, collections-management systems, specimen cataloging, and digital records is preferred.
• Excellent technical writing, communication, organizational, and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a fast-paced consulting environment.
• Ability to lead field teams and work outdoors in extreme temperatures, remote locations, and uneven or steep terrain.
• Ability to walk extended distances and carry field equipment while working in rugged terrain.
• Ability to work effectively in construction, environmental, office, and remote field environments.
• Willingness to travel regionally and nationally for project assignments, including field sessions lasting up to two weeks or longer.
• Professional registration or certification in geology, paleontology, or a related discipline is preferred, where applicable.
• Current driver's license and ability to operate a motor vehicle for company business.
• Completion of applicable health and safety training may be required based on project assignments.
• Conduct activities in accordance with internal procedures, applicable legislation, regulations, and industry standards.
• Pursue continuous professional development and maintain a high degree of discipline, knowledge, and professional awareness.
• Work safely at all times and report health and safety incidents and concerns.
• Membership in relevant professional organizations is preferred.
• Additional duties may be assigned as required.
This position requires the candidate to be a U.S. Citizen due to the projects they will be working on.
Background Check: If this position requires a CAC card, CUI Enclave Access and/or a Security Clearance, a background check will be completed.
Physical Demands: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. The position frequently performs work in a field environment. Field work will involve traversing uneven terrain, standing, and walking for extended periods of time and will require lifting up to 50 pounds. However, the position will also require periods of work in an (remote) office environment. Note that office work can be fully remote.
Work Environment: The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. This work is principally performed in an office environment and the employee will be required to travel for field work to complete site investigations and, attend industry events, and meet with clients or Tetra Tech leadership. The employee may be required to work outdoors in inclement weather conditions as needed to maintain project schedules. Components of the work will also be performed in an office setting, from a home office or in a Tetra Tech office, depending on a candidate's preference.
Language & Communication Skills: The employee must be fluent in the English language and able to communicate effectively in both oral and written forms. The employee may be required to make presentations at conferences and to clients, and the employee will be responsible for providing high quality written products to include presentations, reports, and proposals.
