We are hiring an early-career Biologist to work on a variety of exciting projects throughout Northern and Central California. The successful applicant will support survey efforts and habitat assessments for various special-status wildlife species in California. Your work will take you from coastal salt marshes of the San Francisco Bay and coast, to the grasslands and vernal pools of the Central Valley. We are particularly interested in individuals experienced in bird identification, who are excited to learn how to conduct nesting bird surveys, and protocol-level surveys for Swainson’s hawk, burrowing owl, and California Ridgway’s rail.

This position is based in either WRA’s San Rafael or Emeryville office. The person hired for this role will be expected to be onsite for fieldwork at various locations throughout the greater San Francisco Bay Area and Central Valley.

In this role, you will be provided the training and support to take on the following tasks:

• Perform special-status species surveys, nesting bird surveys, and biological monitoring.
• Assist with protocol-level surveys for various protected bird species, including burrowing owl, Swainson’s hawk, and California Ridgway’s rail.
• Conduct wildlife habitat assessments in natural, rural, and urban settings.
• Perform field work across a variety of landscapes, primarily throughout the Bay Area and less frequently in the Central Valley.
• Write monitoring logs, survey summary memos, and technical reports.
• Collect data on existing habitat conditions, biological resources, and observed species.
• Identify potential biological constraints associated with proposed projects.
• Help prepare applications and documents to support regulatory permitting packages.
• Assist project managers with documenting and reporting project compliance. 

Requirements: 

• Bachelor’s degree in Ecology, Biology, or other Natural Resources-related field.
• 1-3 years of prior experience conducting field work.
• Prior experience with visual bird identification in California is required (this may be in an academic or professional capacity) along with an interest in learning bird vocalizations.
• Following the initial training period, the ability to work independently with adequate resources and proper guidance provided.
• Experience collecting data on biological resources and maintaining organized field notes  
• The ability and willingness to communicate with construction personnel, contractors, and landowners regarding biological compliance.
• Experience surveying for and identifying other California wildlife taxa is also a plus.
• The ability to walk, hike, and work outside for long periods of time.
• Willingness to take on assignments that require working extended hours, when needed.
• The ability and willingness to travel to remote field sites, either from home or a local office.
• The ability and willingness to accommodate a schedule that regularly includes working early mornings, particularly during nesting bird season, between February 1 and August 31.
• 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 be available).

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.

We have posted a salary range that corresponds to the appropriate level for this position. The salary range for this position is $62,000-$76,000 depending on experience. 

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.