Field Biologist

General Responsibilities:

Terracon Consultants is seeking to hire a Seasonal Field Biologist to report to our Monterey, CA office. The ideal candidate will have experience in biological monitoring, surveys and assessments, natural resource management, and California flora and fauna. They will have a working knowledge of the Federal and State environmental laws associated with threatened/endangered species and regulatory permitting. This is a seasonal role monitoring for a wide variety of wildlife, vegetation, and habitat restoration projects in Monterey Bay with the opportunity to travel throughout California.

The work will be a blend of biological resource studies, rare plant surveys, biological monitoring, habitat restoration, data entry and management, technical report writing, and overall project management. Fieldwork will be performed often off-trail and in all weather conditions. Assessments and surveys will support California Department of Transportation (CalTrans) biological monitoring, Fort Ord Munitions and Explosives Cleanup biological monitoring, and compliance with California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Handling expertise with one or more of California tiger salamander, Santa Cruz long-toed salamander, California red-legged frog is required.

Terracon is devoted to candidates who seek to continue to develop their long-term consulting career within leadership roles. An important aspect of the work will involve staff mentorship and leading by example.

Essential Roles and Responsibilities:

• Conduct field surveys and long-term biological monitoring for federally and/or state-listed threatened and endangered species using established protocols.

• Implement avoidance, minimization, and mitigation measures to protect listed species during fieldwork or project execution.

• Assess habitat conditions and potential impacts to listed species from project activities, land use, or environmental changes.

• Ensure all monitoring activities comply with applicable permits, biological opinions, and environmental regulations (e.g., ESA, CEQA, NEPA).

• Prepare detailed field reports, technical summaries, and monitoring documentation suitable for regulatory review.

• Assist with and/or lead geospatial and statistical analysis to support projects.

• Monitor workload and prioritize tasks.

• Develop understanding and be aware of project-related risk.

• Responsible for creating and modeling a safe work environment; demonstrates safety practices. Promote pre-task planning for all projects.

• Promote continuous quality monitoring and improvement on projects. Monitor quality standards and practices.

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Environmental Science, Biology, Ecology or related science field and a minimum 1 year related experience. Or, in lieu of a degree, a minimum of 5 years' related experience.

• Minimum 1 to 3 years of progressively responsible experience in biological surveys or monitoring, biological resource studies and resource management in either the public or private sector.

• A valid driver's license with acceptable violation history may be required.

• Open to overnight travel.

• Possess strong wildlife and/or plant identification skills, excellent writing skills, and ability to record accurate field notes required.

• Documented handling expertise with one or more of California tiger salamander, Santa Cruz long toed salamander, California red-legged frog.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Certification in field of expertise preferred.
• Special-status species handling permits or extensive experience highly preferred. Particularly special-status species found throughout central coastal California, including California red-legged frog (CRLF) Santa Cruz long-toed salamander, and California tiger salamander (CTS).
• Previous experience as a USFWS Approved Biologist and/or CDFW Designated Biologist for special-status species such as CRLF and CTS highly preferred.
• Experience developing and implementing CEQA/NEPA biological mitigations.
• Highly organized and motivated self-starter with a demonstrated track record of successfully managing and completing multiple concurrent projects.
• Strong technical writing skills.
• Effectively work independently and with a diverse project team.
• Enjoy learning and sharing knowledge with others for the success of the company.
• Maintain confidentiality and exercise good judgment with sensitive information disclosures.
• Strong technical reading, writing, and reporting experience related to understanding sampling data and engineering drawings, construction specifications, and technical environmental reports.
• Experience with geospatial data collection/management and ESRI software including ArcGIS Pro and ArcGIS Collector a plus.

Work Environmental and Physical Requirements:

• This position requires working outdoors in various weather conditions with exposure to wet and/or humid conditions; high, precarious places; extreme cold and extreme heat. The noise level in the work environment may be moderate to loud.
• Field work requires the ability to sit, stand, talk, hear, kneel, stoop, crouch, climb or crawl.
• Sensory abilities such as good vision, hearing, tactile and smell.
• Ability to lift and/or move up to 50 pounds.