Principal Investigator

Posted: 30-Jul-26 | Internal Number: 4305

About the role

Are you ready for a career in archaeology that offers both stability and appreciation? If so, we are seeking a Principal Investigator to join our Cultural Resources team! In this position you will dive into a steady stream of exciting in-house projects, collaborating side-by-side with a diverse team of professionals who share a passion for turning goals into reality! Our ideal candidate will strive for excellence in all areas of your work while exemplifying LCRA’s values of focusing on service, taking initiative, showing respect, operating with integrity, and operating with safety!

LCRA’s Cultural Resources group ensures the agency’s compliance with state and federal cultural resource laws for hundreds of projects annually throughout central, western, southeastern, and southern Texas. We also serve as stewards for over 500 recorded archaeological sites located in our 11,000+ acres of parkland along the Colorado River in the Highland Lakes region of Central Texas.

Responsibilities

• Manage full lifecycle complex projects to drive strategic alignment from scoping and financial forecasting through to field execution, detailed analysis, and reporting.
• Lead small field crews in archaeological survey across diverse regions of Texas (approx. 10% overnight travel).
• Collaborate with project managers, providing expertise and guidance on cultural resources regulatory laws and processes.
• Coordinate and consult with key regulatory agencies, including SHPO, U.S.A.C.E., FCC, FEMA, and others.
• Provide oversight for comprehensive archaeological surveys and excavations executed by external cultural resource management (CRM) contractors.

Requirements

• Master's degree in anthropology, archaeology or relevant field plus four or more years of relevant experience in archaeology.
• Driver's license.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience within professional cultural resources management, including at least 1+ years leading field crews.
• 2+ years of experience in Texas archaeology and familiarity with the Antiquities Code of Texas.
• Ability to hold antiquities permits in Texas.
• Experience authoring technical reports with SHPO concurrence.

Benefits

Benefits that don't just check boxes, they make life better. From healthcare to wellness to time off, we've got you covered, so you can focus on what matters.

Pay

Target Salary Range: $83,300 - $101,800/yr. Note: This pay range represents a general target and is not reflective of the full pay range. Offers to selected candidates are contingent upon various factors such as skills, experience and education.

Schedule

Hybrid/Remote is allowed.

About Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA)

Our mission

To enhance the quality of life of the Texans we serve through water stewardship, energy and community service.

What we do

We produce and deliver electric power, manage the lower Colorado River and provide a reliable water supply, manage a public parks system and support community development. LCRA is funded by revenue we generate, the vast majority of which comes from generating and transmitting electricity. A very small portion of our revenue comes from selling water. We do not receive state appropriations or have the ability to levy taxes.

Our history

LCRA has deep roots in Texas, dating as far back as the Great Depression of the 1930s. We built the chain of dams that tamed the Colorado River and brought power to rural Central Texas for the first time.