Project Manager – Transmission Projects

Environmental Science Associates (ESA) is a 100% employee-owned environmental consulting firm. We plan, design, permit, mitigate, and restore for projects across our communities, infrastructure systems, open spaces, and wildlands. With 50 years of experience, we operate in 21 offices across California, the Pacific Northwest, and the Southeastern United States.

About the Role

We are looking for a highly motivated Project Manager to lead transmission projects, including overhead and underground lines, substations, grid-modernization work, and related electrical infrastructure. This role is ideal for a collaborative, delivery-focused professional eager to help advance grid reliability and clean-energy infrastructure in the West. The ideal candidate brings 10+ years of experience and a bachelor’s or master’s degree in environmental management, planning, project management, or a related field.

Responsibilities

• Lead transmission and grid-infrastructure projects from early concept through construction support, including:
  • Early feasibility and constraints screening
  • Siting and routing studies (alternatives development, fatal-flaw/constraints analysis, route comparison and selection, and constructability understanding)
  • Managing environmental field studies and conducting data-driven impact analyses
  • Permitting strategy and execution across federal, state, and local authorities
  • Right-of-way (ROW) strategy and coordination
  • Environmental compliance during pre-construction and construction (mitigation, monitoring, reporting)
• Business Development & Strategy:
  • Lead or support the development of proposals, scopes, schedules, and budgets; contribute to contract negotiations as needed
  • Participate in client meetings, industry events, and conferences to represent ESA and promote our transmission-infrastructure services
  • Leverage your professional network and build and maintain strong relationships with utility partners, engineering firms, contractors, and regulatory agencies
  • Engage with clients to understand needs, identify pursuits, and gather intel to pre-position the firm for success
  • Identify opportunities within the transmission sector, including emerging regulatory and regional trends
• Project Leadership & Execution:
  • Manage the full life cycle, from conceptual planning and proposal development through construction support and closeout
  • Oversee project scope, schedule, budget, and quality, ensuring deliverables meet ESA’s standards
  • Develop and maintain integrated, logic-linked schedules
  • Proactively identify risks and critical path and drive mitigation and recovery strategies
  • Lead preparation, review, and QA/QC of technical documents, including routing studies, alternatives analyses, constraints/fatal-flaw assessments, environmental technical reports, permit applications, mitigation plans, and compliance plans
• Siting & Routing, Environmental Studies, and Compliance:
  • Lead siting and routing from opportunity screening through preferred route selection, including criteria development, GIS-based constraints and sensitive habitat mapping, comparative evaluations, and constructability
  • Scope and manage environmental field studies (biological, cultural, wetlands/waters, visual/noise, air/GHG, EMF summaries, soils/erosion, hazardous materials), safety, and data management
  • Translate study results into clear impact analyses, avoidance/minimization measures, and mitigation strategies
  • Lead environmental compliance during pre-construction and construction, including mitigation monitoring and reporting plans (MMRPs), environmental training, contractor compliance checklists, stop-work and variance procedures, and closeout documentation
• Permitting & Interagency Coordination:
  • Develop permitting roadmaps and manage end-to-end approvals with local, state, and federal agencies (e.g., CUPs, coastal/shoreline or scenic permits, Section 404/401, Section 7/10 consultations, cultural resources reviews, right-of-entry/survey permits, encroachment and crossing permits)
  • Coordinate with counties, cities, public works, state land departments, state utility commissions, federal land managers, and other stakeholders
• ISO/RTO Transmission Needs, Planning & Interconnection Awareness:
  • Understand how ISO/RTO planning identifies transmission needs (reliability, deliverability, and policy-driven) and how projects enter the needs assessment, are evaluated, and potentially selected for development
  • Coordinate project assumptions and understand route feasibility with utility planning and interconnection queue status
• Travel to project team meetings, clients, leadership, site visits, agency meetings, and public stakeholder engagements in support of projects and clients

Requirements

• Minimum of 10 years of relevant experience
• Bachelor’s or master’s degree in environmental management, planning, project management, or a related field
• Strong knowledge of the full transmission project lifecycle, from early study areas and corridor development through routing, siting, design, permitting, construction, compliance, and O&M
• Experience in ISO/RTO transmission needs assessments and planning processes
• Experience managing the full project life cycle, from proposals through day-to-day execution and closeout
• Deep understanding of the regulatory landscape governing transmission infrastructure
• Track record of managing complex, multi-disciplinary projects throughout the life cycle
• Proficiency with project management tools (MS Project, Smartsheet, etc.)
• Proactive, organized, and skilled at anticipating challenges
• Strong client-service instincts and ability to build trusted, long-term relationships
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal
• Proven track record in proposal writing and business development

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance (paid at 70% for you and your family)
• 401(k) plan with company match
• Employee stock ownership program (ESOP)
• Paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays
• Tuition reimbursement
• Professional development bonuses
• Attendance at conferences

Pay

ESA has established multiple pay ranges tailored to the economic factors in the geographies in which ESA staff reside. For this position, the range is approximately $116,000—$155,000 USD, determined by related experience, education, skills, and location.

About Us

We are a 100% employee-owned environmental consulting firm who values diversity and inclusion and celebrates the differences that make each of us unique. Our culture is built on mutual respect, recognizing that our variety of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives leads to better solutions.