Senior Environmental Scientist

About the role

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), Inland Deserts Region has an exciting opportunity for an outgoing, independent, and highly motivated Senior Environmental Scientist (Specialist) to serve as an integral part of a team implementing the Habitat Conservation Planning Program. This position will perform duties related to Lake and Streambed Alteration, California Endangered Species Act, and other functions of the Habitat Conservation Program throughout Region 6. We are looking for somebody that has a comprehensive knowledge and interest in applying CDFW’s mission to manage fish and wildlife resources.

Responsibilities

• Under the direction of a Senior Environmental Scientist (Supervisory) and as part of CDFW’s Inland Deserts Region Habitat Conservation Program, the incumbent identifies issues, develops solutions, and coordinates with CDFW and California Department of Transportation (CalTrans) staff on compliance with California Endangered Species Act (CESA) and Fish and Game Code section 1600.
• Tracks and reviews Caltrans’ mitigation compliance for CESA and Lake or Streambed Alteration (LSA) obligations, including facilitating approval of Habitat Mitigation Land Acquisition (HMLA) packages and mitigation banking receipts.
• Serves as the region’s lead on statewide Caltrans-related mitigation and environmental compliance efforts.
• Performs duties related to Lake and Streambed Alteration, California Endangered Species Act, and other functions of the Habitat Conservation Program throughout Region 6.

Qualifications

• The Senior Environmental Scientist (Specialist) is the advanced journey level of the series. Incumbents independently identify problems, develop courses of action, and conduct critical and/or sensitive scientific investigations and studies and may prepare guidance, policy, planning, or regulatory documents and legislative proposals on issues of importance to the employer, and do other related work.
• Decision making at this level has a higher consequence of error than that of an Environmental Scientist, Range C.
• Incumbents may be assigned lead responsibility for a specific project, program function, or area of expertise; may act as a mentor to lower level staff; and may act as consultants to other technical staff, management, and other agencies in those matters.
• Two years of experience in the California state civil service performing the duties of an Environmental Scientist, Range C or II.
• Five years of increasingly responsible professional experience as a scientist in environmental analysis, research, management, planning, regulation, or investigation, two years of which have included responsibility in the development or implementation of environmental policies, programs, plans, or research projects; or conducting an environmental monitoring and surveillance, enforcement, or environmental management program; or in the direction of the work of a multidisciplinary environmental investigatory or regulatory staff, at a level equivalent to that of an Environmental Scientist, Range C, in the California state civil service.
• Possession of a master’s degree in a biological, chemical, physical, or environmental science, soil science, water science, hydrology, agronomy, natural resource science, environmental or public health, physical geography, or a closely related scientific discipline may be substituted for one year of the required general experience; possession of a doctorate in the above-named disciplines may be substituted for two years of the general experience.