Principal Planner

ESA seeks a highly motivated Principal Planner with 25+ years of experience in management of environmental review for water and wastewater projects to join our Southern CA Water Team.  

 Who You Are 

You are an experienced Principal Planner with a minimum of 25 years of progressive experience leading the development of environmental planning documentation and review for water and wastewater projects in California. You enjoy leading, mentoring, and growing team members. You have the knowledge and proven ability to serve as project manager or project director for highly complex and/or controversial environmental documents. You have expert knowledge of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and similar state/federal regulations and oversee large contracts for a variety of water and wastewater agency clients.

You have intellectual curiosity and thrive in collaborative environments that may require innovative solutions to problem-solving. Your experiences are varied enough to be creative and nimble in solving some of the most complex regulatory and development challenges for public agency clients. You are excited and motivated by the prospect of continuing to advance an established team of expert environmental professionals.

You have significant experience managing the overall project life cycle, from developing project proposals to overseeing day-to-day project assignments and tracking financial performance. You possess excellent communication skills and have the ability to speak persuasively about complex topics to individuals and groups. You know how to get things done and can demonstrate long-standing relationships with public sector or private development clients in southern California. 

You cultivate clients through your work and through business development and marketing activities. You are a Thought Leader, both externally and internally, recognized for continually advancing solutions to the issues of greatest important and urgency for public and private stakeholders.

You hold a Bachelor’s degree with major course work in environmental science or a related interdisciplinary field.

You are located in Southern California.

What You Will Do for ESA

As a Principal Planner, you will lead large, complex projects and tasks as well as serve as a technical specialist, leveraging your expertise to develop technical approaches and strategies to address project issues for a wide range of complex environmental planning studies, and interdisciplinary projects. You will demonstrate a clear understanding of project and client management principles and practices and be responsible for the development of technical documents and creative solutions in accordance with applicable guidelines and requirements, while delivering assignments within budget and schedule.

As a seller-doer, you will participate in marketing and business development efforts, primarily in a team environment, leveraging our extensive client and project base. Your participation will include contributing to pursuit decision-making, providing technical input to multi-disciplinary proposals and targeted marketing materials, performing strategic review of proposals, and participating in interviews.

You will represent and be a spokesperson for ESA in the marketplace—you will participate in and lead client meetings, and present at community workshops and public hearings, effectively presenting complex technical information clearly and concisely.

In your role, you will provide mentorship and support for junior staff, including reviewing their work for accuracy and clarity and providing constructive feedback and career development guidance while working on projects together.

 What’s Special About Our

Protecting precious water resources is more important and challenging than ever for today’s communities. The Southern California Water Team partners with water clients to thoughtfully navigate these complexities. Our team provides integrated, enduring solutions for the supply and conveyance of treated and recycled water, wastewater reuse, watershed management, and flood control. 

ESA’s SoCal team includes planners, environmental scientists, biologists, natural resource land managers, archeologists, historians, air and noise specialists, and environmental hydrologists and engineers. While our team is made up of employees of a variety of backgrounds and career paths, we provide a caring office culture, complete with potlucks, lunch outings, and annual events.  

In accordance with ESA’s duty and responsibility to provide and maintain a safe workplace that is free of known hazards and to minimize the exposure to potential hazards, any employee who works from an ESA office or conducts any other in-person ESA work-related activity is required to submit their proof of vaccination status or have received an approved exemption and accommodation. 

What’s Special About ESA

Joining ESA means becoming part of a close-knit team of environmental professionals who contribute to outstanding projects, improve environmental stewardship, and advance a more sustainable and resilient future for our communities and wild places.

You are eligible to participate in ESA’s sick leave and vacation program. You will be eligible to participate in our employee stock ownership program and tax deferred 401(k) plan if you meet the eligibility requirements for these plans.

Who We Are 

We are a 100% employee-owned environmental consulting firm who values diversity and inclusion and celebrate 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, which fosters our continued success for our employee-owners and clients. 

In accordance with ESA’s duty and responsibility to provide and maintain a safe workplace that is free of known hazards and to minimize the exposure to potential hazards, any employee who works from an ESA office or conducts any other in-person ESA work-related activity is required to submit their proof of vaccination status or have received an approved exemption and accommodation in states which this applies. 

ESA is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to a diverse and inclusive work environment. (EOE M/V/F/D)