Mid-Level Habitat Restoration Specialist

Dudek • Full-time • Mission Viejo, CA • 2w ago

Who We Are
Dudek is a leading environmental, planning, and engineering firm that help public and private clients plan, design, and build projects that improve communities’ built and natural infrastructure. Founded in 1980, Dudek has grown steadily to more than 800 professionals across the U.S. and received the Top Workplace Award for 2024.

As a 100% employee-owned company, Dudek’s culture rewards smart, productive team members with ownership, professional development, and financial benefits. We seek creative, pragmatic problem-solvers working at the intersection of science, engineering, regulations, and multiple stakeholders’ interest to help clients achieve project goals.
We encourage collaboration, sustainability, and innovation.

At Dudek, we abide by shared values:
Trust: We trust each other to use good judgment.
Respect: We act professionally and treat each other fairly.
Teamwork: We come together, share openly, and apply diverse perspectives.
Fun: We take our work seriously…not ourselves.
Well-Being: We care about each other’s health, safety, and total wellness.

Our culture is the foundation of who we are and how we work. We empower our employee-owners to invest in our local communities and themselves through initiatives that make Dudek a great place to work! Our cultural programs include:

DuGreen: Our sustainability initiative, which works to improve our environmental footprint
DuGood: Our philanthropic initiative, which seeks to support the communities in which we live and work through fundraising challenges, office-based giving and opportunity to take a paid volunteer day each year.
eDUcate: Our educational outreach program where we aim to foster interest in our work and careers in the environmental and engineering field by participating in educational events in our communities.
DuWell: Our wellness initiative, aimed at providing education on wellness, benefit resources, and preventive care.

At Dudek, we recognize that different perspectives, inclusivity, trust and belonging build a stronger culture and add value to our firm. Dudek's Employee Resource (ERGs) operate as diversity champions within Dudek and create a safe space for underrepresented employees and their allies to support, collaborate, network, and brainstorm ways to make Dudek’s work community more inclusive. We proudly support our 4 Employee Resource Groups (ERGs):

Women at Dudek
Members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer (LGBTQ+) community
Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) employees
Disabled employees (all disabilities, seen / unseen)

Learn more about our culture.

About The Job
We are currently seeking a full-time, self-motivated individual with proven professional experience in ecological restoration to join our Habitat Restoration Team.This position will have abundant professional growth and career advancement opportunities as well as expanded responsibilities consistent with the recipient’s skills and motivations.

Proposed salary range: $70,000 to $105,000 annually*

*Final agreed upon compensation will be based on a variety of factors including but not limited to an individual’s related experience, education, certification, skills, and work location.

Learn more about the projects you will have the opportunity to shape.

Who You Are
To thrive at Dudek, you should be comfortable with accountability, collaboration, flexibility while being a resourceful and independent thinker. We look for curious, solution-focused people who can adapt quickly to an ever-changing industry. There is no single way to solve a problem, so we encourage innovation.

Duties and Responsibilities (may include some or all of the below):

Lead the development of written restoration planning and design documents including Habitat Mitigation and Monitoring Plans and Conceptual Restoration Plans.
Lead and conduct field work associated with site assessments and long-term biological monitoring of mitigation/restoration sites.
- Collect field data utilizing point intercept transect, quadrat, relevé, and other sampling methodologies.
- Conduct statistical analysis of collected data sets.
Prepare written technical reports including site assessments and annual monitoring reports for habitat restoration projects.
Perform observations of restoration implementation/construction and prepare punch list field reports for projects.
Lead design and planning for mitigation, revegetation, and restoration projects.
Interpret habitat assessments, vegetation mapping, and other general biological resources surveys and report documents.
Manage projects including project workflow, budget tracking, financial performance, sub-consultant coordination, etc.
Draft scopes and costs for proposal efforts.
Assist with resource agency permitting.
Coordinate with in-house biologists, restoration ecologists, landscape architects and engineers.
Conduct habitat assessments, rare plant surveys, vegetation mapping, jurisdictional delineations, and other general biological survey assignments.

Minimum Requirements

B.A. or B.S. in Restoration Ecology, Environmental Science, Earth System Science, Biology, Landscape Architecture, or other applicable environmental field with strong ecological background.
4-10 years of experience in habitat restoration planning and implementation.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills and ability to draft and edit technical documents.
Able to conduct strenuous field work in hot weather (over 100 F) and in steep terrain conditions. Work may involve assignments in remote locations with overnight stays and working individually.
License to legally operate a motor vehicle in the State of California.
Must possess a valid driver’s license and have active personal automobile liability insurance by first day of employment

* As a federal contractor, successful candidates are required to pass the following pre-employment requirements prior to beginning employment: pre - employment drug test and background check.

Preferred Qualifications

Demonstrated expertise in one or more of the following: wetlands restoration, coastal nature-based design, sensitive species habitat restoration, rare plant species restoration, restoration design (landscape architecture), restoration engineering, invasive species management and pesticide application (Pest Control Advisor), land management planning and implementation, or mitigation banking.
Ability to act independently in the development of new projects and/or lead business development efforts in collaboration with the Habitat Restoration Practice Director.
Ability to provide QA/QC technical review of habitat restoration documents based on informed expertise and project experience.
Experience with Resource Agency coordination related to mitigation projects.
In depth knowledge of local ecology, plant communities, hydrology, soils, and native and non-native plant species.
Fluency in restoration concepts and ecological processes.
Experience and knowledge of the environmental policies and regulations which may require restoration work to be performed, and that may constrain various approaches to restoration design and implementation.
Experience with mitigation banking and/or In-Lieu Fee programs.
Excellent technical writing skills.

Physical Requirements
Working Conditions:

This job operates in a remote or office-based environment and this role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, printers, etc.
This job requires occasional project site visits-based outdoors which can include excessive noise, uneven walking surfaces, extreme weather, moving vehicles and equipment.

Physical Requirements: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met in order to successfully perform the essential functions of the job.

This job requires working on a computer, sitting or standing for long periods of time in an office or remote office setting.
This job requires attending meetings, both in person and virtually as well as speaking on the phone with peers, clients, etc. Speaking, hearing and listening are required.
Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.

*Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Perks of Being a Dudekian
At Dudek we will provide you with a competitive salary in an environment that promotes growth, career development, and a flexible work–life balance. Dudek offers an array of benefits, from medical, dental, and vision coverage, to the discretionary bonuses, based on firmwide, divisional, and individual performance.

We also offer a yearly merit review, an employee stock ownership program, and dog friendly offices! To honor our key value of well-being, Dudek provides generous Paid Time Off (PTO) packages for both salaried and hourly employees. If you’re tired of an overly bureaucratic decision-making process and want to be part of a work culture that puts its employees first, speak with your recruiter to learn more about the great perks of being a Dudekian.

Dudek is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, or other characteristics protected by applicable law.

Dudek is a U.S.-based employer. All positions are based in the U.S. and require U.S. work authorization.

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