Senior Climate Resilience Engineer / Planner

Herrera Environmental Consultants, Inc. is seeking a Senior Climate Resilience Engineer/Planner in San Diego, CA. The role involves leading climate adaptation efforts, conducting vulnerability assessments, and collaborating with various teams on projects related to environmental and infrastructure challenges. Candidates should have a relevant degree and at least 8 years of experience in climate resilience planning. The company values integrity, respect, and environmental stewardship.
We are Herrera


Envision yourself at a growing, employee-owned company that inspires and empowers you to deliver your best performance while making a difference in the world.


We are Herrera, a science, planning, and design consulting firm dedicated to working with clients to develop holistic solutions that provide social and environmental benefit. We protect the environment every day by providing a diverse range of consulting services to cities, counties, state and federal agencies, Tribes, non-profits, and private clients throughout Washington, Oregon, California, Montana, Wyoming, Alaska, and western Canada.


For over 40 years, Herrera has cultivated a collaborative, caring, and values-driven culture that empowers our employee-owners to achieve excellence while ensuring we have fun along the way. By providing our employee-owners with the autonomy to pursue their professional interests and through encouraging them to grow, we benefit from high employee-owner retention that contributes to our longstanding partnerships with clients.


Our Values



Treat everyone with respect and dignity, always.
Insist on integrity, objectivity, and social and environmental ethics in our work.
Act as stewards of the environment upon which we depend.
Research and outreach, learn and teach.
Employee owners, employee leaders.

Your Opportunity


Are you passionate about helping communities and organizations prepare for climate change and build long term resilience? Do you enjoy working across disciplines to develop innovative, practical solutions to complex environmental and infrastructure challenges? Then this role is for you!


As a Climate Resilience Engineer or Planner, you will join a collaborative team of engineers, planners, scientists, landscape architects, restoration specialists, geospatial analysts, and designers working to advance climate adaptation and resilience initiatives across the Pacific Northwest and beyond. This role supports a wide variety of meaningful projects related to climate vulnerability assessment, adaptation planning, watershed resilience, stormwater management, ecological restoration, and sustainable community development.


In this role we will count on you to:



Lead or support climate adaptation and resilience planning efforts
Conduct vulnerability assessments, risk analyses, and adaptation planning
Collaborate with stormwater, restoration, sustainable development, and geospatial teams
Support proposals, project scoping, and business development efforts
Build and maintain relationships with clients, agency partners, and collaborators
Grow companywide climate-related work and support strategic initiatives
Manage projects, budgets, and schedules

Minimum Qualifications


Education, Experience, & Licensure/Certifications



Bachelor's degree in civil, environmental, or water resources engineering; environmental science; or a related field
8 or more years of professional experience leading or supporting climate resilience and adaptation planning, hazard mitigation, and related work
Expertise applying this expertise on projects related to environmental planning, watershed health (including green infrastructure/nature-based solutions), shoreline health, infrastructure protection, and/or related efforts
Experience managing interdisciplinary projects and coordinating with technical teams and clients
Experience developing scopes of work, budgets, schedules, and technical deliverables
Experience in client management and proactive business development
Valid driver's license

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities



Experience with climate risk assessment frameworks, resilience metrics, or adaptation planning tools
Strong collaboration and relationship building skills across disciplines, sectors, and communities
Systems thinking and implementation planning skills with the ability to connect technical analysis to actionable outcomes
Proven ability to serve as a project manager and successfully deliver projects
Excellent written and verbal communication skills
Proficiency with Microsoft Office and Bluebeam for document review, coordination, and collaboration
Ability to manage multiple priorities and work effectively within fast paced interdisciplinary teams
A passion for developing equitable, sustainable, and resilient solutions for communities and ecosystems

Preferred Qualifications



Advanced degree engineering, planning, environmental science or related field
Experience working with public sector clients, Tribes, utilities, or community-based organizations
Familiarity with Pacific Northwest watersheds, regulatory requirements, and climate resilience challenges
Experience with grant writing, funding strategy, or implementation planning
Professional licensure or certifications relevant to the role (e.g., PE, CFM, PMP)
Proficiency in ArcGIS and hydraulic modeling software (including SWMM, MGSFlood, and/or WWHM)
Other specific training and professional organization affiliations should be noted in the applicant's resume and/or cover letter.
We are proud to support our employee-owners by offering the following compensation and benefits:



This position is salaried and exempt from overtime; the annual salary ranges by level are:

Engineer IV: $112,600 - $151,700
Engineer V: $132,100 - $171,300
Planner IV: $97,900 - $137,000
Planner V: $127,200 - $166,300

Flexible hybrid work culture
Medical/prescription drug/dental/vision insurance for employees and dependents; employees covered at no cost on base plan with buy-up options available; company contribution for dependents
Section 125 flexible benefits plans – healthcare and dependent care
Company-paid life insurance for employees; option to purchase additional life insurance for employees and dependents at employees’ expense
Company-paid long term disability insurance for employees; option to purchase short-term disability insurance at employees’ expense
Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) – we are 100% employee owned!
401(k) retirement plan
Paid vacation, accrued bi-weekly, equivalent to 15 days per year for a 40 hour/week employee and prorated for employees working 24-39 hours/week
Paid sick leave, accrued bi-weekly, equivalent to 10 days per year for a 40-hour/week employee and prorated for employees working 24-39 hours per week
Flexible paid holidays (10)
Paid volunteer time (8 hours annually)
Company-paid annual membership dues for one professional organization
Professional development / continuing education allowance
Discretionary annual bonus
Transit benefit

To learn more, please visit our website at: www.herrerainc.com


We Are Committed to Equal Opportunity, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion


At Herrera, we celebrate our differences as much as our similarities. We know the best outcomes come from interdisciplinary, diverse, and inclusive teams. Our values are ever-present in the people, culture, and work we do, they are not just a few sentences on our website. We treat people with respect and act with integrity and objectivity. Our employment decisions are based on knowledge, skills, and abilities, and have nothing to do with your race, color, gender, age, religion, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, medical history, reproductive health decisions, political ideology, veteran status, or physical appearance. As an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer, we encourage women, minorities, veterans, disabled veterans, and individuals with disabilities to apply for our open positions. We are also a member of E-Verify. To learn more about E-Verify, read the E-Verify Notice and the Right to Work Notice.





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