Lead Forest Ecologist - NEPA & USFS Consulting Career in Columbus
Career & Market Insight
This is a senior individual contributor / team lead role at one of the world's largest engineering consultancies (WSP employs 15,000+ in the U.S. alone). It sits at the intersection of ecology, federal compliance, and business development — a high-value combination in the environmental consulting market.
Compensation context: The $95K–$142K range is competitive for Lead/Senior ecologist roles in consulting. Government-side equivalents (GS-12/13) typically top out lower, so this represents a meaningful premium over federal employment with comparable federal-lands experience.
Skills you'll build or deepen:
- Forest Vegetation Simulation (FVS) modeling — increasingly in demand for wildfire and climate-adaptation planning
- NEPA/CEQA analysis at a multi-state, multi-agency scale
- Business development and client-facing leadership
- Cross-disciplinary team coordination (GIS, engineering, cultural resources)
Green flags: Explicit remote flexibility, clear salary band, multi-state project exposure, and a pathway to grow a national practice are strong positives. WSP's scale means internal mobility is realistic.
Watch points: The role requires schedules that "may extend beyond the typical workweek" and up to 20% field travel — work-life balance will depend on project cadence. The expectation to identify new clients suggests some business development KPIs, which may not suit purely technical candidates. Overall, this is a strong career move for an experienced ecologist ready to step into a consulting leadership track.
This Opportunity
WSP USA is initiating a search for a Lead Forest Ecologist to join our California Earth and Environment Team. Our California-based team consists of members concentrated in California, but many live and work on projects in multiple states across the U.S. based on our team's capabilities and interests.
We are seeking a highly motivated candidate with experience in federal land management, forest planning, NEPA analysis related to forests and natural resources management, biological/ecological surveys, forestry management, and scientific writing. The ideal candidate has experience writing technical biological reports, evaluating impacts to sensitive resources on federal lands, and planning with the US Forest Service — with demonstrated success in forestry and/or ecology and technical writing.
Your Impact
- Serve as forester or forest ecologist on multiple projects in multiple states, including three ongoing projects in Oregon
- Identify potential new clients and project opportunities nationally with internal members of the organization
- Lead/organize forestry and/or ecology field data collection and prepare related reports
- Advise other team members on forest planning and impact analysis related to US Forest Service and other federal agencies
- Grow our ability to undertake vegetation modeling, including Forest Vegetation Simulation (FVS) modeling and other statistical analyses to support multiple projects
- Participate in wildfire mitigation planning
- Work collaboratively with multi-disciplinary teams which could include engineers, planners, GIS analysts, recreation specialists, biologists, cultural resources specialists, permitting and environmental resource specialists, and construction compliance monitors
- Lead or assist with GIS data generation and management, particularly for ecological data, for federal or state clients
Who You Are
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's Degree in Biology, Ecology, Environmental Science, Forestry, Natural Resource Management, or a related life sciences field
- 10+ years of experience working as a Forester or Forest Ecologist, with at least 5 years associated with federal lands
- US Forest Service experience
- Well-developed expertise with conducting NEPA / CEQA / other analysis and preparation of associated documentation
- Highly capable self-leadership and interpersonal communication skills with the ability to effectively, persuasively, and tactfully interact with employees at all levels of the organization
- Ability to work independently and provide guidance and leadership to junior team or project members, with strict adherence to QA/QC
- Well-developed critical thinking and problem-solving skills required to reach conclusions from testing results, data collation, and identify the most effective solutions to accomplish project objectives
- Proven track record of upholding workplace safety and ability to abide by WSP's health, safety, and drug/alcohol and harassment policies
- Ability to work schedules conducive to project-specific requirements that may extend beyond the typical workweek
- Up to 20% travel may be required for field work and client meetings
Preferred Qualifications
- Professional certifications as applicable to technical expertise
- Knowledge of federal, state, and local environmental regulations related to sensitive species in Washington, Oregon, California, Wisconsin, Minnesota, or Michigan
WSP Benefits
WSP provides a comprehensive suite of benefits focused on providing health and financial stability throughout the employee's career. These benefits include coverage related to medical, dental, vision, disability, and life; retirement savings; paid sick leave; paid vacation (or other personal time); paid parental leave; and paid time off for purposes of bereavement, voting, and/or attendance at naturalization proceedings.
Ability to work remotely from any location in the US, while supporting projects nationally.
Compensation
Expected Salary: $95,400 – $141,680
WSP USA is providing the compensation range that the company in good faith believes it might pay and offer for this position, based on the successful applicant's education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities in addition to internal equity and specific geographic location. WSP USA reserves the right to ultimately pay more or less than the posted range and offer additional benefits and other compensation, depending on circumstances not related to an applicant's sex or other status protected by local, state, and/or federal law.
About WSP
WSP USA is the U.S. operating company of WSP, one of the world's leading engineering and professional services firms. Dedicated to serving local communities, we are engineers, planners, technical experts, strategic advisors and construction management professionals. WSP USA designs lasting solutions in the buildings, transportation, energy, water and environment markets. With more than 15,000 employees in over 300 offices across the U.S., we partner with our clients to help communities prosper.
WSP provides a flexible and agile workplace model while meeting client needs. At WSP, we want to give our employees the challenges they seek to grow their careers and knowledge base. Your daily contributions to your team will be essential in meeting client objectives, goals and challenges.
WSP USA (and all of its U.S. companies) is an Equal Opportunity Employer Race/Age/Color/Religion/Sex/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity/National Origin/Disability or Protected Veteran Status.
The selected candidate must be authorized to work in the United States.
NOTICE TO THIRD PARTY AGENCIES:
WSP does not accept unsolicited resumes from recruiters, employment agencies, or other staffing services. Unsolicited resumes include any resume or hiring document sent to WSP in the absence of a signed Service Agreement where WSP has expressly requested recruitment/staffing services specific to the position at hand. Any unsolicited resumes, including those submitted to hiring managers or other business leaders, will become the property of WSP and WSP will have the right to hire that candidate without reservation – no fee or other compensation will be owed or paid to the recruiter, employment agency, or other staffing service.
Frequently Asked Questions
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