Jobs & Internships

WSP USA

Senior Permitting Lead

As part of the Rail Delivery Partners (RDP), WSP USA provides a variety of planning, environmental, engineering, and design services in support of the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) in its efforts to build and operate a statewide high-speed rail system. The California High Speed Train (CHST) project is an 800-mile high-speed rail passenger service, which will run from Sacramento in the North to San Diego in the South, with major interchange hubs in between, including San Francisco and Los Angeles. This will be the first, true high-speed rail project in America, with trains operating at up to 220 mph.

WSP USA is currently initiating a search for a full-time Senior Permitting Lead for our Sacramento, California office.

The position will be in Sacramento with occasional travel (<20%) between Sacramento, Bay Area, and Central Valley; areas within the geographic reaches of these CHST project sections. The employee will work in a climate-controlled office under artificial light as well as be required to attend in-person field meetings and/or in-person meetings at field offices (e.g. agency and/or regional consultant’s offices, etc.) on an on-call, on-demand basis. On occasion, travel to other areas of California that include the Central Valley and northern California to other project offices and/or work sites and/or in-field in-person meetings may be required. In-field meetings may consist of multiple days in consecutive order and involve a range of physical exertion levels.

Duties and Responsibilities:

She/he will lead and manage the State and federal permit application and consultation processes for the San Francisco to San Jose and San Jose to Merced CHST project sections as well as provide support to Central Valley permitting and compliance efforts as needed. She/he will lead and manage task assignments, oversee and review work conducted by other staff including consultants such as complex analyses and studies, and interface with government agencies, legal counsel, stakeholders and the public. She/he will report directly to the CHST Statewide Permit, Mitigation and Compliance Lead. Specific duties and responsibilities include:

Working interactively with CHSRA staff located throughout the State, regional consultants, environmental and engineering consultants, legal counsel, and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) in the strategy development, preparation, and acquisition of necessary permits from the applicable resource agencies
Lead and manage the State and federal permitting and consultation processes needed to support issuance of Notices of Determination (NODs) and Record of Decisions (RODs), State and federal permitting processes, and development and integration of a mitigation plans
This role begins with early informal consultations, such as prior to development of Checkpoint A Purpose and Need, through to permit and agreement document issuance and mitigation fulfillment.
Responsible for implementation and/or or compliance with:
- Memoranda of Understanding: National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. § 4321 et seq)/Clean Water Act Section 404 (233 U.S.C. § 1344)/Rivers and Harbors Act Section 14 (33 U.S.C. § 408) Integration Process for the California High Speed-Train Program, which articulates the agreed to process for compliance with Section 404 and 404(b)(1) of the Clean Water Act (CWA) and Section 14 of the Rivers and Harbors Act (“Section 408”)
- Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)/National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA/NMFS)
- Section 401/402 of the CWA - State Water Resources Control Board
- Section 1600 et seq and Section 2081 of the Fish and Game Code - California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
- McAteer-Petris Act - San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission
- Development and implementation of compensatory and habitat mitigation plans, in accordance with the USACE/USEPA 2008 Final Rule, including review of title reports, drafting/reviewing mitigation plans sections, etc. consistent with the Authority’s Regional Mitigation Policy.
Development of supporting technical documents associated with the State and federal regulatory processes such as wetland delineation reports, CRAM, biological resources reports, etc.
Serving as the main point of contact for the natural-resource and regulatory agencies relative to the areas of natural resource mitigation, permitting, and compliance demonstration for their assigned CHST project section regions;
Engage with natural resources and conservation stakeholders.

Minimum Qualifications:

Bachelor Degree in Biological or Wetland Sciences or a related field
Strong knowledge of federal and State regulatory processes, National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), state and federal environmental laws, processes and guidelines, and compensatory mitigation compliance and planning
Ability to serve as technical support to the analysis of environmental impact documents, permit application and consultation documents in compliance with applicable governing statutes and regulations, and development of compensatory mitigation planning
Minimum 12 years in progressively-responsible relevant experience
Excellent project management and organizational skills
Strong analytical and verbal and written communication skills
She/he must have the ability to work independently, problem-solve through creative processes and establish partnerships with project management, CHSRA staff, government agencies, other organizations and stakeholder groups
Must be able to function well in a fast-paced environment under demanding deadlines and changing priorities and conditions.

Preferred Qualifications (a plus)

Master Degree in Biological or Wetland Sciences or a related field
Experience with construction compliance and design-build projects
CA experience

Talent is the essence of meeting our client’s objectives, goals and challenges. If this sounds like a fit for you, we’d love to have that first discussion of you joining our team.

Senior Permitting and Compliance Specialist

WSP USA provides a variety of planning, environmental, engineering, and design services in support of the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) in its efforts to build and operate a statewide high-speed rail system. The California High Speed Train (CHST) project is an 800-mile high-speed rail passenger service, which will run from Sacramento in the North to San Diego in the South, with major interchange hubs in between, including San Francisco and Los Angeles. This will be the first, true high-speed rail project in America, with trains operating at up to 220 mph.

WSP USA is currently initiating a search for a full-time Senior Permitting and Compliance Specialist for our Fresno, California office. She/he will support the preparation of State and federal permit applications and amendments and compliance implementation and oversight for the Central Valley portions of the CHST project. The position will require working interactively with the CHSRA personnel and their consultants, WSP USA staff located throughout the State, contractors, legal counsel and the Federal Railroad Administration in the procurement of necessary permits from the applicable resource agencies.

The position will be in Fresno with occasional travel (<20%) between Sacramento, Fresno, and project site areas within the Central Valley geographic reach of the CHST Project. The employee will work in a climate-controlled office under artificial light as well as be required to attend in-person field meetings and/or in-person meetings at field offices (e.g. agency and/or regional consultant’s offices, etc.) on an on-call, on-demand basis. On occasion, travel to other areas of California that include the Central Valley and northern California to other project offices and/or work sites and/or in-field in-person meetings may be required. In-field meetings may consist of multiple days in consecutive order and involve a range of physical exertion levels.

Duties and Responsibilities:

She/he will serve in an oversight capacity for the CHSRA on one or more project segments of the CHST project currently under construction relevant to compliance with State and federal natural-resources laws and regulations. She/he will report directly to the CHST Infrastructure Delivery Environmental Support Unit Lead. Specific duties and responsibilities include: Related duties and responsibilities include will:

Facilitation of meetings with a variety of parties, including contractor(s), 3rd parties, and regulatory agency staff, as well as program management consultants and CHSRA staff to achieve understanding and consensus for a variety of natural resource related environmental compliance issues.
Work with a multidisciplinary team of environmental and engineering professionals to provide field review of biological conditions, quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) of CEQA/NEPA documentation and natural resource permit amendments, cultural resource protocols, and compliance implementation and reporting.
Utilize a working knowledge of the federal/State Endangered Species Act to assist with interpretation and proper implementation of the permit/Biological Opinion requirements and conditions.
Perform field audits, review compliance reporting, and deal with and resolve enforcement and non-compliance issues with natural resource permits issued by California Department of Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, etc. Develop and maintain productive relationships with the various parties.
Facilitation of project issues and resolutions to CHSRA region and headquarters staff through written and verbal communication.
May include having primary responsibilities for troubleshooting and providing support for environmental compliance databases software. S/he may also have primary responsibilities for QA/QC and interpretation of GIS and/or right-of-way mapping and reviewing construction plans and specifications.

Minimum Qualifications:

Demonstrated knowledge or familiarity with MS SharePoint, Access, or other databases used for environmental compliance tracking and verification
A minimum Bachelors of Science or Arts in Environmental Studies, Natural Resource Management, Wildlife Biology, Anthropology, or similar area of study
Demonstrated experience in one or more of the following practice areas: wildlife biology, natural resources, regulatory permitting (Clean Water Act, CDFW regulations, etc.), CEQA/NEPA, cultural resources, or similar
Demonstrated understanding and/or experience with construction compliance
Can work independently and productively in a dynamic, fast-paced work environment with multiple deadlines and stakeholders
Be self-motivated, efficient, and organized.
Can establish and maintain good working relations with construction personnel, contractor management, and Authority/program management staff
Minimum 10 years in progressively-responsible relevant experience

Preferred Qualifications (a plus)

Master Degree in Biological or Wetland Sciences or a related field
Experience with design-build projects

Talent is the essence of meeting our client’s objectives, goals and challenges. If this sounds like a fit for you, we’d love to have that first discussion of you joining our team.

About WSP USA

WSP USA is the U.S. operating company of 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 transportation, buildings, energy, water and environment sectors. With nearly 7,000 people in 100 offices across the U.S., we partner with our clients to help communities prosper. www.wsp.com/usa

WSP provides a progressive mix of benefits including medical, dental 401k and long term disability focused on a providing health and financial stability throughout the employee’s career.

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 a key piece in our meeting client objectives, goals and challenges, are you ready to get started?

WSP USA is an Equal Opportunity Employer – M/F/Veteran/Disability/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity.

The selected candidate must be authorized to work in the United States.