Environmental Science Associates (ESA) seeks a Senior Coastal Engineer to provide leadership for ESA’s coastal engineering and resilience practice across California and beyond. We are looking for a proven leader with 15+ years of work experience, a passion for coastal processes, coastal hazards, engineering with nature, sea-level-rise, and resilience planning, and the desire to help lead, grow, and mentor our top-notch coastal engineering group. This is a leadership role at the forefront of coastal resilience—spanning coastal hazards analysis, adaptation planning, and implementation—while delivering high-impact solutions.

Who You Are

• You are a professionally licensed engineer with 15+ years of experience leading coastal engineering projects, including expertise in nature-based solutions, coastal resilience planning, coastal hazards analysis (waves, runup, erosion, and flooding) as well as flood management along the U.S. Pacific Coast and beyond.
• You have led and managed complex coastal engineering projects from concept through construction, including coastal hazards and vulnerability assessments, engineering evaluations, and erosion/flooding studies, technical reports, design plan sets, specifications, cost estimates (PS&E packages), construction schedules, and/or construction support.
• You are adept in the engineering steps required to move projects from concept to construction bid package, including coordination with multidisciplinary teams such as geotechnical, structural, and hydraulic engineers as well as coastal planners and landscape architects.
• You have provided senior engineer review and oversight on large-scale coastal engineering projects, with an emphasis on Living Shorelines, nature-based solutions and multi-benefit flood and erosion protection, and have experience integrating coastal engineering with planning, economics, and resilience strategy development.
• You have led, managed, mentored, and/or supervised multi-disciplinary design and engineering teams including delegating and guiding engineers through simple to complex tasks. You are an effective communicator who fosters teamwork and inclusion, and shares knowledge and expertise with more junior staff through mentoring and direct supervision. 
• You have a Bachelor’s degree or higher in coastal engineering or a closely related discipline and a Professional Engineers license in California, Washington, and/or Oregon.

What You Will Do for ESA

• As a senior leader, contribute to annual and long-term strategic planning for our coastal engineering and coastal resilience practice. Cultivate best practices, facilitate knowledge sharing and technical training, mentor and manage more junior staff, develop and oversee implementation of engineering QA/QC protocols specific to coastal engineering and analysis, help manage workflow and workplans and make staffing and recruitment recommendations.
• Identify opportunities, track markets and clients and lead strategy to link and leverage resilience/sea level rise planning with ESA’s coastal sciences and engineering expertise.
• Leverage ESA’s multi-disciplinary practices across regions to help connect, integrate, drive and expand our teams’ demonstrated capabilities in coastal hazards analysis, coastal resilience planning, and sea level rise adaptation firmwide.
• Collaborate with other engineers, coastal planners, hydrologists, geomorphologists, landscape architects, ecologists, biologists, economists, and other specialists in advancing coastal engineering, resilience planning and habitat restoration approaches and other project solutions from concept to implementation. 
• Help plan, design and/or manage a wide array of important, challenging and exciting projects – leading efforts from coastal risk assessment through implementation – including coastal hazards assessments (such as wave runup, flooding, and erosion), sea level rise vulnerability analyses, adaptation planning, Living Shorelines design, ecosystem restoration, climate change resilience/sea level rise adaptation, fisheries habitat enhancement, and engineering with nature.  
• Thrive in a fast-paced, challenging environment and be able to manage multiple responsibilities and deadlines, while working on a team or independently.
• Be located in one of ESA’s CA Regions (Northern or Southern California.

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.

At ESA, we provide benefits such as medical, dental, and vision insurance (paid at 70% for you AND your family), annual allocations of company shares through our ESOP, a 401(k) plan with company match, annual performance-based bonuses, and paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays, to name a few.

We also provide specific programs whether you want to further your technical expertise, sharpen your business acumen, or help lead the next generation of employee-owners. We want to support you in reaching your career goals through tuition reimbursement, professional development bonuses, and attendance at conferences.

What’s Special About ESA’s Coastal Engineering Group

Our Coastal Engineering team is leading efforts throughout the West and Gulf Coasts to understand the increasing vulnerability of our shores, infrastructure, and communities and working to develop adaptation strategies and sound land use planning and policy. ESA has particular expertise in coastal hazards analysis under existing and future conditions, including sea level rise, wave runup, coastal flooding, and erosion processes, as well as adaptation planning and risk management, and nature-based adaptation and design solutions.

We integrate traditional engineering expertise with an understanding of natural physical processes to develop state-of-the practice, sustainable green and gray solutions.

Our work spans the full continuum from coastal hazards and vulnerability assessment to adaptation planning, economic evaluation, and engineering design and implementation, working closely with planners, economists, and stakeholders to develop actionable, fundable solutions.

We are implementing these innovative and creative Living Shoreline and nature-based sea level rise adaptation projects for a diverse range of clients throughout the West and Gulf coasts, including gravel beaches, horizontal levees, oyster reefs, and marsh creation with reused dredged sediments. We have designed some of the most notable managed shoreline retreat projects that reduce coastal hazards while accommodating and enhancing recreational opportunities, including Birch Bay and Lowman Beach in the Northwest, and Surfer’s Point and San Francisco’s Ocean Beach in California. Along the Gulf of Mexico, we have worked with the Gulf States, counties, parishes, and federal agencies to plan and prioritize coastal resilience and restoration projects funded by the RESTORE Act. We also specialize in coastal lagoons and have developed management and enhancement plans for dozens of lagoons throughout the West Coast.

The coastal engineering group is part of our 90-person Environmental Hydrology & Design practice, which includes civil and coastal engineers, coastal scientists, hydrologists, hydrographers, geomorphologists and landscape architects. Much of our work is oriented toward the restoration and adaptive capacity of habitat and ecosystem function, often as part of multi-benefit flood management and/or recreation projects. As a highly-integrated team, we value creative thinking, teamwork, and a passion for protecting our fragile yet precious creeks, rivers, wetlands, and coasts.

To read about some of our representative projects, check out these links:

• • Ocean Beach Master Plan
  • Heron's Head Park Shoreline Resilience Project
  • Giant Marsh Living Shoreline
  • Surfers’ Point Shoreline Management 
  • Oceanside Local Coastal Program Update
  • Aliso Creek Estuary Restoration
  • Philippe Park Living Shorelines Project
  • Rock Creek Ponds Ecosystem Restoration

#LI-ZV

ESA seeks a highly motivated Junior Coastal Engineer with 0-3 years' experience to join our team of hydrologists, geomorphologists, ecologists, landscape architects and engineers in the Northern California region. This position will support a variety of multi-objective tidal wetland and coastal restoration design projects in the San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta, California Coast, and throughout California. We are looking for a dedicated and enthusiastic team member with a passion for ecosystem restoration and the desire to learn and grow.  This is a full-time salary exempt role with hybrid work expectations.  Candidates must be able to work in office hybrid in one of the following office locations: San Francisco, Oakland, Sacramento, or Petaluma and be available as needed to travel to other ESA office locations for in-person team collaboration. 

Who You Are 

• You have a Bachelor’s degree in Civil/Environmental Engineering or a related degree and directly relevant qualifications, and EIT certification or the ability to obtain it within one year;
• You have education, training, and/or work experience in one or more of the following: coastal zone or estuarine habitat restoration, land management, geomorphology and/or ecology; coastal engineering; estuarine hydraulics and hydrology.
• Experience in design and modeling software (AutoCAD Civil 3D, ArcGIS, HEC RAS, HEC HMS, XBeach, SWAN etc.) and programming (MATLAB, Python) are desirable but not required.
• You are an effective team member with excellent oral and writing skills who can work independently and collaboratively in a multi-disciplinary environment.
• You can communicate basic technical information clearly and concisely to individuals and small groups.
• You are adept at using various communication tools to effectively combine in-person and remote teamwork.
• You are able to work hybrid in office in San Francisco, Oakland, Sacramento, or Petaluma.  

What You Will Do for ESA

• Support design and analysis for ecosystem restoration, climate change resilience, habitat enhancement, engineering with nature, flood management, and other water resources and civil engineering projects under direct supervision of a more senior engineer or hydrologist.  
• Assist in the preparation of engineering analyses, design plans and cost estimates, reports, permit applications, and other project documentation. Apply hydrologic and hydraulic models, GIS, and other tools to evaluate design alternatives. Using GIS or other software platforms to evaluate habitat conversion in both the near and long-term accounting for climate change. Have the opportunity to collect hydrographic, topographic, and related field data to support engineering analysis and design.  
• Consistently demonstrate your solid writing and attentive listening skills, contributing to complex environmental reports, and participating in meetings with ESA staff and with our clients. This position will lead to project management experience over time. 
• Thrive in a fast-paced, challenging environment and be able to balance multiple responsibilities and deadlines, while working on a team or independently. Provided the appropriate direction, resources and support, you will independently solve simple to complex problems. 
• Please note, as a part of the interview process, you may be asked to prepare a presentation and/or provide a writing sample.

What’s Special About Our Team

Our EH&D team includes engineers, engineers, hydrologists, geomorphologists and landscape architects. Much of our work is oriented toward the restoration of habitat and ecosystem function, often as part of multi-benefit projects. As a highly-integrated team, we value creative thinking, teamwork, and multi-disciplinary and cross-disciplinary engagement and integration. 

To read about some of our exciting projects, check out these links Dutch Slough, Lower Walnut Creek, Heron's Head Park Shoreline Resilience, Tomales Bay Living Shoreline, and Surfers' Point. 

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.

At ESA, we provide benefits such as medical, dental, and vision insurance (paid at 70% for you AND your family), annual allocations of company share through our ESOP, a 401(k) plan with company match, and paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays, to name a few.

We also provide specific programs whether you want to further your technical expertise, sharpen your business acumen, or help lead the next generation of employee-owners. We want to support you in reaching your career goals through tuition reimbursement, professional development bonuses, and attendance at conferences.

ESA seeks a highly motivated Coastal Engineer with 5+ years of experience in physical coastal processes to join our Environmental Hydrology & Design Team based out of our San Francisco, CA office. The ideal candidate shall serve as a technical specialist, performing quantitative analysis, modeling, and engineering in support of multi-objective planning and design projects, including shore and wetland restoration design, natural resource management, flooding and erosion studies, and sea-level rise adaptation planning. The ideal candidate shall be able to work onsite a few days per week in one of our offices (San Francisco, CA, Sacramento, CA, Los Angeles, CA, and/or Seattle, WA). 

Who You Are 

You are a Coastal Engineer with a minimum of 5 years of professional experience in physical coastal processes such as wave theory and modeling, coastal flood hazard analysis, and sediment transport analysis and modeling.

You have a degree in Coastal Engineering or a closely related field and a California Professional Engineers license or the ability to obtain one. A master’s or PhD is desirable but not required. An advanced degree with 2-4 years of experience will be considered as well.

You possess basic knowledge of California coastal regulations, policies, processes, and principles. You are an effective team player and have experience delegating work to and providing supervisory support for entry-level staff.  You have strong writing skills and can distill complex engineering and scientific concepts in an understandable way for the public, clients, agency staff, teaming partners and other project stakeholders. You are effective at communicating complex coastal analyses in oral presentations to peer groups and technical advisory groups.

You thrive in a fast-paced consulting environment and can manage multiple responsibilities and deadlines while working on a team or independently.

What You Will Do for ESA

You will work in collaboration with our team of hydrologists, geomorphologists, biologists, engineers and regulatory experts to help manage, restore and enhance natural shores and wetlands throughout Northern California and beyond.

You may serve as a Task Manager on basic or moderately complex projects, developing and tracking scopes of work, schedules, budgets and invoices under a Project Manager’s direction.

You will write clear and concise engineering and scientific reports and papers, communicate concepts in presentations to the public and to technical reviewers and provide mentorship for more junior staff including delegating work, reviewing work for accuracy and providing constructive feedback while working on projects together.

What’s Special About Our Team

ESA's Environmental Hydrology & Design team includes engineers, hydrologists, geomorphologists, and landscape architects. Much of our work is oriented toward the restoration of habitat and ecosystem function, often as part of multi-benefit projects. As a highly integrated team, we value creative thinking, teamwork, and multi-disciplinary and cross-disciplinary engagement and integration.

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.

At ESA, we provide benefits such as medical, dental, and vision insurance (paid at 70% for you AND your family), annual allocations of company share through our ESOP, a 401(k) plan with company match, and paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays, to name a few.

We also provide specific programs whether you want to further your technical expertise, sharpen your business acumen, or help lead the next generation of employee-owners. We want to support you in reaching your career goals through tuition reimbursement, professional development bonuses, and attendance at conferences.