Climate Change Adaptation Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

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.

• 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.

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

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 experience 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

• 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

• Advanced degree in 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

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 E‑Verify Notice and the Right to Work Notice.