Land Use Planning Jobs in Rochester, NY (NOW HIRING)

Ready to make an impact? Join ERM and help shape the future of energy infrastructure while advancing your career with a global leader in environmental consulting.

Why This Role Matters

As the demand for reliable, resilient, and sustainable electricity continues to grow, new high-voltage electric transmission infrastructure is essential. This role is focused on leading and overseeing routing and siting efforts for electric transmission line projects making sure projects are planned, approved, and delivered efficiently and responsibly.

In this role, you will manage complex routing and siting studies for transmission projects across the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, and Appalachian regions. You will guide multidisciplinary teams through development of routes, environmental and land-use constraints evaluation, stakeholder engagement, and regulatory documentation and state siting authority approvals-helping clients identify constructible, defensible, and permittable transmission lines. Your leadership will directly influence how power is delivered while balancing environmental protection, community considerations, and regulatory requirements.

What Your Impact Is

As a Principal Consultant, Electric Transmission Line Siting Senior Lead, you will serve as a technical and strategic lead for both greenfield and rebuild electric transmission projects. projects.

You will be responsible for overseeing routing and siting strategies, managing project execution, and serving as a trusted advisor to clients, agencies, and stakeholders. Your work will help strengthen ERM's power sector portfolio, expand long-term client relationships, and mentor emerging professionals in transmission siting and permitting.

ERM welcomes applicants from the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, and Appalachian regions and offers flexibility to work in-office, hybrid, or fully remote based on your location.

What You'll Bring

Required:

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Environmental Science, Natural Resources, Land Use Planning, Geography, or related field (or equivalent experience).

• 6+ years of consulting or industry experience with power clients on complex infrastructure projects.

• Demonstrated experience managing and overseeing routing and siting for electric transmission lines, including development of route alternatives.

• Strong technical understanding of transmission line siting considerations and construction constraints, including wetlands, protected species, cultural resources, land use, and community impacts.

• Exceptional technical writing, communication, and organizational skills, with experience preparing routing studies, siting reports, and regulatory filings.

• Proven ability to lead multidisciplinary teams, influence stakeholders, manage budgets and schedules, and deliver high-quality work products.

• Willingness to travel up to 15%.

Preferred:

• Experience supporting or leading business development efforts, including proposal preparation.

• Experience supporting state siting authority filings including providing expert witness testimony in evidentiary hearings.

• Familiarity with state siting authorities as well as environmental permitting processes for electric transmission projects.

• Collaborative leadership style and commitment to shaping the future of energy infrastructure.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and oversee electric transmission routing and siting studies, including alternatives development, impact analysis, and development of state siting authority filings.

• Manage multiple electric transmission line projects simultaneously to meet client scope, budget, and schedule expectations while making sure quality deliverables.

• Coordinate and direct subject matter experts across environmental, land use, engineering, and stakeholder engagement disciplines.

• Review and guide preparation of technical reports, routing analyses, siting applications, and regulatory filings.

• Represent ERM and clients in agency meetings, stakeholder briefings, and public open houses.

• Prepare and deliver expert witness testimony or technical support for evidentiary hearings, as needed.

• Oversee and direct environmental field studies and environmental permitting applications, including agency consultations and coordination.

• Support business development efforts by contributing to proposals and helping expand ERM's transmission and power sector portfolio.

• Build strong, collaborative relationships across ERM's global network of experts.

For the Principal Consultant, Electric Transmission Line Siting Senior Leadposition, we anticipate the annual base pay of $110,000 - $160,905(USD). An employee's pay position within this range will be based on several factors including, but not limited to, relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, geographic location, performance, shift, travel requirements, sales or revenue-based metrics, and business or organizational needs. We also may have instances where employee's fall outside of the range based on the factors noted above.This jobmay be eligible for bonus pay (casual and fixed term/flex force employees are NOT bonus eligible).

We offer comprehensive package of benefits including paid time off, medical/dental/vision insurance, 401(k), and any other benefits to eligible employees. (Casual employees and regular employees scheduled under 20 hours a week are not benefits eligible).

You can apply for this role through https://www.erm.com/careers/apply/ or through the internal careers portal if you are a current employee.

Note: No amount of pay is considered to be wages or compensation until such amount is earned, vested, and determinable. The amount and availability of any bonus, commission, or any other form of compensation that are allocable to a particular employee remains in the Company's sole discretion unless and until paid and may be modified at the Company's sole discretion, consistent with the law.

Who We Are:

As the largest global pure play sustainability consultancy, we partner with the world's leading organizations, creating innovative solutions to sustainability challenges and unlocking commercial opportunities that meet the needs of today while preserving opportunity for future generations.

At ERM we know that creating a diverse, equitable and inclusive work environment is an essential part of making our company a great place to build a career. We also see our diversity as a strength that helps us create better solutions for our clients. Our diverse team of world-class experts supports clients across the breadth of their organizations to operationalize sustainability, underpinned by our deep technical expertise in addressing their environmental, health, safety, risk and social issues. We call this capability our "boots to boardroom" approach for its comprehensive service model that allows ERM to develop strategic and technical solutions that advance objectives on the ground or at the executive level.

Please submit your resume and brief cover letter.

ERM does not accept recruiting agency resumes. Please do not forward resumes to our jobs alias, ERM employees or any other company location. ERM is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes.

ERM is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.

Thank you for your interest in ERM!

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