Senior Technical Advisor - FERC

About the opportunity

SWCA Environmental Consultants is seeking a Senior Technical Advisor – FERC (HR Title = Planning Technical Advisor) reporting into our Portland, Maine office. This is an On-Demand/On-Call, hourly, temporary (without benefits) position. On-Call positions average working at most 19 hours per week. The qualified applicant could either be a remote (= distributed) employee or work out of the Portland office in a hybrid fashion.

The successful candidate will have technical expertise in managing large tasks and large teams for projects associated with the Natural Gas Act (NGA) under the jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Additional experience managing natural gas projects associated with the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), and the Clean Water Act (CWA) is also required. Key skills include the ability to provide quality assurance/quality control oversight, and strong interpersonal and technical writing skills. The position will support or manage a variety of project tasks, but will greatly focus on driving FERC-related tasks and mentoring authors. Auxiliary tasks may include performing and overseeing multi-disciplinary project planning, environmental assessment, impact analyses, permitting, and similar tasks.

The Senior Technical Advisor will be expected to have a proven track record of mentoring and teaching junior, mid, and senior-level staff members in the following areas: managing, preparing, and reviewing reports, technical documents, applications, information requests, proposals and other written deliverables for construction projects related to various permitting/planning and compliance activities.

Application Deadline: Applications for this role will be due on August 19, 2026 COB.

What you will accomplish

As a Senior Technical Advisor – FERC, you will:

• Serve as a technical expert in FERC-related tasks and regional permitting.
• Be recognized as a subject matter expert (SME) and technical resource to provide advice and expertise to SWCA staff, projects, and clients.
• Work closely with various team members throughout the planning and execution of project tasks.
• Prepare, review, and provide QA/QC for technical documents as part of permitting processes.
• Provide training and oversight to develop depth and competency among staff planners and biologists
• Collaborate with clients, SWCA staff, and resource and regulatory agency staff to ensure project success

Experience and qualifications for success

Required Qualifications

• Minimum of a bachelor’s degree in ecology, forestry, environmental science, or other related field.
• Minimum of ten (10) years combined experience in project management, environmental consulting; natural gas pipeline projects.
• Working knowledge of federal and state laws (e.g., Natural Gas Act, NEPA, ESA, NHPA, CWA, Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act) as it relates to natural gas pipeline facility projects.
• Demonstrated experience in the development of environmental permit applications and documents pertaining to the authorization of interstate natural gas facilities regulated by the FERC or other agencies, including Environmental Reports, Environmental Assessments/Environmental Impact Statements, and other relevant environmental plans and documents.
• Experience with agencies such as: FERC, DOE, USACE, and/or similar state agencies, primarily in New England.
• Effectively engaged in resource agency consultations, received stakeholder/agency input and provide informed responses.
• Proficiency with Outlook, Word, Excel, and Acrobat

Preferred Qualifications

• Minimum of fifteen (15) years combined experience in project management, environmental consulting; natural gas pipeline projects.
• Established credibility with reviewing agencies and clients.
• Experience with staff and project team supervision helpful.
• Experience and ability to serve as a technical Subject Matter Expert on multiple project tasks with changing requirements.
• Experience working in a fast-paced work environment and desire to work in a highly collaborative team atmosphere.

SWCA Environmental Consultants is a growing employee-owned firm, providing a full-spectrum of environmental services. Our Vision (the North Star) is to make SWCA the best workplace and industry leader in sustainability, bringing sound science and creative solutions to global environmental challenges while maintaining a dedication to employee-ownership. We live our core values: we collaborate as #OneSWCA; we are #AlwaysLearning, we #NeverSettle, and we #GiveBack.

We are 100% employee-owned, and we build our success together. With offices across the United States, SWCA is one of the largest environmental compliance firms and ranks among Engineering News-Record’s Top 200 Environmental Firms.

We offer a supportive, team-oriented work environment and competitive wages and benefits. At SWCA, we support our team members in developing their careers to make them leaders in their industry. Our Career Landscape initiative is a process and guide designed to help develop chart rewarding career paths for employees at SWCA. We encourage professional conference attendance, internal and external professional development and training programs, education reimbursement, and bonuses for publications meeting certain criteria.

If you need assistance accessing SWCA’s website, completing the online application, or require accommodations at any point during the hiring process due to a disability, please contact us at accommodations@swca.com or call 1-480-581-5378. We’re committed to providing an inclusive and supportive experience for all candidates. This contact information is specifically for accommodation requests; other inquiries will not receive a response.

SWCA is committed to salary equity and salary transparency for all its employees. In alignment with this commitment, SWCA posts good faith pay ranges in all its advertised job postings to promote pay equity and transparency.

An employee in this Portland, ME-based position can expect a rate of $40.81/hour to $68.37/hour. Actual pay within this range may depend on experience, qualifications, geographic location, client requirements where applicable, and other factors permitted by law.

EOE - women, minorities, individuals with disabilities and veterans are encouraged to apply. At SWCA Environmental Consultants, we celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive work environment. We strongly encourage candidates from all backgrounds, including those with diverse experiences and veterans, to apply. We believe that a diverse and inclusive workforce enhances creativity, innovation, and overall organizational success

SWCA continues to invest deeply in career development programs, delivering our award-winning Career Landscape support resources to accelerate the growth of our staff. We recognize the valuable skills and experiences our internal team members bring to SWCA’s continued success. Qualified internal candidates are encouraged to apply and will be seriously considered for this position. We believe in promoting from within, where possible, providing our existing employees with compelling opportunities to advance their careers.