Instream Flow Scientist/Biologist (Entry/Intermediate)
Start:
ASAP
Overview:
We’re looking for an Instream Flow Scientist to join Palmer’s Hydrotechnical team. Our ideal candidate is based in Western Canada and will support our group’s expanding involvement in fisheries and water resources related projects
About Us:
Palmer is a privately owned firm with offices in Vancouver, Toronto, Bracebridge, and Whitehorse, servicing clients throughout Canada. Palmer was founded in 2010 to provide project direction and technical scientific services to support the environmental assessment and permitting process associated with mining, energy, municipal infrastructure, and land development projects. Palmer is an innovative and vibrant company that has assembled a versatile team of dedicated staff.
What You’re Responsible For:
- Designing and implementing instream flow and fish habitat assessment studies for projects across Canada.
- Establishing instream flows and determining environmental flow needs.
- Analyzing and interpreting fish and fish habitat data.
- Preparing technical memorandums and reports
- Developing workplans, budgets, and proposals.
- Work collaboratively across offices and disciplines.
What We’re Looking For:
Required:
- Bachelor’s degree in relevant discipline (e.g., Aquatic Ecology, Fisheries Biology, Physical Geography or Environmental Science).
- 2+ years of relevant work experience in related fields.
- Proficiency with common instream flow and environmental flow needs assessment and modelling frameworks (e.g.,hydrological methods, PHABSIM, SEFA, River2D, bioenergetic approaches).
- Experience with fish sampling and fish habitat field assessment methods.
- Understanding of environmental flow needs and fisheries management legislation, regulations, and guidelines.
- Familiarity with different techniques for the development of habitat suitability curves.
- Experience with streamflow measurement techniques and basic hydrological analyses.
- Understanding of statistical techniques appropriate for analyzing environmental and biological data.
- Excellent oral and written communication skills.
- The ability to travel to remote areas safely and efficiently to undertake fieldwork.
Preferred:
- Graduate degree in a relevant discipline.
- Membership, or eligibility for membership, with the College of Applied Biology, Engineers and Geoscientists British Columbia (EGBC) or another relevant professional association.
- Experience managing and processing hydrology data.
- Experience with aquatic monitoring field sampling and/or data analysis, including water quality, sediment quality, and biota (e.g., fish, benthic macroinvertebrates, periphyton).
- Proficiency with R, Python or other applicable programming languages.
- Demonstrated work experience in mining and hydropower sectors.
- Hydrogeology, geomorphology, ecology, and/or channel restoration experience.
- Environmental permitting and approvals experience.
- Experience developing fish habitat offsetting plans.
- Establishing and overseeing hydrometric monitoring networks.
- Project management experience.
At Palmer, we are committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equitable employment opportunities are available to all applicants. We believe that diversity and inclusion among our team is critical to our success, and we seek to recruit, develop, and retain talented people from a diverse candidate pool. Our application process aims to reduce bias by using a questionnaire to assess key skills. All demographic details commonly found in CVs are kept separate until candidates are chosen for an interview.
In addition, appropriate accommodations will be provided upon request throughout the recruitment and hiring process as required by Company policy and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA).
