SENIOR PALEONTOLOGIST

Hire Type: Full time, Salary, pay dependent on experience

Salary Range: $85,000-$125,000 

Location: Remote, reporting to one of three operating regions:

Rocky Mountain Region; Pacific Northwest; West Coast

Job Description  

Lithos is seeking a full-time Senior Paleontologist to support projects in the Western United States reporting into one of three main locations; Rocky Mountain Region, Pacific Northwest, and the West Coast. The senior paleontologist will be integral to the management and growth of Lithos as a company by serving as a project manager or Senior Project Manager for medium to large size projects, writing technical reports, supervising staff, and communicating and maintaining relationships with clients and agencies.

Duties will include: 

  • Manage various sized projects and ensure clients receive high-quality, scientifically sound, and on-time deliverables. Management responsibilities could include supporting Lithos’ cultural resource team. 

  • Supervise, coordinate, and manage local, regional, and/or nationwide paleontology team members conducting both field and desktop research 

  • Provide technical oversight and quality assurance/quality control for field data and reporting 

  • Train, lead, and mentor staff and associate level personnel and actively engage in professional development 

  • Interface with clients, agencies, and external stakeholders 

  • Maintain up-to-date knowledge of regulations affecting paleontological resources and general industry trends and best management practices in mitigation paleontology 

  • Demonstrate technical excellence in field fossil identification and paleontological and geologic methodologies.  

  • Excellent knowledge and working relationship with repositories and agencies to perform record searches and fossil curation 

  • Direct collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; formulate management recommendations and/or mitigation measures  

  • Perform and oversee proposal and budget preparation 

Required Qualifications: 

  • Graduate degree (MS or Ph.D.) specializing in paleontology, geology, biology, or a closely related field 

  • 5+ years of professional experience conducting paleontological investigations in one or more states in the western United States 

  • Demonstrated experience conducting and leading remote paleontological resource surveys, identifying fossils in the field, fossil collection and laboratory preparation, analysis and museum curation, and technical reporting 

  • Ability to be listed as Principal Investigator or Agent on federal paleontological use permits 

  • Working knowledge of the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act, Paleontological Resources Preservation Act, and/or the California Environmental Quality Act 

  • Demonstrated experience managing projects and staff 

Preferred Qualifications 

  • 10+ years of professional experience conducting paleontological investigations in one or more states in the western United States 

  • Vertebrate Paleontology background (education or equivalent work experience)  

  • Working relationships with paleontological technical experts in one or more of the states listed above 

  • Experience with paleontological excavations in large quarries preparing and removing vertebrate jackets.