Principal Consultant, Land Use Planner

Shape the Future of Clean Energy Development in the Pacific Northwest

ERM is seeking a Principal Consultant, Land Use Planner in Portland, Oregon or Seattle, Washington to help lead and expand our renewable energy permitting practice across the Pacific Northwest. In this highly visible role, you will guide complex permitting, environmental review, and land use planning efforts that support the development of utility-scale renewable energy and infrastructure projects, helping clients advance the clean energy transition while navigating regulatory requirements and stakeholder expectations.

Why This Role Matters?

As renewable energy development accelerates throughout the Pacific Northwest, successful project delivery depends on thoughtful permitting strategies, regulatory expertise, and strong collaboration with agencies and stakeholders. In this role, you will serve as a trusted advisor to clients, leading land use planning and permitting efforts that enable critical clean energy infrastructure projects to move forward efficiently and responsibly.

What Your Impact Is:

You will help clients successfully develop renewable energy and infrastructure projects by leading permitting strategies, preparing regulatory applications, evaluating land use requirements, and coordinating multidisciplinary teams. Your expertise will help identify permitting risks, develop practical solutions, and support sustainable project approvals throughout Oregon and Washington.

What You'll Bring:

Required

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Environmental Planning, Urban and Regional Planning, Environmental Science, Geography, Natural Resources, Public Policy, or a related field, or 12 years of equivalent experience.

• 6+ years of experience supporting permitting and land use planning efforts for renewable energy, transmission, infrastructure, or similar development projects.

• Demonstrated experience preparing land use permit applications and supporting local government approval processes.

• Experience conducting zoning analyses, code consistency evaluations, and preparing findings demonstrating compliance with local and state land use regulations.

• Familiarity with Oregon land use planning requirements, including Oregon Statewide Planning Goals and county development codes.

• Familiarity with Washington land use regulations, SEPA review processes, and local development permitting requirements.

• Excellent technical writing, communication, and client management skills.

• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced consulting environment while managing multiple concurrent projects.

Preferred

• AICP certification.

• Experience working directly with Oregon and Washington counties, States (EFSC, EFSEC), planning commissions, or local hearing bodies.

• Experience obtaining Oregon and Washington wetland and waters permits, including permitting under State Removal-Fill programs, Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, and related state and federal regulatory frameworks.

• Experience developing wetland, waters, and habitat mitigation strategies and coordinating with state and federal resource agencies to support renewable energy, transmission, and infrastructure projects.

• Knowledge of Oregon Department of State Lands (DSL), Washington Department of Ecology, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and state and federal habitat mitigation requirements preferred.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead and support the development of permit strategies and entitlement pathways for environmental permitting and land use planning efforts associated with utility-scale solar, battery energy storage systems (BESS), wind energy, transmission, and other energy infrastructure projects throughout Oregon and Washington.

• Lead preparation of county and municipal land use permit applications, including Conditional Use Permits and Goal Exception applications.

• Coordinate with state agencies, counties, municipalities, and special districts to support permitting and regulatory compliance requirements.

• Conduct detailed zoning and land use due diligence assessments for project sites.

• Interpret local development codes, comprehensive plans, and applicable state land use requirements to identify permitting risks and opportunities.

• Prepare code consistency analyses demonstrating project conformance with applicable code.

• Evaluate local permitting pathways and jurisdiction-specific code requirements for renewable energy developments.

• Develop findings of fact and permit application narratives supporting project approvals.

• Support projects undergoing review through the Oregon Energy Facility Siting Council (EFSC) and Washington Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC) process, including preparation of application materials, Requests for Amendment, compliance reporting, and coordination with Oregon Department of Energy staff.

• Coordinate with interdisciplinary project teams including biologists, wetland scientists, archaeologists, visual resources specialists, and other technical experts regarding technical studies and review environmental documentation prepared in support of permit applications.

• Mentor junior and mid-level staff in environmental permitting, land use planning, and project management.

• Provide technical review and quality assurance for permitting deliverables.

• Contribute to development of best practices, tools, and methodologies for renewable energy permitting projects.

For the Principal Consultant, Land Use Planner position, the anticipated annual base pay is $100,600–$152,100 (USD). Actual pay will depend on factors such as education, experience, skills, location, performance, and business needs. In some cases, pay may fall outside this range. This role may be eligible for bonus pay subject to the sole discretion of ERM and its policies and procedures (casual and fixed term/flex force employees are not bonus eligible). 

We offer a comprehensive benefits package, including paid time off (vacation, sick, and floating holidays), parental leave, medical, dental, vision, life, disability, AD&D insurance, 401(k), and other applicable benefits to eligible employees. 

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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