Environmental Practice Leader Transportation & Natural Resource

We Make Everything Around Us Better At PRIME AE, that’s not a slogan, it’s how we work.

We Make Everything Around Us Better At PRIME AE, that’s not a slogan, it’s how we work.

Every bridge, building, campus, park, and roadway we design exists to improve how people live, move, learn, and connect. Through architecture, engineering, planning, and consulting, we partner with clients to create thoughtful, practical solutions that leave communities stronger than we found them.

If you want your work to matter, and to be surrounded by smart, collaborative people who care about doing things the right way, you’ll feel at home here.

Who We Are:

PRIME AE Group, Inc. ( ) is a nationally ranked, full-service architecture and engineering firm driven by collaboration, innovation, and a commitment to strengthening the communities we serve. With a growing footprint of offices across the country and a diverse team of more than 550 professionals, we partner with public and private sector clients to deliver thoughtful, high-impact solutions across transportation, education, healthcare, municipal, federal, commercial, and recreational markets.

Our culture blends entrepreneurial energy with the resources of a scaled, multidisciplinary platform—giving our people the opportunity to shape meaningful projects while influencing the future direction of the firm. As PRIME AE continues to expand its capabilities, geographic reach, and leadership bench, this is an exciting time to join a team that is building momentum, investing in growth, and empowering leaders to make a lasting impact.

The Opportunity:

We are currently seeking an Environmental Practice Leader – Transportation & Natural Resources to join our Indianapolis, Akron, New Albany, Columbus, Cincinnati, or Louisville office.

The position may be structured as either an Environmental Project Manager or Environmental Practice Leader depending on the candidate's experience, qualifications, and leadership background.

This is an exciting opportunity for an environmental professional who wants to remain actively involved in technical project work while helping build and grow PRIME AE’s environmental capabilities. We are seeking someone with approximately 6–15 years of experience who brings a strong technical foundation in environmental services and an interest in taking on increasing responsibility for project management, client relationships, staff development, and team leadership.

In this role, you will initially work alongside PRIME AE’s Transportation and Natural Resources teams to deliver environmental services for infrastructure projects while helping establish and grow an environmental team. As the practice expands, you will have the opportunity to take on greater responsibility for managing staff, developing client relationships, supporting business development, and helping shape the long‑term direction of the environmental practice.

You will collaborate with transportation, water resources, roadway, bridge, traffic, survey, and planning professionals on projects for state DOTs, local agencies, municipalities, and other infrastructure clients. The ideal candidate will bring experience in areas such as NEPA documentation, wetland and stream delineations, waterway permitting, natural resources, agency coordination, and environmental compliance.

What You’ll Do:

As an Environmental Practice Leader – Transportation & Natural Resources, you will serve in a hands‑on seller/doer role that combines technical project delivery with the opportunity to play a key role in shaping and expanding PRIME AE's environmental practice.

You will perform and manage environmental work on transportation and infrastructure projects, coordinate with regulatory agencies and multidisciplinary design teams, and provide technical guidance throughout project development. Depending on your experience, you may lead projects independently or work alongside senior leaders while continuing to expand your project management and leadership responsibilities.

As the environmental workload and team grow, you will help recruit and mentor staff, coordinate resources, develop client relationships, support strategic pursuits, and establish processes that position the environmental practice for long‑term success.

Key Responsibilities:

• Perform and manage environmental services for transportation and infrastructure projects involving state DOTs, local agencies, municipalities, counties, and other public-sector clients.
• Prepare, manage, and review environmental documentation in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and applicable state and federal requirements.
• Prepare and/or review Categorical Exclusions, environmental technical studies and memoranda, environmental commitments, alternatives analyses, agency coordination documentation, and public involvement materials.
• Conduct and/or oversee wetland and stream delineations, jurisdictional waters evaluations, habitat assessments, threatened and endangered species reviews, impact assessments, and other environmental field investigations.
• Prepare and coordinate environmental permits, including Clean Water Act Section 404 permits, Section 401 Water Quality Certifications, state waterway and floodplain permits, and other applicable environmental approvals.
• Coordinate with regulatory and resource agencies, including USACE, USFWS, IDEM, IDNR, Kentucky Division of Water, Ohio EPA, and other applicable agencies.
• Collaborate with roadway, bridge, traffic, drainage, water resources, and other project teams to identify environmental constraints early and incorporate environmental commitments into project development.
• Serve as an environmental project manager and/or technical lead on multidisciplinary transportation and infrastructure projects.
• Develop project scopes, fees, schedules, budgets, staffing plans, and technical approaches.
• Monitor project schedules, budgets, quality, and client expectations.
• Provide technical review and QA/QC of environmental documents, studies, permit applications, and other deliverables.
• Maintain awareness of changing environmental regulations, agency procedures, and permitting requirements.
• Build and maintain relationships with transportation agencies, municipalities, regulatory agencies, clients, and teaming partners.
• Identify environmental project opportunities and support proposals, letters of interest, qualifications packages, interviews, and other pursuit activities.
• Help forecast environmental workload and staffing needs as the practice grows.
• Support the recruitment, mentoring, and development of environmental scientists, planners, and specialists as workload increases.
• Help develop technical standards, quality‑control procedures, and consistent project‑delivery practices for the growing environmental team.
• Support the expansion of environmental prequalification’s, certifications, and service capabilities.
• Participate in industry organizations, conferences, agency meetings, and professional events.
• Balance technical project responsibilities with client development and business development activities to help establish a sustainable environmental workload and backlog.

What You’ll Bring:

• Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science, Biology, Ecology, Environmental Planning, Natural Resources, Civil/Environmental Engineering, or a related field.
• 7+ years of progressive environmental consulting, natural resources, or transportation environmental experience.
• Experience supporting transportation and/or infrastructure projects.
• Working knowledge of NEPA, Clean Water Act Sections 404 and 401, wetlands, streams, natural resources, environmental permitting, and applicable state and federal requirements.
• Experience preparing and/or supporting NEPA documentation and environmental technical studies.
• Experience with wetland and stream delineations, environmental field investigations, and/or waterway permitting.
• Experience coordinating with state and federal regulatory agencies.
• Project management experience or demonstrated readiness to take on increasing project management responsibilities, including scopes, fees, budgets, schedules, and staffing.
• Strong analytical, technical writing, communication, and organizational skills.
• Ability to work collaboratively with multidisciplinary engineering and planning teams.
• Interest in mentoring others and helping build and develop an environmental team.
• Ability and willingness to support client relationships, proposals, and business development activities.
• Experience working with INDOT, KYTC, ODOT, FHWA, and/or local public agencies is preferred.
• Familiarity with applicable Indiana, Kentucky, and/or Ohio environmental procedures and permitting requirements is preferred.
• Existing environmental qualifications, certifications, or the ability to obtain applicable agency prequalification’s is preferred.
• Established industry or agency relationships within Indiana, Kentucky, and/or Ohio are a plus.
• Professional certifications or credentials relevant to environmental or natural resources services are preferred.

Why PRIME AE:

We don’t just fill positions; we invest in people.

At PRIME AE, you’ll find a supportive, flexible environment where careers are built intentionally, not accidentally.

You’ll work on projects that improve everyday life, alongside colleagues who challenge and respect one another.

What sets us apart:

• Career Growth: Flexible career paths across disciplines, from technical expertise to project and people leadership.
• People-First Culture: We value trust, integrity, and collaboration, and we mean it.
• Meaningful Work: Projects that strengthen communities, infrastructure, and public spaces.
• Growth with Purpose: Strategic expansion backed by strong leadership and investment.
• National Reach, Local Feel: Big-firm resources with the agility and relationships of local offices.

Our Commitment:

PRIME AE Group is committed to creating an inclusive environment where differences are respected, voices are heard, and everyone has the opportunity to succeed.