Mid to Senior Level Wildfire Resilience Planner

Overview

Location(s): CaliforniaPractice/Department: Urban Forestry/FireWork Environment: Hybrid/RemoteCompensation: $120,000-140,000/annually*

Dudek’s journey began in 1980 with a vision to serve Southern California’s water and wastewater agencies.

Today, we are a 100% employee-owned firm supporting clients nationwide and delivering projects that improve and protect the built and natural environments of communities throughout the United States. Our work has been recognized by leading industry organizations, and we’ve been honored with multiple national Top Workplace Awards.

Our employee-owners are unified by a singular commitment to supporting projects that address key societal issues, such as the transition to renewable energy, infrastructure hardening and repair, environmental protection, and community resilience.

Learn more about our award-winning culture, the benefits and perks of being a Dudekian, and the projects you will have the opportunity to shape.

Position Overview

Who You Are

As an employee-owner, you embrace accountability, working safely, and collaboration while thinking resourcefully and independently.

Like all Dudekians, you are curious and solution-oriented, with the ability to adapt quickly to changes and approach challenges with a spirit of innovation.

How You’ll Make an Impact

We are seeking a mid- to senior-level Wildfire Resilience Planner to join our fire protection and wildfire planning team on a full-time basis. Dudek’s team has worked in wildfire assessment, planning, and risk reduction for nearly 25 years, helping communities, public agencies, landowners, and other partners understand wildfire risk and develop practical, implementation-focused plans. The ideal candidate will have at least 8 years of progressively responsible experience in wildfire resilience planning and a demonstrated record of preparing Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPPs), Wildfire Risk Assessments (WRAs), Vegetation Management Plans (VMPs), and similar planning documents. In this role, you will lead multidisciplinary projects from proposal through final delivery; pursue public- and private-sector opportunities; manage scopes, schedules, and budgets; supervise and mentor staff; coordinate with clients and partner agencies; and present clear, defensible recommendations to technical and nontechnical audiences. Fire service or closely related operational experience is desired but not required. This position is ideally located near one of our California offices, although other location preferences may be considered. Travel to project sites and client or agency offices throughout California may be required.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Lead the preparation of CWPPs, WRAs, VMPs, and other wildfire resilience, hazard mitigation, and implementation-focused planning documents.
• Develop project approaches, scopes of work, schedules, staffing plans, labor estimates, and budgets for proposals and active projects.
• Monitor requests for proposals and other opportunities; lead or support capture planning, teaming, proposal development, interviews, and contract negotiations.
• Serve as project manager and primary client contact, with responsibility for scope, schedule, budget, quality, risk, and delivery.
• Supervise, mentor, and coordinate multidisciplinary teams of planners, foresters, fire professionals, GIS specialists, environmental scientists, and technical contributors.
• Conduct or direct wildfire risk and community resilience assessments using field observations, GIS data, existing plans, stakeholder input, and relevant technical studies.
• Translate technical findings into prioritized, feasible recommendations for vegetation management, community preparedness, public education, resilient infrastructure, emergency access, and long-term program implementation.
• Design and facilitate engagement with fire agencies, land management agencies, local governments, utilities, community organizations, property owners, and other interested parties.
• Lead quality assurance and quality control for technical analyses, plan documents, maps, graphics, cost estimates, and implementation strategies.
• Present project methods, findings, and recommendations to clients, agency staff, community groups, governing bodies, and other decision-makers.
• Support development of grant applications, funding strategies, monitoring frameworks, and implementation road maps for wildfire resilience programs.
• Maintain awareness of evolving wildfire policy, planning guidance, funding programs, and industry practices, particularly in California and the western United States.

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in urban or regional planning, environmental planning, forestry, fire science, fire administration, natural resources, geography, public administration, emergency management, or a related field; equivalent relevant professional experience may be considered.
• At least 8 years of progressively responsible professional experience in wildfire resilience, community planning, hazard mitigation, forestry, fire protection planning, or a closely related field.
• Demonstrated experience leading the preparation of CWPPs and substantial plan documents such as WRAs, VMPs, hazard mitigation plans, wildfire adaptation plans, or comparable resilience plans.
• Proven project management experience, including responsibility for scopes, schedules, multidisciplinary teams, project budgets, financial performance, and client communication.
• Experience pursuing RFPs and developing competitive proposals, including technical approaches, staffing plans, schedules, and fee estimates.
• Demonstrated ability to supervise and mentor staff, delegate work effectively, review technical products, and maintain consistent quality across concurrent projects.
• Strong technical writing, facilitation, presentation, research, and analytical skills, with the ability to communicate wildfire risk and resilience concepts to technical and nontechnical audiences.
• Ability to interpret maps, GIS products, technical data, regulatory requirements, and agency or community input and translate them into practical, implementation-ready recommendations.
• Knowledge of CEQA/NEPA as related to implementation of wildfire risk reduction measures.

Preferred Qualifications

• Fire service, emergency management, land management, or other operational wildfire experience.
• Experience working directly with local, state, tribal, or federal agencies on collaborative wildfire resilience planning.
• Knowledge of California wildfire planning requirements, defensible space and vegetation management standards, hazard mitigation frameworks, and relevant state and federal funding programs.
• Experience developing actionable implementation priorities, cost estimates, funding strategies, monitoring programs, or grant-supported wildfire resilience initiatives.
• Experience with public engagement, workshop facilitation, consensus building, and presenting to elected or appointed bodies.
• Working knowledge of GIS-based wildfire risk information, fire behavior concepts, vegetation and fuels management practices, and community-scale risk reduction strategies.
• Relevant professional certification, advanced degree, or completion of FEMA NIMS and ICS coursework.

Compensation: $120,000 - $140,000/annually*

*Final agreed upon compensation will be based on a variety of factors including, but not limited to, an individual’s related experience, education, certifications, skills, and work location. Successful candidates must pass a pre-employment drug test and background check prior to beginning employment.

Working Conditions

• This job operates in a remote or office-based environment and this role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, printers, etc.
• This job requires occasional project site visits, based outdoors which can include excessive noise, uneven walking surfaces, extreme weather, and moving vehicles and equipment.

Physical Requirements

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met to successfully perform the essential functions of the job. This job requires the following:

• Working on a computer, sitting, or standing for long periods of time in an office or remote office setting.
• Employees must be capable of bending, squatting, climbing ladders, and lifting up to 35 lbs. unassisted; 50lbs in a team lift (two or more employees).
• This job requires attending meetings, both in person and virtually as well as speaking on the phone with government agency representatives, members of the public, and others. Speaking, hearing and listening are required.
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.
• Outdoor activity may involve walking/trekking in uneven terrain over long distances in extreme weather conditions for extended periods of time.

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Dudek is committed to creating a workplace where all employees, regardless of their background, feel valued, respected, and have equal opportunities to succeed. We believe that a diverse and inclusive workforce is essential to our business success, and we are dedicated to fostering a culture where everyone can thrive. We are committed to fair and equitable processes, based on merit, free from any discrimination.

Dudek is genuinely committed to equal employment opportunities within our company and on our project teams. Dudek is also committed to compliance with all applicable laws providing equal employment opportunities. This commitment applies to all persons involved in Dudek’s operations and prohibits unlawful discrimination by any employee of Dudek, including supervisors and coworkers. Equal employment opportunities will be extended to all persons (including those with disability and veteran status) in all aspects of the employment relationship, including recruitment, hiring, training, promotion, transfer, compensation, benefits, discipline, layoff, recall, and termination. Any employee who violates this policy and Dudek’s commitment to equal employment opportunities will be subject to disciplinary action.

Dudek is a U.S.-based employer. All positions are based in the United States and require U.S. work authorization.