Associate Project Manager or Project Manager

Location: Richmond, California
Program: Clean Water
Type: Full-time
Experience Level: Mid level
Position Type: Permanent
Salary: [$92,750 - $110,500]. See details below.
Posting Date: September 28, 2026
First review of applications: October 12, 2026
Application closing date: October 26, 2026 or when 150 applications are received, whichever occurs first

Position Description

SFEI’s Environmental Informatics & Clean Water Programs are looking to add 1-2 motivated Project Managers to help focus and facilitate the success of our technical teams as we tackle multi-million dollar science and technology projects with regional and national impacts.

The position requires strong collaboration and task management skills. Work will include facilitating a diverse, intellectually stimulating, and impactful set of tasks, with local and national partners, budget management, contract management, project and financial reporting, and coordinating and organizing a diverse team of scientists.

A background or training in science or technology (e.g., bachelor's level) is needed to help track project tasks, strategize during budgeting and timeline development, and draft contract scopes. The ideal candidate possesses strong communication and organizational skills, proactive planning skills, ability to multitask, ability to track and see tasks through to completion, and ability to communicate with different staff and partners/funders on progress and potential issues.

This is a great opportunity for someone who has strong skills to join a larger project management team to help diverse and innovative technical teams accomplish project goals aimed toward making positive environmental change.

Primary position responsibilities will include:
Support the development and management of budgets, work plans, and progress reports with the goal of delivering projects on time and on budget
Coordinate and attend internal team meetings to track project tasks, deadlines, and deliverables
In coordination with contract staff, develop contracts with external partners and laboratories
Organize project documentation in shared systems and maintain consistent PM workflows.
Utilize our primary accounting and labor planning software (Deltek), including developing queries, developing and tracking budgets, and updating labor resource planning to provide information to manage and organize projects
Use project management tools, including Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets to analyze and summarize budgets, deliverables, and other project items (e.g., pivot tables and graphics)
Manage a portfolio of projects, simultaneously, and organize project documentation in shared systems to maintain consistent workflows
Help coordinate review cycles for reports, memos, figures, presentations, and other deliverables.
Flag delays, unclear ownership, resource constraints, or emerging project risks
Support technical leads on proposal and project logistics, administrative requirements, formatting, review cycles, and possibly content development
Assist with project start-up and wrap-up, and scheduling meetings at important junctions to keep the team on track

If you are excited about this role, but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to still apply. You may be just the right candidate for this, or one of our other roles.

Qualifications

We seek highly organized and technically-strong candidates with expertise in project management.

Required Experience

Minimum requirements: Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science, Ecology, Technology, or other relevant field plus at least 4 years of project management experience or Master’s degree plus at least 2 years of project management experience.

Required Skills

Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
Ability to manage and prioritize a variety of detail-oriented tasks successfully
Must be a self-starter and able to proactively anticipate next steps
Strong organizational skills
Must possess strong knowledge of MS Office and Google Suite Applications, especially Excel and/or Google Sheets
Ability to work independently with moderate supervision and in a team environment

Preferred Skills

Interest in working in a mission-driven environmental science non-profit
Interest in advancement along a Project Management path (this is not a science position though some science or technology background is required)
Experience managing state and federal grants (e.g. EPA, NOAA)

Salary & Benefits highlights

This will be an Associate Project Manager or Project Manager position (depending on degree/experience). The anticipated salary range is $92,750 - $110,500 for this position (Bay Area salary ranges are listed; note that salary ranges for other locations are 10-15% lower depending on location and are based on locational salary data). Salary ranges take into account many factors for making compensation decisions including but not limited to experience, education, internal equity, and organizational needs. We generally do not offer salaries at or near the top of the range
Matching contributions to retirement plan (immediate vesting) (403B)
Medical Insurance: health, vision, dental with employer and employee contributions
12 paid holidays
Vacation days starting at 3 weeks accrual/year
Professional development resources
Hybrid workplace
Local candidates preferred and are given preference

About the Clean Water Program

The Environmental Informatics Program develops innovative tools to help envision and track progress towards a more resilient natural world. These tools operationalize the best available science to ensure that the outcomes are credible, salient, and achievable. Its multidisciplinary approach to technology solutions – including GIS, Data Services, Software Engineering, and IT architectural services – set the Environmental Informatics Program apart from consulting firms and government agencies in its unique combination of skills and dedication to its meaningful mission.

The Clean Water Program is one of the nation’s premier water quality science programs. It anticipates and meets the water quality data needs of policymakers, resource managers, and the public. SFEI and the Clean Water Program were established in 1993 to develop and manage the Regional Monitoring Program for Water Quality in San Francisco Bay (RMP), which was created by the Regional Water Quality Control Board to ensure water quality management decisions and investments are guided by sound science. The RMP is a unique collaborative of regulators, dischargers, industry representatives, non-governmental organizations, and scientists. SFEI continues to serve as the manager and scientific lead of the RMP, which seeks to identify and conduct the studies needed to help managers and policymakers stay ahead of emerging threats. RMP studies have informed and continue to impact policymaking, chemical bans, cleanup plans, and science and management strategies at the local, state, and federal levels.

About SFEI

San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization which has a 25-year track record of providing robust and innovative science to decision-makers, policy-makers, practitioners, and community members to measurably improve the health and resiliency of Bay-Delta ecosystems. As a boundary organization, SFEI operates at the interface between science and policy, recognized nationally for our ability to build consensus to support effective environmental decision-making and policy. Our mission is to deliver visionary science that empowers people to revitalize nature in our communities.

SFEI employs an interdisciplinary staff of about 100. Our operations and IT staff are the backbone of our organization and keep everything running smoothly. SFEI has three major programs: Clean Water, Environmental Informatics, and Resilient Landscapes. Our program staff represent numerous scientific and technological fields, including chemistry, modeling, ecology, wildlife biology, landscape planning, historical ecology, geomorphology, geospatial analysis, and web development.

For more information on our mission, values, programs, and staff, visit the San Francisco Estuary Institute website.

Employment Considerations

San Francisco Estuary Institute is committed to providing employees with a work environment free of discrimination and harassment of any kind. All employment decisions are based on business needs, job requirements, and individual qualifications. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, disability, family or parental status, protected Veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

Accommodations Statement

If you are a qualified individual with a disability or a disabled veteran, you have the right to request an accommodation if you are unable or limited in your ability to use or access our website or application portal as a result of your disability. To request an accommodation, contact us at 510-746-7355 or admin@sfei.org.

Please note that SFEI cannot sponsor an employment visa (e.g., H-1B) to fill this position.

In the spirit of a fair hiring process, we are unable to respond to inquiries.

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