Job Opportunity

Position: Systems Ecologist - Junior
Organization: ESSA TECHNOLOGIES LTD.
Location: Ottawa, ON or Vancouver, BC
Full-Time

The Opportunity

We are seeking a motivated, service-oriented, resourceful, independent, and highly skilled early-career Systems Ecologist to support our team on North American and international projects. This is a full-time opportunity with immediate professional development support and room for future advancement. The successful candidate will bring a ‘no job too small’ attitude and support senior staff on project work including research and synthesis, technical writing, facilitation and engagement support, data wrangling / analysis, and business development.

This is a full-time opportunity based in Ottawa or Vancouver. You will have access to our staff benefits, including competitive compensation, medical benefits, flexible working arrangements (hybrid workplace, short-term work abroad periods), and three weeks of paid vacation plus paid time off between Christmas and New Year’s Day. With longer tenure, staff are also eligible for short sabbaticals.

About Us

ESSA Technologies Ltd. is an employee-owned Canadian environmental consulting firm with offices in British Columbia and Ontario. Our mission is to “bring together people, science and analytical tools to sustain healthy ecosystems and human communities.” At ESSA we value nature, and we help our clients tackle complex environmental challenges through evidence-based analysis, collaborative decision-making, and systems thinking. Learn more about us at https://www.essa.com/.

At ESSA, we are passionate about what we do and enjoy working with professionals who share our values and mission. ESSA’s staff are purpose-driven problem solvers, big-picture critical thinkers, and motivated by an aspiration to become trusted advisors to our clients and make a difference in the world. As part of ESSA’s team, you will be surrounded by a rich intellectual inheritance, and dedicated colleagues committed to collaboration and team-building. In pursuing our corporate mission, we are inclusive of a diversity of perspectives and ways of knowing among both our staff and our clients that may vary depending on experience, race, gender identity, age, disability status, sexual orientation, and religion amongst others.

With offices in British Columbia and Ontario, we acknowledge that our offices are on the unceded territory of the Coast Salish People (the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations) in Vancouver, and the unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishnaabeg People in Ottawa. We acknowledge that we also work in the territories of other Indigenous Nations across Canada and the world.

Your Responsibilities:

As an early career Systems Ecologist, you will work in a support role on a suite of projects, tailored to your strengths and project needs. Your focus will be on quantitative (and/or geospatial) analysis including data compilation and organization, statistical analysis, and the ability to provide technical reports on your findings. This is a consulting role in a high-tempo environment. Our culture is imminently supportive (ask around), but in this business clients have high expectations, feedback can be blunt, deadlines move fast, priorities compete, and the expectation to generate impactful results while overcoming imperfect data is a common reality. If rapid learning, shifting priorities, balancing projects, and delivering on time through ambiguity give you hives—this won’t be for you. If you want agency and altitude, not autopilot, then please apply to work with us on a diverse interdisciplinary array of environmental projects spanning fisheries and aquatic resource management, cumulative effects assessment, adaptive management, climate change adaptation, ecosystem restoration and decision support system development.

Your day-to-day responsibilities:

• Project support:
  • Data compilation and organization (aka data wrangling)
  • Statistical methods (e.g., regression, hypothesis testing, comparison among groups, study design, power analyses etc.)
  • Simulation modeling and decision support tools
  • Supporting the development of excellent project deliverables on-time, on-budget, and on-quality.
  • Writing and coordinating technical reports which summarize project findings, including existing scientific literature, and survey results.
  • Supporting the development of presentations of project research and outputs.
  • Supporting the development of research and client engagement workplans to meet the tailored needs of diverse projects.
  • Occasionally travelling to attend client meetings across North America. Note – this role does not involve field work.
• Business Development support:
  • Contributing to business development efforts including marketing materials and proposal writing.
  • Contributing to the development of training materials.
  • Archiving, cataloguing, and organizing research for future use by the team.

Requirements

• You possess a Master’s degree with a strong preference for degrees in the natural and applied sciences (e.g., Ecology, Biology, Resource Management, Data Science, or Geography) with no additional research experience required.
• Experience working on issues in natural resource management, for instance: (1) aquatic sciences (e.g., water management, fisheries management, ecosystem restoration planning); (2) climate change vulnerability and adaptation assessments; (3) data sciences/statistics (e.g., monitoring design, simulation modelling); and/or (4) environmental cumulative effects/impact assessments.
• Spatial analysis, GIS
• Data manipulation (wrangling) and data visualization (graphing); e.g., using R and/or Excel
• Quantitative analysis to support project teams; e.g., R, coding
• Information synthesis and literature review
• Technical and plain-language report writing, with exceptional English writing and verbal communication skills, and document mastery for complex 300+ pg. multi-authored reports
• Resourceful, versatile, and collaborative team player with the ability to work calmly and effectively in an office environment with in-person and remote teams with modest instruction/supervision.
• Proactive and results oriented, with strong problem-solving and excellent time-management skills; adept at multi-tasking/prioritizing to meet deadlines in a dynamic environment which sometimes requires intensive short-term effort.
• You have proficiency with fundamental software skills and tools used in professional settings, including document mastery for developing complex multi-authored reports and other work products using the Microsoft Office suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint,) and Google Suite (Calendar, Drive, Docs, etc.)

Your differentiating skills may include one or more of the following:

• Experience working with big data sets including climate data
• Co-facilitating in-person and virtual meetings using a variety of tools to support technical facilitation (survey implementation - Survey Monkey; meeting technology – MS Teams, Zoom; workshop participation tools – Mural, mentimeter).
• Science communication – graphic Design software, e.g., Adobe Illustrator
• Experience working with First Nations people on conservation or resource management issues.
• Registration or eligibility for registration with the College of Applied Biologists or other equivalent professional designation within six months.
• Proficiency in Spanish or French.

Applying

Please email a cover letter, résumé to careers@essa.com by November 14, 2025 with “Systems Ecologist” in the subject line. Selected candidates will be contacted by November 19, 2025. Interviews will be conducted between December 4 - 9, 2025. The anticipated start (negotiable) is January 5, 2025.

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All applicants must be eligible to legally work in British Columbia and/or Ontario at the time of applying.

Salary Range: $72,000 (lower qualifications and experience) - to - $78,000 (95th+ percentile qualifications and experience relative to the requirements detailed in the job description above).