Senior Project Forester

Living Carbon is a public benefit company with a mission to fight climate change by transforming marginal land into high-value environmental assets. Our team specializes in restoring abandoned mineland and degraded agricultural land into diverse, thriving forests. We’re backed by prominent investors including Temasek, Toyota Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital, Felicis Ventures, and YCombinator.

This is a rare role at the intersection of forest ecology, carbon science, and large-scale land restoration. We are seeking a practitioner-scientist who brings rigorous training, ideally in a research context, to the field and can translate ecological insight into operational outcomes. You will support forest carbon project design and implementation, guiding both strategy and hands-on field execution across our growing Appalachian and Southeastern project portfolio.

The ideal candidate has a grounding in forest carbon dynamics, disturbance ecology, or related fields - potentially demonstrated through graduate research - and is energized by the challenge of applying that expertise at scale in the real world. You will spearhead project management of reforestation activities on degraded mine land and agricultural sites. Your responsibilities will include field reconnaissance, GIS analysis, contractor coordination/supervision and data reporting. You will work directly alongside our carbon science, supply chain, and land teams to build systems, shape methodology, and most importantly put trees in the ground.

Responsibilities

• Develop technical design of reforestation projects, integrating carbon modeling, site-specific ecology, and disturbance history to optimize both forest establishment success and carbon removal outcomes
• Collaborate with our carbon science team to refine and operationalize MRV (monitoring, reporting, and verification) approaches using remote sensing and field-based inventory methods
• Serve as field point of contact and technical lead for contractors including planting crews, site preparation teams, and other natural resource personnel and conservation partners
• Conduct site reconnaissance, GIS analysis, and due diligence assessments to evaluate new project opportunities and guide implementation planning
• Oversee planting execution, forest monitoring, and post-establishment surveys maintaining rigorous data quality throughout
• Regular travel to project sites for due diligence, site preparation, planting season and continual forest monitoring
• Synthesize and apply current research in forest ecology, soil carbon, and climate adaptation to continuously improve project design standards and species selection
• Develop and refine our implementation playbook for scaling reforestation across tens of thousands of acres of degraded land
• Build and maintain relationships with federal and state forestry agencies, natural resource departments, and conservation organizations
• Prepare technical and programmatic reports for senior management, investors, and registry partners, including project progress, cost analyses, and ecological impact assessments

Who You Are

We expect this person to bring most of the following:

• 5+ years of applied experience in forest management, carbon projects, or ecological research, with demonstrated ability to work across both field and analytical environments
• Strong quantitative and geospatial skills - proficiency in R, Python, or equivalent analytical tools; hands-on GIS experience for project design and reporting
• Demonstrated ability to manage contractors, multi-task across projects, and deliver results within budget and timeline constraints
• Advanced degree in forestry, forest ecology, natural resource management, or related discipline preferred
• Familiarity with Appalachian and Southeastern US forest ecosystems, including native hardwood and conifer ecology, disturbance dynamics, and site-level silviculture
• Experience with forest carbon accounting frameworks, FIA data, remote sensing-based quantification, or growth and yield modeling is highly valued
• Clear, confident communicator who can translate scientific nuance for diverse audiences - from field crews to investors
• Experience with drone operation and data collection for forest monitoring or site assessment a plus
• Prior work on mine land reclamation, invasive species management, or post-disturbance reforestation a plus