Underwater Acoustics Senior Consultant,

Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership in underwater acoustics assessments, modelling, monitoring, and advisory services on a diverse range of marine projects, including:
• Coastal and offshore development projects including ports and terminals, dredging, marine construction, offshore energy, subsea cables, renewable energy, and nearshore infrastructure.
• Vessel noise assessments, construction noise assessments, cumulative effects evaluations, and underwater noise impact studies.
• Technical support for environmental assessments, permitting, regulatory approvals, compliance programs, stakeholder engagement, and expert technical advice.
• Day-to-Day Responsibilities
• Underwater Acoustics Assessment & Modelling
• Develop and run underwater sound propagation and exposure models for both continuous and impulsive sound sources.
• Define modelling assumptions, environmental inputs, sensitivity analyses, uncertainty assessments, and quality assurance procedures.
• Model sound propagation considering environmental variables including bathymetry, water depth, temperature profiles, salinity, seabed composition, and oceanographic conditions.
• Predict underwater noise footprints for proposed and operational marine activities.
• Integrate species distribution, hearing sensitivity, and ecological datasets into acoustic models.
• Support source characterization using field measurements, literature values, equipment specifications, and operational data.
• Evaluate zones of behavioural disturbance, auditory injury, masking, stress responses, and cumulative impacts to marine fauna.
• Underwater Sound Measurement & Monitoring
• Design, coordinate, and execute underwater acoustic monitoring programs.
• Deploy, retrieve, calibrate, and maintain hydrophones and underwater acoustic recording systems.
• Measure ambient and anthropogenic underwater noise from shipping, construction, dredging, seismic surveys, and offshore operations.
• Support underwater acoustic measurement campaigns and ensure data quality throughout collection and processing.
• Coordinate offshore and coastal monitoring programs with multidisciplinary project teams.
• Participate in fieldwork as required depending on project needs.
• Marine Animal Acoustics
• Support studies evaluating marine mammal, fish, sea turtle, and invertebrate responses to underwater sound.
• Identify species presence using passive acoustic monitoring (PAM), vocalizations, and acoustic signatures.
• Analyze behavioural responses to underwater noise exposure.
• Support marine mammal observation (MMO) and passive acoustic monitoring programs where appropriate.
• Assist with controlled exposure experiments and research initiatives where required.
• Data Analysis & Signal Processing
• Process, analyze, and interpret large underwater acoustic datasets using Python, MATLAB, or similar analytical software.
• Generate and interpret spectrograms, frequency analyses, and time-series visualizations.
• Detect, classify, and catalogue biological and anthropogenic acoustic events.
• Apply statistical analyses to evaluate relationships between underwater noise and biological responses.
• Maintain reproducible analytical workflows and documentation.
• Regulatory Support & Environmental Assessment
• Prepare technical documentation supporting environmental assessments, permitting applications, regulatory submissions, and compliance reporting.
• Respond to technical comments from regulators, Indigenous communities, and stakeholders.
• Contribute to underwater noise management strategies and regulatory compliance.
• Support dispute resolution and provide expert technical input where required.
• Mitigation Planning
• Develop practical mitigation strategies to reduce underwater

Additional Information

We are SLR Consulting (Canada), an 800+ team of advisory, environmental, engineering, and regulatory professionals across Canada. We deliver services through the integration of over 30 disciplines to help clients address some of their most complex challenges around sustainability. We are Making Sustainability Happen. As our new Underwater Acoustic Senior Consultant , you will play an important role on our Acoustics team. You will work with a multidisciplinary team to support a wide range of clients by leading underwater acoustics modelling and assessment, translating project activities into reliable predictions and clear reports. Your responsibilities include developing sound propagation models, reviewing source data, supporting field measurement and monitoring programs, and contributing to mitigation strategies that protect marine environments and guide responsible development. As part of a globally connected acoustics and vibration team, you will collaborate across specialties while serving as a senior consultant in underwater acoustics. You will work across projects involving ports and terminals, offshore energy, dredging, marine construction, subsea cables, transportation infrastructure, and other coastal developments throughout North America and internationally.

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