Document specialist (environmental engineering)

Brown and Caldwell (BC), a leading environmental engineering firm, is seeking an experienced Document Specialist to provide high-quality document formatting and production support for technical reports, memoranda, correspondence, and other client deliverables. This role applies company and client standards to create clear, consistent, professional, and accessible documents using Microsoft Word and PDF software.

The successful candidate will join a highly engaged and collaborative document formatting team that values partnership, knowledge sharing, and delivering excellent service. Working closely with fellow document professionals, engineers, project managers, and other team members, this individual will help solve formatting challenges, share best practices, and produce polished deliverables that meet company and client requirements.

The successful candidate will manage multiple assignments and deadlines and complete detailed formatting and final-review tasks with minimal supervision. This position may also support proofreading, template development, PDF production, document accessibility, and technical editing based on project needs and the candidate’s experience.

Responsibilities

• Ensure quality deliverables by adhering to company style guide or client specific requirements.
• Develop and maintain company templates, ensuring that all document formatting tasks are aligned and that they foster uniformity across BC documents.
• Perform readability reviews and provide necessary editing to documents that ensures a smooth flow of content.
• Ensure compliance with BC document standards at all times.
• Lead and coordinate the final document reviews to ensure consistent, accurate, and high-quality documents.
• Flexibility to adapt and execute various additional assignments based on evolving needs.
• Collaborate and provide support with different teams to gather the information needed for document related projects and initiatives.
• Collaborate with engineers and project managers to gather document requirements and understanding of the required scope of work.
• Develop customized Word templates tailored to the unique needs of clients and specific projects, ensuring that BC teams have consistent, professional, and user-friendly documents that enhance productivity and maintain brand standards.

General Formatting Review

Apply styles and templates to the document to adhere to the current BC Style Guide Standards and Templates unless otherwise indicated.

Responsibilities include:

• Assist and apply BC template styles and guidelines to letter correspondence, tech memos, reports, design documents, and marketing materials.
• Check word spacing and spell check.
• Format Section Titles/Header/Footers.
• Update or create Table of Contents.
• Verify word spacing meets template guidelines.
• Ensure proper pagination and page numbers are correct.
• Verify Figures and table numbering and captions are correct.
• Maintain document legal limitations.
• Track and manage document version control, ensuring that the most current version of each document is available.
• Ensure all documents are stored securely and easily accessible.
• Facilitate communication between departments regarding document updates.

Readability/Proofreading

Provide readability and proofreading of a document ensuring the text is clear, engaging, and free of errors, enhancing the overall quality and comprehension for the reader.

Responsibilities include:

• Review entire document for punctuation capitalization, and grammatical issues.
• Check abbreviations and generate or update abbreviations list.
• Check sums in tables.
• Check tables/figures (captions/titles) and table/figure are cross-referenced in text.
• Check citations to references and cross-references to appendices/attachments.
• Provide a reasonable level of fact checking and review for consistent/correct use of names/terminology.
• Ensure parallel bullet/sentence/paragraph/ document structure and clear organization of content.

Technical Editing

Review and refine the content of a document for accuracy, clarity, and consistency, ensuring that technical information is correctly presented and easily understood.

Responsibilities include:

• Address organizational issues and restructure/rearrange paragraphs where appropriate.
• Address inconsistencies in terminology, voice, and tone.
• Rewrite where necessary for clarity.
• Address structural changes, and transitions.

Document PDF Creation

Merge multiple files into a single, cohesive document for easier sharing and accessibility.

Responsibilities include:

• Create and compile document(s) into a PDF format using Adobe or BlueBeam software.
• Create PDF bookmarks as required to meet the project specifications.

Mentorship

May provide mentorship, guidance, support, and knowledge-sharing to help less experienced team members develop their skills and grow within their roles.

Skills and Competencies

• Advanced knowledge and proficiency in the Microsoft Office Suite (e.g., Microsoft Word) and PDF software (i.e., Adobe or Bluebeam).
• Excellent attention to detail.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
• In-depth understanding of document formatting and using style guides.
• Capability to efficiently manage tasks autonomously while also excelling in collaborative environments, contributing effectively to team goals and fostering a cooperative and productive atmosphere.
• Proven strong aptitude for quickly mastering new software applications and documenting procedures, ensuring alignment with BC’s evolving programs and guidelines to maintain up-to-date and compliant operations.
• Knowledge of Document Accessibility compliance for document styles and formatting.
• Knowledge and ability to use Digital Signature Support (i.e., Global Sign or DocuSign).

Experience

• Typically, a minimum of 4 years related work experience.

Preferred Experience

• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Word, including styles, section breaks, headers and footers, tables of contents, cross-references, captions, pagination, and complex document formatting.
• Experience formatting technical reports, technical memoranda, design documents, specifications, or other complex client deliverables.
• Experience applying corporate, client-specific, or industry style guides and document templates.
• Experience developing, modifying, and troubleshooting Microsoft Word templates.
• Proficiency with Adobe Acrobat Pro, Bluebeam Revu, or similar PDF software, including document compilation, bookmarks, navigation, and final-document quality review.
• Experience managing multiple document assignments, shifting priorities, and deadline-driven deliverables in a collaborative environment.
• Working knowledge of proofreading, grammar, editing conventions, and document readability.
• Technical editing experience, training, or certification.
• Knowledge of accessible document practices, including applying accessible styles and formatting in Microsoft Word and PDF documents.
• Experience with document version control, file organization, digital signatures, and secure document-management practices.
• Experience supporting engineering, architecture, construction, environmental consulting, or another technical professional-services environment.
• Microsoft Office certification, technical editing certificate, accessible document certification, template-design training, or comparable professional development.

Education

• High school diploma or equivalent.
• Technical Editing Certificate or other directly related experience.
• Microsoft Office Certification.
• May have Accessible Document Certification (WebAim or other certified organization certificate).
• Template Design Training or other directly related experience.

Salary Range

The anticipated starting pay range for this position is based on the employee’s primary work location and may be more or less depending upon skills, experience, and education. These ranges may be modified in the future.

Location A: $25.40 - $34.70

Location B: $27.80 - $38.00

Location C: $30.70 - $41.40

You can view which BC location applies to you here. http://bit.ly/3uQe7gi If you have any questions, please speak with your Recruiter.

Benefits and Other Compensation

We provide a comprehensive benefits package that promotes employee health, performance, and success which includes medical, dental, vision, short and long-term disability, life insurance, an employee assistance program, paid time off and parental leave, paid holidays, 401(k) retirement savings plan with employer match, performance-based bonus eligibility, employee referral bonuses, tuition reimbursement, pet insurance and long-term care insurance. Click here https://brownandcaldwell.com/careers/benefits/ to see our full list of benefits.

About Brown and Caldwell

Headquartered in Walnut Creek, California, Brown and Caldwell is a full-service environmental engineering and construction services firm with 50 offices and over 2,100 professionals across North America and the Pacific. For more than 75 years, we have created leading-edge environmental solutions for municipalities, private industry, and government agencies. We strive to be the company of choice—to our clients, who benefit from our passion for delivering exceptional quality, and to our employees, present and future, who share our commitment to client service, collaboration, and innovation. Join us, and you will find a home where you can do your best work, reach new levels of expertise, and enjoy exceptional development opportunities. For more information, visit www.brownandcaldwell.com

Learn more about our work:

• Climate Change and Resilience - Brown and Caldwell
• Data Center Water - Brown and Caldwell
• Emerging Contaminants and PFAS - Brown and Caldwell
• Digital Solutions - Brown and Caldwell
• News - Brown and Caldwell
• Projects - Brown and Caldwell
• Industrial Water - Brown and Caldwell

This position is subject to a pre-employment background check and a pre-employment drug test.

Notice to Third Party Agencies: Brown and Caldwell does not accept unsolicited resumes from recruiters or employment agencies. In the event a recruiter or agency submits a resume or candidate without a previously signed agreement and approved engagement request with Brown and Caldwell, Brown and Caldwell reserves the right to pursue and hire those candidate(s) without any financial obligation to the recruiter or agency.

Brown and Caldwell is proud to be an EEO/AAP Employer. Brown and Caldwell encourages protected veterans, individuals with disabilities, and applicants from all backgrounds to apply. Brown and Caldwell ensures nondiscrimination in all programs and activities in accordance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.