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SalaryDescription
Keeping Washington Clean and Evergreen
The Environmental Assessment Program (EAP)within the Department of Ecology is looking to fill a Lead Product Testing Study Scientist (Natural Resource Scientist 4)position. This position is locatedin our Headquarters Office inLacey, WA. Upon hire, you must live within a commutable distance from the duty station.
As the Lead Product Testing Scientist, you will be responsible for conceiving, planning, organizing, and directing advanced, complex, and highly original scientific research studies for analysis of consumer products, often in concurrence with environmental monitoring, to identify and locate toxics from products, processes, and equipment used at businesses and other locations around Washington. As a part of the EAP program, you will be working in a highly collaborative technical program composed almost entirely of Natural Resource Scientists, engineers, chemists, and hydrogeologists.
Agency Mission: Ecology's mission is to protect, preserve and enhance the environment for current and future generations.
Program Mission: The mission of the Environmental Assessment Program is to measure, assess, and communicate environmental conditions in Washington State for the purpose of providing credible science to guide environmental decision.
Tele-work options for this position: This position will be eligible for up to a 90% tele-work schedule.Applicants with questions about position location options, tele-work, and flexible or compressed schedules are encouraged to reach out to the contact person listed below in “other information.” Schedules are dependent upon position needs and are subject to change.
Application Timeline: This position will remain open until filled, we will review applications on January 30, 2024. In order to be considered, please submit an application on or before January 29, 2024. If your application isn't received by this date, it may not be considered. The agency reserves the right to make a Hire any time after the initial screening date.
Please Note: We will review all applications received before the date above. Additional reviews after this date typically only occur if we have a small applicant pool, or if a successful Hire was not made.
Ecology employees may be eligible for the following:
Medical/Dental/Vision for employee & dependent(s), Public Employees Retirement System (PERS), Vacation, Sick, and other Leave*, 11 Paid Holidays per year*, Public Service Loan Forgiveness, Tuition Waiver, Long Term Disability & Life Insurance, Deferred Compensation Programs, Dependent Care Assistance Program (DCAP), Flexible Spending Arrangement (FSA), Employee Assistance Program, Commute Trip Reduction Incentives (Download PDF reader), Combined Fund Drive, SmartHealth *Click here for more information
About the Department of Ecology
Ecology cares deeply about employee wellness; we go beyond traditional benefits, proudly offering:
- A healthy life/work balance by offering flexible schedules and telework options for most positions.
- An Infants at Work Program that is based on the long-term health values of infant-parent bonding and breastfeeding newborns.
- Continuous growth and development opportunities.
- Opportunities to serve your community and make an impact through meaningful work.
Our commitment to DEIR
Diversity, equity, inclusion, and respect (DEIR)are core values central to Ecology’s work. We strive to be a workplace where we are esteemed for sharing our authentic identities, while advancing our individual professional goals and collaborating to protect, preserve, and enhance the environment for current and future generations.
We believe that DEIR is both a goal and an action. We are on a journey, honoring our shared humanity and taking steps to demonstrate our commitment to a vision where each of us is heard, seen, and valued.
Duties
What makes this role unique?
In this role, you will work closely with a dynamic set of scientists, policy leads, and product replacement program staff on complex projects. You will need to stay current on chemical, product, and product replacement priorities; apply credible scientific approaches; and communicate highly technical work and concepts to non-technical partners.
What you will do:
- Provide direction and coordinate scientific research studies and scientific investigations to support current law and rule; make original, independent decisions on complex scientific problems using scientific theories and principles on association of hazards and risk, in developing and testing hypotheses to deduce causes, relationships, and/or levels of toxic contaminants.
- Provide credible science in assessing priority toxic chemicals in consumer products and the environment to support product replacement, pollution prevention, and other reducing toxic chemicals focused studies.
- Ascertain the quality, utility and usability of secondary data and provide interpretations of scientific research findings for specified decision-making processes.
- Serve as lead Study Scientist, point of contact, and mentor for the design, management, and facilitation of Product Testing studies.
Qualifications
Required Qualifications:
Years of required experience indicated below are full-time equivalent years. Full-time equivalent experience means that any experience where working hours were less than 40 hours per week will be prorated in order to meet the equivalency of full-time. We would calculate this by looking at the total hours worked per week, divide this by 40, and then multiply by the total number of months worked. Examples of the proration calculations are:
- 30 hours worked per week for 20 months: (30/40) x 20 months = 15 months full-time equivalent
- 20 hours worked per week for 12 months: (20/40) x 12 months = 6 months full-time equivalent
Option 1: A Bachelor of Science degree with a major study in chemistry, environmental science, toxicology, physical, or one of the natural sciences, or other closely allied field AND Six (6) years of professional research work experience in the evaluation of toxic contaminants.
Option 2: A Master of Science degree, without a PhD, with a major study in chemistry, environmental science, toxicology, physical, or one of the natural sciences, or other closely allied field AND Four (4) years of professional research work experience in the evaluation of toxic contaminants.
Option 3: A Ph.D. in chemistry, environmental science, toxicology, physical, or one of the natural sciences, or other closely allied field AND Three (3) years of professional research work experience in the evaluation of toxic contaminants.
Special Requirements/Conditions of Employment:
- Must obtain and maintain a valid driver's license.
Desired Qualifications:
We highly encourage you to apply even if you do not have some (or all) of the desired experience below.
- Experience designing and managing product replacement studies and facilitating regulatory evaluations of toxic contaminants.
- Experience in communicating with staff, internal clients, stakeholders, and management to define project scopes, study designs, and project deliverables.
- Experience in collecting consumer product samples and environmental samples of water, sediment, biological materials, or dust for contaminant analysis.
- Experience in leading and mentoring senior level technical staff.
Supplemental Information
Ecology seeks diverse applicants:We view diversity, equity, inclusion, and respect through a broad lens including race, ethnicity, class, age, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, immigration status, military background, language, education, life experience, physical disability, neurodiversity, and intersectional identities. Qualified candidates from all backgrounds are encouraged to apply.
Need an Accommodationin the application and/or screening process or this job announcement in an alternative format?
- Please call: (360) 407-6186 or email: careers@ecy.wa.gov and we will be happy to assist.
- If you are deaf or hard of hearing you can reach the Washington Relay Service by dialing 7-1-1 or 1-800-833-6388.
- If you need assistance applying for this job, please e-mail careers@ecy.wa.gov. Please do not send an email to this address to follow-up on the status of your application. You can view the latest status of your application on your profile's main page.
- If you are reading this announcement in print format, please enter the following URL to your search engine to apply: https://ecology.wa.gov/About-us/Get-to-know-us/Jobs-at-Ecology.
It's in the applicant's best interest to submit all of the documents listed below. Applications without these documents may be declined.
- A cover letter describing why you are interested in this position.
- A resume outlining your experience and education (if applicable) as it relates to the minimum qualifications of this position.
- A list of three professional references.
Please do NOT include your salary history.Wage/salary depends on qualifications or rules of promotion, if applicable.
For Your Privacy:
When attaching documents to your application (such as Resume, Cover Letter, Transcripts, DD-214, etc.):
- Please be sure to remove private information such as your social security number, date of birth, etc.
- Do not attach documents that are password-protected, as these documents may not be reviewed and may cause errors within your application when downloaded.
Additional Application Instructions for Current Ecology Employees:
Please make sure to answer the agency-wide questions regarding permanent status as a classified employee within the Washington General Service or Washington Management Service. Do not forget to select Department of Ecology as a response to question 2, and type your personnel ID number for question 3. If you are not sure of your status or do not know your personnel ID number, please contact Human Resources.
Application Attestation:
The act of submitting application materials electronically is considered affirmation that the information is complete and truthful. The state may verify this information and any untruthful or misleading answers are cause for rejection of your application or dismissal if employed.
Other Information:
If you have specific questions about the position, please email Sara Sekerak atSara.Sekerak@ecy.wa.govPlease do not contact Sara to inquire about the status of your application.
To request the full position description: email careers@ecy.wa.gov
Why work for Ecology?
As an agency, our mission is to protect, preserve and enhance Washington's environment for current and future generations. We invest in our employees to create and sustain a working environment that encourages creative leadership, effective resource management, teamwork, professionalism, and accountability.
Joining Ecology means becoming a part of a team committed to protecting and restoring Washington State's environment. A career in public service allows you to help solve some of the most challenging problems facing our state, while keeping your health and financial security a priority. We combine one of the most competitive benefits packages in the nation with a strong commitment to life/work balance.
To learn more about The Department of Ecology, please visit our website at www.ecology.wa.gov and follow, like or visit us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or our blog.
Collective Bargaining: This is a position covered by a bargaining unit for which the Washington Federation of State Employees (WFSE) is the exclusive representative.
Equal Opportunity Employer:The Washington State Department of Ecology is an equal opportunity employer. We strive to create a working environment that includes and respects cultural, racial, ethnic, sexual orientation and gender identity diversity. Women, racial and ethnic minorities, persons of disability, persons over 40 years of age, veterans, military spouses or people with military status, and people of all sexual orientations and gender identities are encouraged to apply. Persons needing accommodation in the application/testing process or this job announcement in an alternative format may call (360) 407-6186. Applicants who are deaf or hard of hearing may call the Washington Relay Service by dialing 7-1-1 or 1-800-833-6388.
Note: This recruitment may be used to fill other positions of the same job classification across the agency. Once all the position(s) from the recruitment announcement are filled, the recruitment may only be used to fill additional open positions for the next sixty (60) days.
