Chemist - Water Laboratory

Department: Utilities - Chemist – Water Laboratory
Division: Water
Address: 17915 Waterline Road, Bradenton
Hours: Monday – Friday, 7:00 am to 3:30 pm / Occasional overtime and weekend work required

Providing quality customer service to our citizens, business owners, and visitors is Manatee County Government’s top priority, and that starts with our employees. We value Accountability, Civility, and Ethics in everything we do, and we look for friendly, innovative employees who share those values.

Employees at the Manatee County Water Laboratory provide reliable, safe drinking water to Manatee County, Sarasota County, and the cities served. Quality control laboratory staff are responsible for the collection and analysis of various water samples from every step in the treatment process. They use complex scientific instrumentation and standardized methods and procedures to monitor water quality to ensure it meets state and federal regulations. The lab is also responsible for algal control activities on Lake Manatee.

As a Chemist, you will perform professional laboratory work in the performance of chemical or biochemical tests and analyses. Incumbents in this class perform a variety of physical and chemical or biochemical tests and analyses. Responsibilities may include but are not limited to, conducting technical research activities involving analysis and evaluation of research data, preparing reports describing research results, training laboratory technicians, and supervising and participating in the care and maintenance of laboratory equipment and facilities.

Manatee County strives to be an employer of choice and most of our employees turn jobs into long term careers with great benefits.

• Comprehensive benefits package – Your Choice Manatee Health Plan
• Tuition reimbursement
• Generous vacation/sick leave, 11 paid holidays
• Autonomy to grow and find your career path with supportive leadership
• Florida Retirement System (FRS)

What You Will Do

• Conducts technical laboratory research activities involving the analysis and evaluation of research or routine data; prepares reports describing research of routine results using a variety of statistical measures.
• Supervises and participates in collecting, recording, and preparing laboratory specimens and cultures for research experimentation or routine laboratory analysis.
• Performs quality assurance requirements for sampling and analysis set forth by regulatory agencies, i.e., FDEP, EPA and NELAC, as well as MCUOD specific requirements.
• Trains laboratory technicians in laboratory methods and procedures; consults laboratory supervisor when developing and implementing laboratory procedures and in conducting and evaluating laboratory research experiments.
• Conducts technical chemical and biological analyses requiring considerable knowledge of associated properties, characteristics, and specimens.

• Knowledge of routine laboratory analysis and conducting technical laboratory research activities.
• Knowledge of the impact of test results based on compliance with local, State and Federal regulations.
• Knowledge of principles behind gas or ion chromatography, mass spectrophotometry, inductively coupled plasma analyses, and atomic absorption/emission analyses, with a working knowledge in at least one of these.
• Knowledge of modern (within the last three (3) years) equipment, terminology, practices and procedures employed in laboratory work.

Required Skills

• Minimum of one year (within the last four (4) years) experience in instrumental analysis.
• Bachelor's degree in chemistry, biology, natural sciences, environmental sciences, or related field.
• Minimum of three years (within the last six (6) years) work experience in a laboratory setting.

• Experience using GC, GC/MS, HPLC/MS, AA, IC, and/or Discrete Auto-analyzer desired.
• Experience working in a NELAC certified environmental laboratory setting and with a laboratory information management system (LIMS) is highly desired.