Climate Commitment Act Air Quality Data Analyst (Natural Resource Scientist 3)

Tele-work options for this position: This position will be eligible to tele-work up to two days per week. 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.
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

• Opportunities to serve your community and make an impact through meaningful work.
• 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.

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.

What makes this role unique?
In this role, you will serve as a researcher within our newly created team implementing the Environmental Justice Review, Section 3 of the Climate Commitment Act (CCA). You will work closely with the Criteria Pollutant Reduction Specialist, Lead Air Quality Analyst, and other air quality monitoring and science staff to analyze trends in criteria pollutant emissions and monitoring data in overburdened communities. As an Air Quality Data Analyst you will:

• Provide consultative service to managers in emissions inventory, criteria pollutant monitoring data analysis and health impact assessments.
• Gather and evaluate air quality monitoring data and identify sources of pollution causing overburden.
• Draft and deliver overburdened community monitoring, modeling, health impact and trend analysis presentations and research reports to AQP program planners and management, explaining complex information, data and findings.
• Select air pollution episodes, weather events, and surface terrain conditions and set model parameters to assess air pollution, and trends resulting from pollution emission changes.
• Provide technical assistance to the Climate Commitment Act Section 3 community engagement and outreach team, and data analysis service to air quality planners, engineers, analysts, and managers.

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:

• 20 hours worked per week for 12 months: (20/40) x 12 months = 6 months full-time equivalent
• 30 hours worked per week for 20 months: (30/40) x 20 months = 15 months full-time equivalent

Experience for both required and desired qualifications can be gained through various combinations of formal professional employment, education, and volunteer experience. See below for how you may qualify.
Option 1:
A Bachelor’s degree with major study in a natural science, atmospheric science, public health, engineering or closely related field AND four years of professional research work experience in environmental science or engineering, air pollution modeling, meteorology, or atmospheric science.
Option 2:
A Master’s degree with major study in a natural science, atmospheric science, public health, engineering or closely related field AND two years of professional research work experience in environmental science or engineering, air pollution modeling, meteorology, or atmospheric science.
Option 3:
A Ph.D. with major study in natural science, atmospheric science, public health, engineering, or closely related field.
In addition, this position requires:

• Knowledge of and experience investigating air transport and dispersion of emissions from air pollutant sources.
• The ability to analyze large amounts of data efficiently, and a thorough understanding of relational databases; proficient with spreadsheet and database software packages and advanced statistical programming languages such as R or Python.
• Knowledge of and experience using meteorological and air quality chemical-dispersion models to predict and analyze air quality.

Special Requirements/Conditions of Employment:

• Must possess 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.

• Familiarity with air quality emissions inventories and applicable regulations.
• Able to develop computer scripts to perform complex calculations, change data formats, and process large amounts of data. Take initiative to research issues, seek out and use tools (such as computer models) and other data sources, and initiate work projects.
• Familiarity with statistical analysis of environmental data using a scriptable software package such as R, Igor Pro, MATLAB, SigmaPlot, or SAS. Comfortable with exploratory data analysis and familiar with non-parametric statistics.
• Experience using meteorological and air quality chemical-dispersion models to predict weather and air quality for both short-term episode forecasting and long-term planning and regulatory purposes.

Note: Having some (or all) of this desired experience may make your application more competitive in a highly competitive applicant pool.

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 Accommodation in the application and/or screening process or this job announcement in an alternative format?

• If you need assistance applying for this job, please e-mail [email protected]. 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.
• 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.
• Please call: (360) 407-6186 or email: [email protected] and we will be happy to assist.

Application Instructions:
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 list of three professional references.
• A resume outlining your experience and education (if applicable) as it relates to the minimum qualifications of this position.

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 Christopher Hanlon-Meyer at: [email protected]. Please do not contact Christopher to inquire about the status of your application.
To request the full position description: email [email protected]

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.