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The EPA National Student Services Contract has an immediate opening for a part time (20 hours per week) Chemistry Lab Technician position with the Office of Research and Development at the EPA facility in Cincinnati, OH.

The Office of Research and Development at the EPA supports high-quality research to improve the scientific basis for decisions on national environmental issues and help EPA achieve its environmental goals. Research is conducted in a broad range of environmental areas by scientists in EPA laboratories and at universities across the country.

What the EPA project is about

The Center for Environmental Solutions and Emergency Response (CESER) plans, coordinates and conducts an applied, customer-driven, national research and development program to improve decision making by EPA, federal, state, tribal and local agencies, when faced with challenging environmental problems in the built environment. Within CESER, the Water Infrastructure Division (WID) conducts customer-driven research and support, providing scientific leadership on national-scale problems associated with water quality in the built infrastructure.

As part of their mission, CESER supports EPA’s mission to protect human health and the environment by developing and applying innovative chemical measurement methods within our water infrastructure. Chemicals that humans and aquatic life may be exposed to in drinking water, surface water, and wastewater are identified and prioritized using advanced analytical chemistry. Non-targeted analysis and suspect screening with high resolution mass spectrometry are some of the advanced analytical tools being used to evaluate chemical exposures, especially when broad scale occurrence information for organic chemicals is needed. Chemicals of interest include pesticides, pharmaceuticals, endocrine disrupting chemicals, and industrial chemicals.

What experience and skills will you gain?

As a team member, you will be a member of a research team of chemists and engineers, and will support the development and application of analytical chemistry methods to the analysis of environmental water samples for a wide range of organic chemical pollutants. You will assist in sample collection and management for drinking water and wastewater, and assist in water sample extraction and preparation in the laboratory. You will also assist in data analysis for data collected from a high-resolution mass spectrometer, including data management, file management, and quality control reviews.

How you will apply your skills (Can be removed based on TO)

Laboratory and Data Management Responsibilities shall include:

• Preparation of sample collection materials.

• Receiving and documenting water samples.

• Assisting with water sample preparation, including filtering, solid phase extraction, and liquid-liquid extraction.

• Preparation of analytical standards.

• Assisting with instrumental analyses as training permits.

• Creation of chemical databases and quality control review of processed data in Microsoft Excel.

• Performing simple statistical and graphical summaries of analytical data, such as mean, median, sum, standard deviation, line graphs, bar charts, percent probability, and boxplots.

• Preparing tables, figures, and graphics of analytical results using software such as Microsoft Excel/Office, Sigma Plot, Origin, Adobe Acrobat, or other similar tools.

• Possibly incorporating writing code or script as part of data management (R or Python).

• Literature review and reference management, including gathering reference materials from textbooks, journals, libraries, the Internet, and other researchers. Compile an EndNote database of relevant publications to contribute to journal articles, presentations, and data reports to the client water systems or requesting governmental agencies.

• Assisting with formatting of reports, presentations, and research articles.

• Preparing and presenting talks and/or posters of research results to national and regional technical audiences.

Required Knowledge, Skills, Work Experience, and Education

• Demonstrated education and/or experience in at least one of the following: Analytical Chemistry, Instrumental Analysis, Environmental Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, or Physical Chemistry;

• Experience in a laboratory setting, including record keeping;

• Experience with Microsoft Office, with advanced skills in Microsoft Excel;

• Experience with general statistics, such as average, mean, median, standard deviations, and p-values; and

• Strong written, oral, and electronic communication skills.

Desired Knowledge, Skills, Work Experience, and Education

• Experience programming in R or Python.

Location:  This job will be located EPA’s facility in Cincinnati, OH.

Salary: Selected applicant will become a temporary employee of ORAU and will receive an hourly wage of $27.61 for hours worked.

Hours: Part-time (20 hours per week)

Travel: Travel is not anticipated.

Expected start date: The position is part time and expected to begin October 2021. The selected applicant will become a temporary employee of ORAU working as a contractor to EPA. The initial project is through May 14, 2022, with up to 3 additional option periods.

For more information, contact EPAjobs@orau.org. Do not contact EPA directly.

• Be at least 18 years of age and

• Have earned at least a Bachelor’s degree in the fields of chemistry, chemical engineering, environmental engineering, environmental science, biology, geology, physics, or other closely related field of study plus 1 year of graduate school from an accredited university or college within the last 24 months and

• Be a citizen of the United States of America or a Legal Permanent Resident.

   

EPA ORD employees, their spouses, and children are not eligible to participate in this program.

• Citizenship: LPR or U.S. Citizen
• Degree: Currently pursuing a Master's Degree.
• Discipline(s):
  • Chemistry and Materials Sciences (12 )
  • Earth and Geosciences (21 )
  • Engineering (27 )
  • Environmental and Marine Sciences (14 )
  • Life Health and Medical Sciences (46 )
  • Physics (16 )

I certify that I am at least 18 years of age; a recent graduate with at least a Bachelor’s degree in the fields of chemistry, chemical engineering, environmental engineering, environmental science, biology, geology, physics, or other closely related field of study plus 1 year of graduate school from an accredited university or college within the last 24 months; a citizen or a Legal Permanent Resident of the United States of America; and not a current employee of EPA ORD or the spouse or child of an EPA ORD employee.

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