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U.S. EPA Opportunity

The EPA Environmental Research and Business Support Program has an immediate opening for a full time Great Lakes Environmental Research position with the Office of Research and Development at the EPA’s facility in Duluth, Minnesota.

What the EPA project is about

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.

The National Health Effects and Environmental Research Laboratory (NHEERL) is responsible for scientific research on the effects of contaminants and environmental stressors on human health and ecosystem integrity. The impact of the Laboratory's efforts can be felt far beyond the EPA as our research enables state and local governments to implement effective environmental programs. NHEERL also collaborates with governments and organizations on issues of environmental importance.

NHEERL’s Mid-Continent Ecology Division (MED) in Duluth MN conducts research through the Sustainable and Healthy Communities (SHC) program to help communities make decisions that lead to a more sustainable society and environment and through the Safe and Sustainable Waters (SSWR) program to provide the science tools to support assessment and protection of the nation’s water bodies.

What you will be doing:

As a team member you will assist with projects aimed at developing and validating metrics for sediment remediation, aquatic habitat restoration, and community revitalization effectiveness; researching the effects of remediation and restoration on ecological integrity and human wellbeing; and developing approaches to support decision-making in the context of remediation, restoration, and revitalization. You will enjoy working as part of a larger research team, with responsibilities focused on development, analysis, and curation of geospatial data; displaying outputs of geospatial models; assisting with field sampling; electronic data processing; and general research support.  You can expect to become familiar with environmental issues and research in the Great Lakes area.

• Creating and curating geospatial data sets related to both ecological data and community data;
• Conducting basic statistical and geospatial analysis of this data in support of scientific presentations and publications;
• Working at computers to conduct data entry and quality assurance, and manage data files;
• Assisting with field sampling (largely boat-based) directed at collecting aquatic environmental samples and associated environmental information, and
• Coordinating research activities among various federal, tribal, state, and academic research partners.

Location: This job will be located at EPA’s facility in Duluth, Minnesota.

Salary: Selected applicant will become a temporary employee of ORAU and will receive an hourly wage of $20.95 for hours worked.

Hours: Full time.

Travel: Occasional travel for purposes of conducting field work may be part of this position – this would be primarily day trips within a few hours of the city of Duluth, MN (travel by government owned vehicle or small boats), however multi-day sampling trips aboard a large research vessel are also possible. Travel is also possible for the purposes of meetings with collaborators or attending scientific conferences, although the extent of such travel is not yet known. Meetings with collaborators and attendance at conferences could involve multi-day trips, with hotel accommodation and travel by air or other commercial means

Expected Start Date: The position is full time and expected to begin in August 2019.  The selected applicant will be a temporary employee of ORAU working as a contractor to EPA. The initial contract period is through May 14, 2020 with potential for additional option periods.

Working Conditions: The selected candidate will be supervised by a mentor who will provide day-to-day direction, as well as coach, advise, and counsel the student, and review the student contractor’s work.

This position will involve work in laboratory and administrative settings, and also in the field. Field work takes places primarily in late spring, summer, and early fall, whereas computer and laboratory work fills the rest of the year.  While most of the field work will be day trips, some work is anticipated to fall outside ordinary business hours (e.g., evenings or weekends), and multi-day trips (with berthing on a research vessel) are possible. Field work typically involves physical exertion and travel in boats and motor vehicles, and can include exposure to water, heat, cold, and inclement weather.

For more information, contact EPAjobs@orau.org. 

Eligible applicants must:

• Be at least 18 years of age and
• Have earned at least a Bachelor of Science degree, in biology, ecology, chemistry, environmental science, limnology, marine science, or a related field of study 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.

Required Knowledge, Skills, Work Experience, and Education

The applicant shall have:

• Education and/or experience with GIS and geospatial analyses, geospatial data set management, and graphical display. Experience developing story maps is preferred;
• Education and/or experience in hydrogeology and/or watershed science, including collection of water quality data, hydrology data, or aquatic habitat data;
• Demonstrated organizational skills and ability to work independently as well as in teams; and
• Strong written, oral and electronic communication skills.

Desired Knowledge, Skills, Work Experience, and Education

It is desirable for the candidate to have:

• Experience compiling and managing scientific data via custom programs, spreadsheets or database software; and
• Experience with ArcGIS PRO, ArcGIS Online, Python, R, MS Excel, and MS Access.

• Citizenship: LPR or U.S. Citizen
• Degree: Bachelor's Degree or Master's Degree received within the last 24 month(s).
• Discipline(s):
  • Chemistry and Materials Sciences (12 )
  • Engineering (27 )
  • Environmental and Marine Sciences (13 )
  • Life Health and Medical Sciences (45 )

I certify that I am at least 18 years of age; a recent graduate with at least a Bachelor of Science degree, in biology, ecology, chemistry, environmental science, limnology, marine science, or a related field of study 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.