What are the responsibilities and job description for the Specialized Chemistry Lab Scientist position at ORAU?
Overview
The EPA National Student Services Contract has an immediate opening for a full time Specialized Chemistry Lab Scientist position with the Office of Research and Development at the EPA facility in Research Triangle Park, NC.
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 Measurement and Modeling (CEMM) conducts research to advance the Agency’s ability to measure and model contaminants in the environment, including research to provide fundamental methods and models needed to implement environmental statutes. Within CEMM, the Watershed and Ecosystem Characterization Division (WECD) develops, evaluates, and applies advanced laboratory and field methods to measure, characterize, and analyze concentrations of pollutants to support environmental statutes, inform effective watershed management, and minimize chemical risks to human health and the environment.
As part of their mission, CEMM supports EPA’s mission to protect human health and the environment by developing and applying methods to measure new chemicals. One group of chemicals, Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), are a group of man-made chemicals that includes PFOA, PFOS, GenX, and many other chemicals. PFAS have been manufactured and used in a variety of industries around the globe, including in the United States since the 1940s. These chemicals are persistent in the environment and in the human body – meaning they do not break down and they can accumulate over time. As contaminants of high concern, EPA and its partners have ongoing collaborations to develop, refine and evaluate methods to detect and quantify PFAS in a wide range of media.
Responsibilities
As a team member, you will provide database management, file management, data curation and extraction, quality control, as well as performing qualitative and quantitative data analysis. The team member will collaborate with an EPA team of investigators who are identifying PFAS emissions from various sources. The goal of this research is to use High Resolution Mass Spectrometry (HRMS) to identify, characterize, and quantify PFAS and other emerging contaminants in a range of environmental media, including water, soil, and biological samples such as serum.
Laboratory Support, Data Development and Analysis responsibilities will include:
- Applying creativity and intellect to solve complex problems and generate ideas for further investigation;
- Developing and interpreting multivariate datasets (e.g. searching for trends, relevancies, patterns, etc. in “-omics data”);
- Developing and using extraction strategies for various media that are the most encompassing for the majority of screening chemicals;
- Generate reports of samples screened via HRMS for suspect compounds;
- Identify novel compounds in selected media; and
- Other laboratory support tasks.
Communications-related responsibilities will include:
- Participating as a member of a PFAS research team;
- Interacting with other members of the research team as well as collaborating closely with other EPA scientists who are experts in chemistry, biology, pharmacokinetics, biological modeling, survey statistics, and risk assessment for supporting regulatory decision-making;
- Documenting methods and efforts;
- Presenting work performed at professional meetings or scientific conference as required; and
- Preparing manuscripts for publication in peer-reviewed journals.
Required Knowledge, Skills, Work Experience, and Education
- Demonstrated education and/or experience in analytical chemistry and mass spectrometry, including database screening;
- Analytical and sample preparation experience;
- Experience with data-mining techniques and multivariate modeling/statistics;
- Demonstrated ability to interpret data and develop computational models to pose and test hypotheses;
- Prior experience with High Resolution Mass Spectrometry (HRMS) is preferred (ex: Orbitrap, QTOF-MS, . . .) with LC experience prioritized over GC experience; and
- Strong written, oral, and electronic communication skills.
Location: This job will be located EPA’s facility in Research Triangle Park, NC.
Salary: Selected applicant will become a temporary employee of ORAU and will receive an hourly wage of $30.76 for hours worked.
Hours: Full-time.
Travel: Occasional overnight travel may be required.
Expected start date: The position is full time and expected to begin October 2022. The selected applicant will become a temporary employee of ORAU working as a contractor to EPA. The contract renews each May through 2025. Although options are shown, it is possible this position will only last for 1 year.
For more information, contact EPANSSC@orau.org. Do not contact EPA directly.
Qualifications
- Be at least 18 years of age and
- Have earned at least a Master’s degree in the fields of chemistry, engineering, environmental science, biology, biochemistry, computational chemistry/biology, chemo-informatics, 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.
Salary : $31 - $0
