Analytical Chemistry Support

The EPA National Student Services Contract has an immediate opening for a full time Analytical Chemistry Support position with the Office of Research and Development at the EPA facility in Cincinnati, Ohio.

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 Office of Research and Development (ORD) at the EPA directly supports the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) on multiple technical assistance efforts to benefit the implementation of the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) Emerging Contaminants infrastructure program and the use of lead Service Lines (LSL) identification technologies authorized by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) (Public Law 117-58 - Nov. 15,2021, 135 STAT. 1399). ORD will work with multiple small and disadvantaged drinking-water systems, along with the associated state primacy agencies and technology vendors to help identify an appropriate treatment technology to remove emerging contaminants of concern (CECs) including per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from their water, to manage any residual waste stream (solids, liquids, or gases) generated by that technology.

ORD is the premier provider of research and technical assistance on scientific matters dealing with protecting human health and the environment. The ORD Center for Environmental Solutions and Emergency Response (CESER) provides leadership and expertise in the areas of drinking water technical assistance for the nation.

As a team member, you will provide laboratory and field research support related to the sampling and analysis of PFAS and CECs.

How you will apply your skills

Field and analytical responsibilities will include:

Preparation of sampling supplies for field-, pilot-, and bench-scale work
• Sampling of drinking water plants, pilot treatment systems, and bench-scale treatment systems
• Preparing samples for analysis using extraction techniques such as solid phase extraction (SPE)
• Tracking sample workflows to ensure that holding time and temperature requirements are met and maintaining associated documentation
• Operation of Liquid Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (LC/MS) instrumentation to perform PFAS and CEC analyses in a variety of matrices
• Assisting with the interpretation of results from the chemical analyses
• Perform literature reviews of the state of the art in chemical analyses.

Communication related responsibilities will include:

• Participating as a member of a multi-disciplinary research team
• Documenting laboratory activities, code, methods, and sampling efforts
• Assist in the preparation of presentations for scientific conferences, as required
• Potentially present at scientific conferences
• Assist in preparing technical publications.

Required Knowledge, Skills, Work Experience, and Education

• Demonstrated education and/or experience in quantitative analytical chemistry; and
• Strong written, oral and electronic communication skills.

Desired Knowledge, Skills, Work Experience, and Education

• Experience with PowerPoint, as well as a working knowledge of Python, R or other scripting languages.

Location: This job will be located EPA's facility in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Salary: Selected applicant will become a temporary employee of ORAU and will receive an hourly wage of $24.01 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 December 2024. The selected applicant will become a temporary employee of ORAU working as a contractor to EPA.

For more information, contact EPANSSC@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, environmental science, environmental engineering, or related subject area 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.