Oregon Department of Environmental Quality
Initial Posting Date: 04/25/2023
Application Deadline: 05/09/2023
Agency: Department of Environmental Quality
Salary Range: $6,225 – $9,570
Position Type: Employee
Position Title: Senior Air Quality Engineer (Environmental Engineer 3 / Environmental Engineer 2 Underfill)
Job Description:
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality strives to build and sustain an inclusive environment that embraces and values diversity. Employees at all levels of the agency work together to foster fairness, equity, inclusion, and belonging. We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, ethnicity, veteran, gender, sexual orientation, religion, age, or physical or mental disability. Candidates from diverse backgrounds are encouraged to apply. We are most interested in finding the best candidate for the job, and that candidate may not meet every one of our listed preferred qualifications. Lived experience may count towards the preferred qualification. If you are excited about this position, we encourage you to apply. If you are unsure as to whether or not you meet the qualifications of this position, please contact us to discuss your application.
Are you passionate about preserving, enhancing, and protecting Oregon’s environment? If so, please consider a career with the State of Oregon at the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). At DEQ, employees have the opportunity to work with a dynamic and supportive team of mission-focused individuals tasked with maintaining, restoring, and enhancing the quality of Oregon’s air, land, and water. Here is a video about DEQ: https://youtu.be/E-Cs6M9AAlU
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has a full-time opportunity available for a Senior Air Quality Engineer (Environmental Engineer 3/Environmental Engineer 2 Underfill) in Portland, Oregon.
Please consider joining an innovative team, and work to advance our agency’s mission to protect and improve Oregon’s environmental quality. The Air Quality Division is responsible for collecting environmental information, analyzing environmental information, and developing sound and effective environmental strategies. The Division ensures that the technical and scientific expertise is available to inform and carry out these responsibilities. In partnership with others, the Division takes a comprehensive and holistic view of environmental impacts and seeks to create solutions that enable actions that can reduce those impacts. The goal of the Air Quality Division is to ensure clean and healthy air for all Oregonians, which directly supports DEQ’s mission. The Air Quality Division is responsible for developing new air quality programs and supporting the Regions as they implement existing air quality programs.
Click here to view a map of all of the DEQ offices.
What you will do!
You will serve as the statewide air quality permit engineer with particular expertise in landfill gas capture, collection, treatment, and distribution, and serve as a permitting program expert. You will serve as the project lead on the rulemaking to adopt California’s Landfill Methane Gas Rules, which will allow Oregon to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions from landfills. In addition, you will serve as an agency policy expert responsible for the development and implementation of local and statewide air pollution reduction strategies affecting a wide variety of pollution sources and the public, with a particular focus on air quality permitting and engineering.
What’s in it for you!
The opportunity to work in a productive and creative environment where no two days are ever the same! We offer a competitive benefits package that offers comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plans for the employee and their qualified family members, as well as paid sick leave, vacation leave, personal leave, and 11 paid holidays a year. In addition, we offer membership in the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS), and you have the opportunity to potentially receive loan forgiveness under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF). If you are passionate about Oregon’s environment, apply today!
This is a full-time, AFSCME represented position.
This recruitment may be used to fill future vacancies.
What are we looking for?
Minimum Qualifications for Environmental Engineer 3:
- 4 years of engineering experience and a Bachelor’s degree in an engineering field, such as environmental, chemical, civil, or mechanical (or an equivalent combination of education, training, and experience).
- 2 years of experience in an environmental protection/control program.
- A current PE. If you are currently registered as a professional engineer in another state, you must be able to obtain your Oregon registration within 6 months of employment in order to retain this appointment.
Minimum Qualifications for Environmental Engineer 2 Underfill:
- 2 years of engineering experience and a Bachelor’s degree in an engineering field, such as environmental, chemical, civil, or mechanical (or an equivalent combination of education, training, and experience).
- 1 year of experience in an environmental protection/control program (the environmental experience may be gained as part of the engineering experience.
- A PE must be obtained within 3 years of appointment.
Candidates who are most competitive will also reflect the following:
- Demonstrated understanding of environmental justice and the historical impacts for marginalized and underrepresented communities; ability to take personal responsibility for increasing their knowledge of environmental justice and diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills; experience communicating complex technical information or controversial environmental issues to stakeholders and lay people; ability to communicate technical data to audiences unfamiliar with the subject matter.
- Experience representing an agency or organization at public hearings and meetings; skill in writing concise and clear reports describing complex industries and regulatory determinations.
- Advanced environmental, science, or engineering education.
- Experience in compliance inspection methods, compliance monitoring methods, pollution control equipment, federal and state regulations, and analysis of industrial facilities.
- Experience with landfill gas capture, collection, treatment, and distribution.
Working Conditions:
DEQ believes in a diverse and inclusive work environment. All employees are expected to contribute to a work environment that collectively values and benefits from respecting its diversity and promotes a culture of inclusiveness.
This position will be based out of DEQ’s Portland office, however, the successful candidate may be eligible for hybrid work. The logistics of hybrid work will need to be worked out with the Hiring Manager prior to your hire and may be changed at any time given specific job duties and business needs. DEQ will provide necessary hardware (laptop, monitor, keyboard, mouse, and cell phone) for an employee to successfully work from home. At DEQ sites, you will have access to a workspace, however, it may be shared with other employees.
This position requires occasional travel for meetings, advisory committees, conferences, public hearings, and trainings, some of which may include overnight stays and evening work.
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Please Note: In addition to your related work experience and education, DEQ will use the desired attributes and minimum qualifications above, under the “What are we looking for?” section to determine whom to interview. Please make sure your attributes and minimum qualifications are clearly demonstrated in your application material.
Veterans Information:
DEQ provides veterans’ preference points to all eligible veterans. For more information on veterans’ preference, please visit Veterans Resources, or call the Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs at: 1-800-692-9666. For privacy reasons, please do not attach veterans’ preference documents when initially applying. You will be asked to submit those at a later time.
Pay Equity:
As an employer, the State of Oregon complies with HB 2005, the Pay Equity Bill. We do not discriminate on the basis of protected class in the payment of wages, and we do not screen applicants on the basis of their current or past compensation. Please visit http://www.oregon.gov/das/hr/pages/equity.aspx for more information. Please note: the salary listed is the non-PERS qualifying salary range. If the successful candidate is PERS qualifying, the salary range will reflect an additional 6.95% (6% goes to PERS and .95% covers payroll taxes). Please review the Classification and Compensation page for more details.
Work Authorization:
DEQ does not offer visa sponsorships. On the first day of employment, all hires will be required to complete the US Department of Homeland Security’s Form I-9, confirming authorization to work in the United States. In addition, hires will have three business days from their first day of employment to present documents that establish employment authorization and identity. DEQ is an E-Verify employer and will use E-Verify to confirm that hires are authorized to work in the United States.
Questions/Need Help?
If you have questions about the recruitment or need assistance to participate in the application process, please contact Rebecca Zanskar, Human Resources Analyst, at rebecca.zanskar@deq.oregon.gov or (503) 807-8937. TTY users: please use the Oregon Telecommunications Relay Service at 1-800-735-2900.
Are you interested in an Informational Interview with DEQ to learn more about working at DEQ, how current DEQ employees got to where they are today, and what opportunities there may be for you at DEQ? Please go here and complete the form: https://www.oregon.gov/deq/about-us/Pages/humanresources.aspx. Please note that informational interviews are not tied to an open recruitment. If you complete the form above, you will be put in the queue to have an informational interview with a Hiring Manager from our Informational Interview Registry.