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 permanent opportunity for a Hydrogeologist (Natural Resource Specialist 5 - Hydrogeologist) in Portland, Oregon. This position will be based out of DEQ’s Headquarters in Portland; 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. This position will require some travel to DEQ offices and sites on an as-needed basis. At DEQ sites, you will have access to a workspace, however, it may be shared with other employees.

Please consider joining an innovative team, and work to advance our agency’s mission to protect and improve Oregon’s environmental quality. The Land Quality programs support this mission by assessing and managing environmental cleanups, promoting manufacturing and recycling of non-toxic commercial products, safely managing the disposal of solid and hazardous wastes, administering the state’s underground storage tank and heating oil tank programs, and responding to spills of oil and hazardous materials.

The Environmental Cleanup program ensures those responsible for contaminated sites take appropriate action; undertakes cleanup when necessary; and supports voluntary and independent cleanups to facilitate property transfers and redevelopment. The environmental goal is to minimize exposure to contaminants that have been released into the environment and present and unacceptable risk to people or the environment.

If you are interested in an opportunity to work with the Cleanup program, consider this position and the Remedial Action Hydrogeologist (Natural Resource Specialist 4 - Hydrogeologist) position at DEQ to start making an impact today!

Click here to view a map of all of the DEQ offices.

What you will do!

You will serve as the Environmental Cleanup statewide expert in hydrogeology and contaminant fate and transport in the subsurface, as a primary technical resource of Agency Cleanup guidance and policy, and as a Project Manager resource for highly complex remediation sites. You will be the statewide and cross-program expert in hydrogeology, subsurface contaminant fate and transport, associated computational modeling, and chemical properties of hazardous substances. You will lead and support statewide policy, planning, development, and technical consultation on program improvement. Your work will entail program enhancements and development that will not be limited to a single area of expertise and may involve collaboration with hydrogeologists, engineers, risk assessors, toxicologists, IT specialists or data managers, laboratory specialists, and other agencies, including Oregon Health Authority and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In addition, you will provide expert project management support for complex sites with NAPL and dissolved phase transport in the subsurface environment. You will have the opportunity to provide support statewide across all DEQ regions as you will serve as the subject matter expert and representative of the Cleanup program and DEQ on these topics across program and division within DEQ as well as with other tribal, national, regional, state, and local entities and agencies both public and private.

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:

• Bachelor’s degree in physical science, environmental science, natural resources, or a closely related field, AND 5 years of experience in a natural resource or environmental field (an equivalent combination of education and experience is acceptable).
• At least 1 year of experience at a technical or professional level performing activities in a natural resource program such as researching and analyzing data, conducting investigations, applying pertinent laws and regulations, or coordinating and monitoring project activities.
• Current registration as an Oregon Professional Geologist, or the ability to obtain within 6 months of employment.

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.
• Demonstrated expert-level experience and current knowledge in hydrogeology and contaminant fate and transport in the subsurface, as well as site characterization, groundwater monitoring, soil and ground water contamination assessment, and corrective action for contamination problems.
• Excellent project management, analytical, and organizational skills; prior consulting or regulatory experience in a project manager role, including experience planning, leading, and implementing projects and programs.
• High proficiency in Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, Outlook, and Access), as well as computer programs such as Google Earth and Acrobat; demonstrated proficiency in data management and statistics; basic understanding of GIS and a robust understanding and proficiency in groundwater modeling.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills; ability to provide clear, concise, and compelling communication of policy and technical information tailored to the needs of diverse audiences; skill in writing and presenting clear and concise reports that include qualitative and quantitative analyses, recommendations, and conclusions to diverse audiences.
• Demonstrated experience with hydrogeological methods of analysis and interpretation related to chemical fate and transport in the subsurface using methods of computational geology, and principles of inorganic and organic chemistry and /or isotope geochemistry.
• Experience conducting independent analysis and evaluation of concentrations of regulated hazardous substances in groundwater using analytical or numerical modeling, particle flow path tracing, processes of advection, diffusion and/ or biodegradation and volatilization.
• Experience with statistical and numerical analysis techniques with geoscience data, includ­ing sampling methods, confidence intervals, least squares methods, correlation, time series analysis, and/or multivariate techniques.

Working Conditions:

Primarily work in an office environment. Infrequent evening and weekend meetings; occasional travel in-state and out-of-state as an agency representative at meetings, conferences, workshops, and workgroups; infrequent visits to contaminated sites in the field. During field work, there may be the exposure to inclement weather, contaminated soil and water, fumes, and airborne contaminants.

How to Apply: (complete the application in full)

• External Applicants Click on the “Apply” button and submit your application. Click this link for the External Candidate job aid, and view this video for additional information.
• Internal Applicants (current State of Oregon employees): Apply through your employee Workday account.  View this job aid for assistance.

Helpful Tips:

• Be sure to attach a resume and cover letter.
• Allow yourself plenty of time to complete and submit the application, resume, and cover letter.
• Workday will timeout after 15 minutes of inactivity.
• This posting closes at 11:59 PM on the close date listed.
• Please save a copy of the job announcement for your reference, as it may not be available for you to view after the job posting closes.
• Be sure to check both your email and Workday account for updates regarding this recruitment.
• Workday performs best in Google Chrome.

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 Grecia Lora Motz, Human Resources Analyst, at grecia.loramotz@deq.oregon.gov or (503) 863-0621. 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.