Assistant Air Quality Instrument Specialist/Air Quality Instrument Specialist I

JOB South Coast Air Quality Management District (South Coast AQMD) is one of the largest and most technologically sophisticated environmental regulatory agencies in the Nation.
We serve a four-county region that includes large areas of Los Angeles, Orange County, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, including the Coachella Valley, which is home to more than 17 million people.
South Coast AQMD's headquarters is located in Diamond Bar, 30 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, at the junction of the 57 and 60 freeways.
With a highly diverse "Clean Air Team" of over 800 employees, an annual budget of $196.
3 million, and a state-of-the art air quality laboratory, our mission is to ensure clean air and a healthy environment.
South Coast AQMD is an organization you can be proud to work for -- we make a difference in the quality of life in Southern California! ABOUT THE POSITIONSouth Coast AQMD's Assistant Air Quality Instrument Specialist/Air Quality Instrument Specialist I positions are integral to the agency's air monitoring programs, and are responsible for the operation, preventive maintenance, and minor repair of various electronic and mechanical air monitoring, air sampling, and meteorological instrumentation at air monitoring sites.
From this recruitment process, we expect to establish an eligible list from which current and future vacancies at this level may be filled, during the life of the list.
Assistant Air Quality Instrument Specialist/Air Quality Instrument Specialist I positions may be assigned a specific geographic area and a fixed set of air monitoring stations to service, within the four-county area we serve.
These field positions require driving to various air monitoring stations to collect air quality samples and perform electronic checks to determine if instruments are working properly; therefore, successful candidates must possess a good driving record.
After initial training, Air Quality Instrument Specialists are assigned South Coast AQMD vehicles for work-related travel between our headquarters and facilities within their assigned area.
These positions may also be assigned to deliver collected samples for analysis to laboratories in Diamond Bar or Downey.
Air Quality Instrument Specialists work either five 8-hour days or four 10-hour days, any of the seven days a week, but may occasionally have to rotate schedules or work overtime to cover unexpected vacancies or special workload needs.
Some assignments may require the work shift to start as early as 5:00 a.
m.
IMPORTANT NOTE: The application period will remain open on a continuous basis, until recruitment needs are met.
However, you are encouraged to apply as soon as possible, as the application period may close at any time.
The first round of application review will take place in late February, 2024.
CLASSIFICATION STANDARDS: The Assistant Air Quality Instrument Specialist and the Air Quality Instrument Specialist I are alternatively staffed classes, as the duties performed by the two are similar and vary primarily in the degree of difficulty and complexity of work, the breadth and depth of knowledge required, and the independence of action with which the work is performed.
Positions are allocated at the Air Quality Instrument Specialist I level and new staff may be hired at either level, depending on their qualifications and the needs of the South Coast AQMD.
Individuals hired at the level of Assistant Air Quality Specialist are eligible for promotion to the next level upon successful performance of assigned duties for the required minimum period of time.
ASSISTANT AIR QUALITY INSTRUMENT SPECIALISTAnnual Salary Range: $54,991 - $74,475 The Assistant Air Quality Instrument Specialist is an entry-level class into the technical field of air monitoring and source testing instrumentation.
Persons in this class learn to operate, service, and maintain instruments at an air monitoring station; calibrate and repair instruments; OR install, service, and operate instruments for special projects.
Assignments become increasingly complex and these employees normally advance to a higher level when required experience and level of proficiency are attained.
AIR QUALITY INSTRUMENT SPECIALIST IAnnual Salary Range: $66,955 - $90,645 The Air Quality Instrument Specialist I level is for experienced individuals.
Employees in this class operate, service, and maintain instrumentation and equipment used in monitoring air contaminant concentrations and atmospheric conditions; and perform various electronic checks to determine instrumentation performance according to specifications.
Candidates with directly-related or transferable experience may be eligible to start at the Air Quality Instrument Specialist I level.
EXAMPLE OF DUTIES ASSISTANT AIR QUALITY INSTRUMENT SPECIALISTLearns to operate, maintain, and test a variety of electronic and mechanical air monitoring instrumentation to ensure performance of instrumentation and transmission of data according to South Coast AQMD specifications.
Learns to install, repair, and maintain source testing, air monitoring, and meteorological instruments and equipment.
Learns to repair instrumentation by replacing defective parts and to make calibration adjustments to ensure instruments function within specified standards.
Assists in evaluating technical problems related to the operation, maintenance, repair, calibration, and modification of air monitoring or source testing instruments and equipment.
Learns to evaluate new instruments for quality and consistency with manufacturers' specifications and South Coast AQMD requirements.
Learns to modify air monitoring instruments and equipment to adapt them to special needs and projects.
Prepares, maintains, and submits logs, records, and reports on instrumentation performance, maintenance, servicing and repair.
Orders supplies for the maintenance of instrumentation and air monitoring facilities.
AIR QUALITY INSTRUMENT SPECIALIST IOperates, maintains, and tests a variety of electronic and mechanical air monitoring instrumentation to ensure performance of instrumentation and transmission of data according to South Coast AQMD specifications.
Reviews data and performs calculations to ascertain if an instrument is functioning properly and that data falls within prescribed specifications and tolerance levels.
Inspects meters, pumps, filters, recorders, wiring, tubing, circuit boards and other subsystems to determine cause of abnormal fluctuations of instrumentation.
May repair instrumentation by replacing defective parts and make minor calibration adjustments to ensure instrumentation functions within specified standards.
Assists in the set up and installation, repair, and maintenance of air monitoring and meteorological instrumentation, including equipment used for data transmission, at air monitoring stations.
Performs periodic instrumentation tests to measure voltage, resistance, and gas flows to test the accuracy of flow meters, recorders, and data transmission.
Notifies supervisor of abnormal instrumentation fluctuations and equipment failures in order to request repairs, calibrations, or backup instrumentation to avoid excessive loss.
Prepares, maintains, and submits logs, records or reports on instrumentation performance, maintenance, and servicing.
Participates in special studies to gather data for impact studies and other projects; sets up equipment and conducts manual sampling of air contaminants which require the use of filters, sampling tubes, and other devices.
Reads, interprets, and logs information from recorder charts; reduces data to ensure correct and timely forecasts of high-contaminant conditions and changes in environmental trends in relation to local ambient air quality standards.
Order supplies for the maintenance of instrumentation and air monitoring facilities.
Makes public presentations and conducts tours of air monitoring stations.
May respond to emergency service calls, as assigned or as the situation requires.
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION APPLICATION PACKETS MUST INCLUDE: A completed employment application covering at least the past 10 years of employment history (or longer if you have other relevant experience), and your entire South Coast AQMD employment history if you are a South Coast AQMD employee.
Up to four references which include the names and phone numbers of your present and past supervisors or managers, and/or college professors or persons for whom you have directly provided services, not peers.
Responses to the Supplemental Questionnaire (SQ).
The SQ is a form of written test, and will be evaluated as such.
Your responses should be well written, clear, concise, and directly responsive to the question.
An unofficial copy of your transcripts (or equivalency evaluation if your education was obtained outside the U.
S.
), documenting all qualifying education claimed, submitted as an attachment to your online application*.
*You MUST submit acceptable documentation for all education claimed on your application.
Acceptable documentation consists of an unofficial copy of your transcripts/equivalency evaluation attached to your application.
At a later date, candidates under final consideration will be required to arrange for original, official transcripts (or equivalency evaluation, if applicable) to be mailed directly from their college/university to South Coast AQMD, documenting all education claimed on their application.
Job applications must be completely filled out.
A resume cannot be substituted for the required information.
Be sure to detail any education, training or other relevant coursework that would make you a particularly strong candidate.
THE SELECTION PROCESSApplication packages and responses to the supplemental questionnaire will first be screened, and the most competitively qualified candidates will be invited to a multiple-choice examination, to be rated on a pass/fail basis.
Candidates who pass the exam will advance to the next step in the process, which may include a writing exercise, oral assessment and/or panel interview (weighted at 100%).
(Please note that all tests/interviews are conducted remotely.
) Following the exam, oral assessment, and/or interviews, a ranked eligible list is expected to be created, from which current and future vacancies at this level may be filled, during the 6-12 month life of the list.
Only those who demonstrate they are among the most competitively qualified, at each successive step of the selection process, will be advanced to the next step.
(Meeting the minimum requirements does not guarantee an invitation to the next step.
) Please note: Candidates who receive a conditional offer of employment will be required to submit a driving record, in the form of a K-4 report from the DMV, at the candidate's cost.
Further details on how to obtain this report will be provided at that time.
Important note for potential candidates who do not have the continued and unrestricted right to work full time in the United States: If you currently, or will in the future, require sponsorship (i.
e.
, H1-B Visa) in order to maintain your right to work in the United States, please be aware that decisions regarding sponsorship for maintaining a right to work in the United States are made on a case-by-case basis.
You are welcome to participate in this recruitment process, but there is no guarantee that a job offer with the requested sponsorship will be made to you.
South Coast AQMD reserves the right to add, delete, or modify any elements of the selection process deemed appropriate, based on the number and quality of applicants at each step.
Candidates who may need a special accommodation during the selection process must call the Human Resources Department at least one week prior to any test dates.
If you have any questions regarding this recruitment, please contact the Human Resources Department at (909) 396-2800.