Associate Chemist

Overview

The NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) enriches the environment and protects public health for all New Yorkers by providing 1.1 billion gallons of high quality drinking water, managing wastewater and stormwater, and reducing air, noise, and hazardous materials pollution. DEP is the largest combined municipal water and wastewater utility in the country, with nearly 6,000 employees. DEP's water supply system is comprised of 19 reservoirs and 3 controlled lakes throughout the system’s 2,000 square mile watershed that extends 125 miles north and west of the City.

The Bureau of Water Supply seeks to hire an Associate Chemist Level II for a position in the Hawthorne Laboratory, Water Quality South Division, located in Hawthorne, New York. Under supervision of the Supervisor of the Aqueduct Monitoring group, the Associate Chemist will conduct accurate and precise complex analyses and produce high-quality data to support water quality monitoring throughout the watershed for regulatory compliance as required under the Surface Water Treatment Rule (SWTR) and Filtration Avoidance Deliverables (FAD).

• Perform aqueduct sample collection and laboratory analysis of samples for physical analytes such as color, scent, turbidity, total suspended solids (TSS), hydrofluosilicic acid (HFS) assays and conductivity.
• Wash glassware and provide general laboratory support.
• Perform support functions to ensure efficient operations within the laboratory such as maintaining appropriate laboratory Quality Control, solution preparation, and Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) work.

Please note this is not a clinical laboratory, and a Clinical Laboratory Technologist License is not required for this position.

Some of the physical activities performed by Associate Chemists and environmental conditions experienced are: lifting and carrying packages weighing approximately 20 pounds for a distance of 30 feet, performing duties in confined work areas, wearing protective garments such as respirators, gloves, lab coats, and goggles, handling and manipulating laboratory equipment and instruments and tools such as glass and plastic ware and lab tools, adjusting settings on machines which require fine finger and hand coordination and control, and collecting samples at sites in all weather conditions.

Associate Chemists may be required to work all hours of the day or night and Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays.

• A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college, including or supplemented by 16 semester credits in chemistry and 8 semester credits in any one or a combination of the following areas: chemistry, pharmacology, toxicology, environmental science, forensic science, or other natural science.
• To be eligible for placement in Assignment Level II and above, individuals must have, after meeting the minimum requirements described for Assignment Level I, at least two years of fulltime satisfactory experience performing chemical or physical analyses in a laboratory.
• Education may be substituted for experience on the basis of 30 graduate semester credits from an accredited college in any of the areas of study described in the qualification requirements above for one year of experience. However, all candidates must have a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college with the specialized credits as described above.

At the time of appointment to a clinical laboratory, candidates must possess a valid License as a Clinical Laboratory Technologist issued by the New York State Education Department. This license must be maintained for the duration of employment.

• Familiarity with Microsoft Office suite software including Excel, Word and Power Point.
• An understanding of Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS).
• Two years experience working in a laboratory setting.
• Working knowledge of laboratory instrumentation and equipment.
• Communication skills both written and oral.
• Interpersonal skills interacting with fellow employees and well as individuals outside DEP.
• Time…