Keeping Washington Clean and Evergreen
Protecting Washington State’s environment for current and future generations is what we do every day at Ecology. We are a culture that is invested in making a difference. If you want to join a team that is highly effective, collaborative, has leadership that embraces the value of people, and believes in the fun factor, Ecology is a good fit.

The Environmental Assessment Program (EAP) program within the Department of Ecology is looking to fill four (4) Watershed Health Monitoring (WHM) and one (1) Forest Practices Effectiveness Monitoring (FPEM) (Environmental Technician) positions. The positions will start in June and will receive training in our Headquarters office in Lacey, WA.

The positions will be located in Lacey but will work statewide with a focus in Northeastern Washington (WHM) and Southwestern Washington (FPEM). Positions will start in June and will go to approximately October 15th, but not beyond. Travel and lodging will be reimbursed by the Department of Ecology.

The positions give you the opportunity to use what you’ve learned in school and apply it to environmental sampling techniques. Some of the key work activities include: Biological monitoring, water quality sampling, chemical sampling, and using different types of monitoring equipment. The information that you collect helps to assess the health of the watershed. The data is used to help develop a plan to improve watershed health.

We are looking for applicants who are motivated, adaptable, team-oriented, dedicated and who have a desire to gain experience in environmental sampling.

As an agency, our mission is to protect, preserve and enhance Washington’s environment for current and future generations. We invest in our employees to create and sustain a working environment that encourages creative leadership, effective resource management, teamwork, professionalism and accountability. Maybe you’ve seen some of our recent stories on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or our blog.

To learn more about our agency, please visit our website at www.ecy.wa.gov.

Local efforts… Diverse people… Statewide impacts

Some of the key work activities for these positions are:

• Is responsible for field equipment maintenance and organization, including calibration of Hach multi-probe.
• Reads QAPP/QAMP, SOPs, and other required protocols within the first two weeks in order to successfully assist in conducting all the field data collection events below.
• Assists with water quality sample collection.
• Helps with habitat surveys.
• Assists with benthic macroinvertebrate sampling.
• Helps assess fish assemblage.
• Assists with boat operation duties.
• Helps with quality assurance review of environmental data.
• Participates in unit, section, and program meetings as appropriate.
• Attends and stays current on required trainings, especially safety trainings.

• Provides initial review of the raw data recorded in the field for completeness and overall quality.
• Suggests refining data collection methods.
• Collects water quality samples.
• Assists with field work preparation every week before the scheduled sampling.
• Collects all samples following SOPs in a timely fashion.

• Under supervision and direction of professional staff, serves as field assistant on a 2-3 member crew conducting stream surveys and collecting stream channel measurements.
• Tasks include field equipment preparation and maintenance, collection of environmental samples, and measuring stream flow.
• Under supervision, assists with sample processing in the lab, entering data into databases, and performing data quality reviews.

Please note the WHM positions will start June 16, 2018 and end no later than October 15, 2018. The FPEM position will start June 4, 2018 and end no later than September 30, 2018.

The positions will be based in Lacey but work primarily in the Northeastern Region (WHM) and the Southwestern Region (FPEM). Training will occur in Lacey, WA.

Travel and lodging will be reimbursed by the Department of Ecology. The schedule will be 10 hour shifts, work 8 days in a row and have 6 days off (WHM); and 10 hour shifts, work 4 days per week (FPEM).

Other Information: