Environmental Lab Assistant - ORAU

The EPA National Student Services Contract has an immediate opening for two part time Environmental Lab Assistant positions with the Office of Research and Development at the EPA facility in Narragansett, RI.

The Office of Research and Development at the EPA supports high-quality research to improve the scientific basis for decisions on national environmental issues and help EPA achieve its environmental goals. Research is conducted in a broad range of environmental areas by scientists in EPA laboratories and at universities across the country.

What the EPA project is about

The Atlantic Coastal Environmental Sciences Division (ACESD) is responsible for coastal watershed, freshwater, estuarine, and coastal ecological research. The detection and quantification of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) is an important part of ongoing research. Staff use innovative analytical techniques to assess CECs and determine potential risk or stressors in aquatic environments.

As a team member, you will provide laboratory support to PFAS research at EPA ACESD in Narragansett, Rhode Island. The team members will work with the ACESD PFAS team to oversee daily tasks including monitoring solvent supplies, putting away glassware, and overseeing laboratory consumable inventories. The team member will be trained in proper laboratory safety and quality assurance best practices to support a dynamic research group across many efforts. The team member will also be trained in basic sample collection and extraction techniques to assist in ongoing CEC/PFAS research. This includes sample weighing, vortexing, centrifuging, carbon clean-up, and solid-phase extraction techniques. The contractor will also work with team members to review data for quality assurance and data analyses. This participant will be a member of a multi-disciplinary research team focused on approaches to identifying and understanding CECs in the environment.

As this is a student services contract position, the team member will not be responsible for conducting independent research. However, there are ample opportunities for the student to advance their chemistry and analytical skills as they gain competency in basic laboratory tasks. The student may be asked to assist ACESD personnel in collecting field samples, extracting various matrices (sediments, water, biota), and perform data analysis in support of ongoing research. These tasks will be dependent upon student competency and availability on an as-needed basis. 

Required Knowledge, Skills, Work Experience, and Education

• Demonstrated education and/or experience in chemistry or biology;
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail;
• A working knowledge of basic laboratory techniques; and
• Strong written, oral and electronic communication skills.
• If still enrolled in school a transcript will be required each semester to show applicant in good standing with university. 

Location:  This job will be located EPA’s facility in Narragansett, RI.

Salary: Selected applicant will become a temporary employee of ORAU and will receive an hourly wage of $21.70 for hours worked.

Hours: Part-time. This position is up to 16 hours per week.

Travel: This position will not include overnight travel.

Expected start date: The position is part time and expected to begin October 2024. The selected applicant will become a temporary employee of ORAU working as a contractor to EPA.

For more information, contact EPANSSC@orau.org. Do not contact EPA directly.

• Be at least 18 years of age and
• Have completed at least two years of undergraduate coursework in in chemistry, biology, toxicology, geology, oceanography, environmental sciences, marine biology, bioinformatics, statistics, computational biology, math, physics, information science or a closely related field of study from an accredited university or college within the last 24 months and
• Be a citizen of the United States of America or a Legal Permanent Resident.

EPA ORD employees, their spouses, and children are not eligible to participate in this program.