Assistant Air Pollution Chemist-25385810

San Diego County (CA) • San Diego, CA

58d • Hybrid

About The Position

The San Diego County Air Pollution Control District (SDAPCD) Invites Your Interest for This Exciting Career Opportunity! ASSISTANT AIR POLLUTION CHEMIST Interviews will take place the week of JANUARY 5th, 2026. Job offers for selected candidates will be made after interviews have been conducted. Future Salary Increases: June 2026 - 4.83% increase to base pay (3.5% Across-the-Board + 1.33% Market Adjustment) June 2027 - 4.33% increase to base pay (3.0% Across-the- Board + 1.33% Market Adjustment) The County of San Diego is currently accepting job applications for Assistant Air Pollution Chemists for the Quality Assurance Program. The San Diego County Air Pollution Control District strives to protect the public from harmful effects of air pollution, achieve and maintain air quality standards, foster community involvement, and develop and implement cost-effective programs meeting state and federal mandates, considering environmental and economic impacts. To learn more about this department, click here. SDAPCD employs Air Pollution Chemists in four different programs: Regional Air Monitoring, Quality Assurance, Community Air Protection, and Source Emission Testing. SDAPCD's Quality Assurance Program mission is to ensure that the data collected in the Regional Air Monitoring Program meets federal and state data quality objectives. This effort requires reviewing data and conducting field audits of the monitoring stations and equipment in the Regional Air Monitoring Program. SDAPCD Regional Air Monitoring Program mission is to measure the air quality in San Diego County to determine if the air quality meets federal and state health and safety standards. This effort requires monitoring various pollutants in the county through the establishment of around 10 monitoring stations located throughout the County. SDAPCD's Community Air Protection Program mission is to reduce pollution exposure in communities based on environmental, health, and socioeconomic information. This effort will require community air monitoring, community emission reduction plans and incentive funding to deploy the cleanest technologies in the most impacted areas. This recruitment will help lead SDAPCD's effort in monitoring air quality within these communities. SDAPCD's Source Emission Testing Program mission is to measure pollutant emissions from facilities to determine if the emissions meet the facilities operational permit emission limits. This effort requires conducting measurements conducted at the facilities premise at the point of release into the atmosphere and can be at elevated locations. Under the direction of a Senior Chemist, the Assistant Air Pollution Chemists perform professional work involved in the collection, evaluation, and chemical analysis of air contaminant samples. This is the first working level class that performs chemical analyses and testing of air contaminant samples. For additional information regarding this job classification, click here.

Requirements

• A bachelor's degree from a U.S. accredited college or university, or a certified foreign studies equivalency in chemistry, chemical engineering, or a closely related field, which includes the completion of thirty (30) semester units or forty-five (45) quarter units of physical, analytical, and organic chemistry, AND, one (1) year of progressively responsible professional experience in collecting, evaluating, and conducting chemical analysis of air contaminant or environmental samples
• A master's degree from a U.S. accredited college or university, or a certified foreign studies equivalency as stated above in chemistry or chemical engineering
• One (1) year of experience as a Junior Air Pollution Chemist for the San Diego County Air Pollution Control District
• Applicants must submit a copy of their official or unofficial transcripts in order to verify completed coursework from an accredited U.S. college or university; or a certified foreign studies equivalency report if a degree was obtained from a college or university outside of the U.S.

Nice To Haves

• Knowledge of technical methods and applications involved in operation of laboratory analytical instrumentation and air monitoring equipment
• Knowledge of technical methods and applications involved in quality assurance (i.e. data review) of laboratory analytical instrumentation and air monitoring equipment
• Familiar with writing standard operation procedures
• Familiar with coding in Visual Basic (macros in Excel) and or Anaconda/Python

Responsibilities

• perform professional work involved in the collection, evaluation, and chemical analysis of air contaminant samples
• chemical analyses and testing of air contaminant samples

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Industry: Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees