Senior Air Quality Engineer

Bay Area Air District • San Francisco, CA

1d

About The Position

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District is a regional government agency working to protect public health and the environment through regulation, outreach, and incentive programs. The Senior Air Quality Engineer is assigned to the Refineries Section of the Engineering Division. Under general direction, this position performs complex engineering work and provides lead direction across areas such as permit application evaluation, emissions, toxic risk screening and assessment, compliance audits, modeling, source inventories, source testing, and rule development.

This is the advanced lead level in the engineering series. The engineer leads projects, coordinates technical data collection, prepares detailed reports, and implements programs requiring professional expertise and independent judgment. The position may coordinate and review the work of engineers, support staff, vendors, and contractors but does not exercise continuing supervision over staff. A supervisor or manager provides supervision.

The recruitment is for one full-time, represented vacancy. Some positions in this classification may require a valid California driver's license or the ability to obtain one.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in environmental, chemical, mechanical, or petroleum engineering, or a closely related field.
• Three years of air quality or environmental engineering experience.
• An equivalent combination of education and experience that provides the qualifications needed to perform the duties will be considered.

Responsibilities

• Provide lead direction, coordination, training, and work review to staff on routine, continuing, or well-defined tasks.
• Coordinate, lead, and review engineers, support staff, vendors, and contractors working on complex, sensitive, or controversial engineering projects, studies, and audits.
• Review and evaluate permit applications; calculate emissions and fees; determine regulatory compliance; recommend best available control technology; define permit conditions; and issue authorities to construct and permits to operate.
• Use computers and software to perform engineering calculations, manage data, monitor and correct data entry, and investigate and correct errors in the Permitting & Compliance System.
• Coordinate on-site compliance inspections of sources and abatement devices, evaluate compliance, and recommend enforcement actions.
• Respond to industry, public, and Air District inquiries about regulations, permit preparation, compliance measures, and emissions calculations.
• Review permit and enforcement files and recommend actions for variance requests, violation notices, case summaries, and hearing board referrals.
• Perform, review, and direct air quality impact analyses for permits, risk assessments, and environmental impact documents; recommend permit application approval or denial.
• Use emissions models, geographic information systems, and relational databases to prepare, quality-check, and modify data files for inventory assessment and air quality models.
• Develop and document procedures to calculate and forecast emissions; develop, review, correct, and document emissions inventories; and evaluate emissions calculations and methodologies.
• Analyze emissions inventories to establish baseline emissions and estimate reductions for rules under development.
• Provide engineering expertise for air quality plans, including developing programs, structuring data, and preparing long-range emissions forecasts for major industrial classifications.
• Conduct special studies and prepare technical reports related to research and planning; coordinate activities with Air District staff, outside agencies, and organizations.
• Represent the Air District as a technical expert in meetings with outside agencies, environmental groups, and industry personnel.
• Lead research and development of new or revised air quality rules and procedures; assess emissions, potential reductions, and control costs; establish control levels and technologies; and prepare technical assessment reports.
• Coordinate scientific research and engineering evaluations with internal and external professional and technical staff.
• Participate in developing regulations addressing air pollutants, including pollutants contributing to climate change and localized air quality impacts in overburdened communities.
• Perform and review economic and environmental analyses; research and develop recommendations on air quality and climate protection reports, programs, plans, legislation, and regulations.
• Prepare and present staff reports and recommendations to the Air District Board of Directors, subcommittees, leadership, and others as assigned.
• Perform quality control on air monitoring or source test equipment and calibrations, and coordinate and track reference-standard certifications.
• Evaluate submissions to install or modify continuous emissions monitoring equipment; research emissions measurement technologies and test methods.
• Review, calculate, evaluate, summarize, and record emissions data from scientific or analytical instruments, ensuring accuracy, completeness, validity, and compliance with applicable standards.
• Testify on behalf of the Air District when needed and perform other related duties as assigned.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior