Toxicologist 2

State of Washington•Benton County – Richland, WA

4d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Department of Ecology is hiring a Toxicologist 2 within the Nuclear Waste Program. This role supports environmental risk assessments to protect human health and the environment, ensuring regulatory compliance during cleanup activities at the Hanford Site. The position involves providing toxicological expertise on study design, risk analysis, and the development of soil and water cleanup levels. The work directly informs decisions at a complex cleanup site, contributing to public health, environmental protection, and site recovery. This position integrates risk assessment requirements from Washington state regulations with federal Superfund and hazardous waste regulations. The toxicologist will translate complex findings into clear recommendations for cleanup decisions, promote regulatory consistency, and support communication with various stakeholders.

Requirements

Nine (9) years of experience and/or education related to the duties of the position.
Risk Assessment – Ability to evaluate chemical and radiological hazards to provide clear, science-based conclusions that support protective environmental and public health decisions.
Environmental Data Interpretation – Ability to evaluate environmental sampling data to ensure the information is reliable and appropriate for decision-making.
Regulatory Application – Ability to apply state and federal environmental requirements to determine cleanup levels and assess compliance to support consistent and defensible regulatory decisions.
Critical Thinking – Ability to analyze information, evaluate assumptions, and identify uncertainties to support well-reasoned and defensible recommendations.
Technical Communication – Ability to explain technical information in clear, understandable terms to support informed decision-making by managers, partners, and the public.
Planning & Prioritization – Ability to plan and manage work tasks, timelines, and commitments to successfully meet program and project expectations.
Education involving a major study in toxicology or a health or ecological related science with a major emphasis in toxicology.
Must meet U.S. Department of Energy requirements to acquire and maintain a badge for access to the Hanford Site.

Nice To Haves

Ph.D. in toxicology or a health or ecological related science with a major emphasis in toxicology and one year of toxicology experience.
Master of Science degree in toxicology or a health or ecological related science with a major emphasis in toxicology and three years of toxicology experience.

Responsibilities

Lead the regulatory review of the Department of Energy’s risk assessment and performance assessment activities.
Provide consultation on risk and performance assessment issues, including the development and evaluation of constituent cleanup levels.
Coordinate with tank farm and environmental restoration chemists on sample design, analysis, and data quality for risk assessments.
Perform calculations and collaborate with agency toxicologists and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to develop and recommend cleanup levels for environmental media.
Review documents for technical merit, regulatory compliance, and consistency with established risk assessment guidance.
Evaluate and prepare professional comments on the appropriateness and adequacy of physicochemical properties, environmental fate and transport characteristics, environmental models, bioavailability issues, dose-response functions, and toxicokinetic and toxicodynamic characteristics of toxic agents in hazardous waste.
Represent the Program on task groups within the department and in coordination with external agencies and other partners.