Water Quality Specialist Trainee (Environmental Trainee)

Are you searching for a fulfilling career, dedicated to protecting the health of Pennsylvania's residents and the environment in which they live? Join the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) as a Water Quality Specialist Trainee and learn how to help safeguard the waterways that support communities across the Commonwealth. This role allows you to acquire the skills necessary to work in the field, travel to different facilities, and support enforcement of critical environmental laws. Your work will help ensure clean streams and safe practices while enhancing public health. Apply today to step into a position where your efforts make a positive impact for the future of our great state!

Within this role, you will participate in a one-year formal and on-the-job training program to learn the duties of a Water Quality Specialist. You will learn how to protect Pennsylvania waters by inspecting facilities, reviewing data, and ensuring overall compliance with environmental laws. Your duties will involve learning how to conduct field work, prepare detailed reports, and coordinate directly with permittees and the public. As a Water Quality Specialist Trainee, you will learn how to perform the following duties:

• Facility Inspections: Conduct inspections of treatment facilities and dischargers to evaluate compliance with permits and regulations
• Data Review: Examine Discharge Monitoring Reports (DMRs), sampling results, and correspondence to identify violations or concerns
• Sampling Work: Collect wastewater and stream samples, perform field testing, and maintain calibration records
• Report Preparation: Create inspection reports, enforcement documents, and written summaries using agency systems
• Violation Response: Recommend corrective actions, cite facilities for violations, and support enforcement processes
• Public Interaction: Investigate complaints, meet with officials, and provide information to communities and partners

Interested in learning more? Additional details regarding this position can be found in the position description.

Work Schedule and Additional Information:

• Full-time employment
• Work hours are 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM, Monday - Friday, with a 30-minute lunch.
• Travel is required for site visits.
• Telework: You may have the opportunity to work from home (telework) part-time, and report to the office 1 day per month. In order to telework, you must have a securely configured high-speed internet connection and work from an approved location inside Pennsylvania. If you are unable to telework, you will have the option to report to the headquarters office in Pittsburgh. The ability to telework is subject to change at any time. Additional details may be provided during the interview.
• Salary: Selected candidates who are new to employment with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania will begin employment at the starting annual salary of $45,907.00 (before taxes).
• You will receive further communication regarding this position via email. Check your email, including spam/junk folders, for these notices.

QUALIFICATIONS

Minimum Experience and Training Requirements:

• Four years of technical experience in environmental science, environmental engineering, environmental health, geology, biology, ecology, or a closely related field; or
• A bachelor's degree in environmental science, environmental engineering, environmental health, geology, biology, ecology, or a closely related field; or
• An equivalent combination of experience and training.
• Applicants will be considered to have met the educational requirements once they are within 3 months of graduating with a qualifying degree.
  
  

Special Requirement:

• This position requires possession of an active motor vehicle license.

Other Requirements:

• You must meet the PA residency requirement. For more information on ways to meet PA residency requirements, follow the link and click on Residency Guidelines.
• You must be able to perform essential job functions.

How to Apply:

• Resumes, cover letters, and similar documents will not be reviewed, and the information contained therein will not be considered for the purposes of determining your eligibility for the position. Information to support your eligibility for the position must be provided on the application (i.e., relevant, detailed experience/education).
• If you are claiming education in your answers to the supplemental application questions, you must attach a copy of your college transcripts for your claim to be accepted toward meeting the minimum requirements. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable.
• Your application must be submitted by the posting closing date. Late applications and other required materials will not be accepted.
• Failure to comply with the above application requirements may eliminate you from consideration for this position.
• All application materials and interview responses must reflect the applicant's own experience, qualifications, and work. Applicants may use generative AI tools for preparation purposes only. Use of AI to misrepresent or falsify information, or to assist during interviews, is not permitted. Review the Guidance for Generative AI Tools & Job Seekers for additional information.

Veterans:

• Pennsylvania law (51 Pa. C.S. *7103) provides employment preference for qualified veterans for appointment to many state and local government jobs. To learn more about employment preferences for veterans, go to www.pa.gov/agencies/employment/how-to-apply.html and click on Veterans.

Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS):

• 711 (hearing and speech disabilities or other individuals).

If you are contacted for an interview and need accommodations due to a disability, please discuss your request for accommodations with the interviewer in advance of your interview date.

The Commonwealth is an equal employment opportunity employer and is committed to a diverse workforce. The Commonwealth values inclusion as we seek to recruit, develop, and retain the most qualified people to serve the citizens of Pennsylvania. The Commonwealth does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religious creed, ancestry, union membership, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, AIDS or HIV status, disability, or any other categories protected by applicable federal or state law. All diverse candidates are encouraged to apply.

• Completing the application, including all supplemental questions, serves as your exam for this position. No additional exam is required at a test center (also referred to as a written exam).
• Your score is based on the detailed information you provide on your application and in response to the supplemental questions.
• Your score is valid for this specific posting only.
• You must provide complete and accurate information or:
  • your score may be lower than deserved.
  • you may be disqualified.
• You may only apply/test once for this posting.
• Your results will be provided via email.