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The EPA National Student Services Contract has an immediate opening for a full time Field and Lab Support position 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 Center for Environmental Measurement and Modeling (CEMM) conducts research to advance the Agency’s ability to measure and model stressors, pollutants, and contaminants in the environment, including research to provide fundamental methods and models needed to implement environmental statutes. Part of the CEMM mission is to understand interactions of people and communities with the environment and to inform and evaluate environmental management practices and policies.

Within CEMM, the Atlantic Coastal Environmental Sciences Division (ACESD):

• Conducts coastal watershed, freshwater, estuarine, and coastal ecological research;
• Develops theories, methods, models, and data to better understand the cumulative effects of stressors and extreme weather events on the coastal waters and watersheds of the Atlantic sea board;
• Helps develop methods to measure the ecological effects of nutrients and other pollutants and to determine the effects of biogeochemical processes on stressors;
• Uses social-ecological systems approaches to restore and enhance the resilience of the coastal environment and to characterize the tradeoffs inherent to decision making;
• Conducts place-based research to resolve key problems identified by stakeholders and which are transferable to other parts of the nation; and
• Provides research support to states and communities on issues related to the protection and restoration of coastal watersheds and marine ecosystems.

What experience will you gain?

As a team member, you will participate in greenhouse, laboratory, and field efforts in support of salt marsh restoration studies and aquaculture and seagrass research. The team member will assist in the sampling and processing of soil and plant samples, in the measurement of water quality and greenhouse gases, and maintenance of mesocosms in an aquatic greenhouse. The team member will be a member of a multi-disciplinary research team and support the analyses of water quality, blue carbon, and carbon dynamics in salt marshes, eelgrass beds, and oyster aquaculture.

Data Development and Analysis responsibilities will include, but not be limited to:

• Processing of sediment cores, wetland plants, and macroalgal samples. Processing includes grinding and weighing samples;
• Set up and maintenance of mesocosms in an aquatic greenhouse;
• Entry of sample weights and plant measures into EXCEL data sheets;
• Assisting in field collections of oyster, eelgrass, marsh, and sediment samples;
• Making water quality measures in the greenhouse and in the field; and
• Maintaining a greenhouse and laboratory notebook describing activities and analyses.

Communications-related responsibilities will include:

• Participating as a member of a multi-disciplinary research team and
• Interacting with other members of the lab and field teams as well as EPA scientists

Required Knowledge, Skills, Work Experience, and Education

• Experience in one or more is desired, but not required: laboratory, greenhouse, field, or boating operation experience;
• Strong written and oral communication skills; and
• Able to withstand sometimes harsh field conditions (e.g., warm temperatures in the summer, rainy weather in the spring).

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 $24.31 for hours worked.

Hours: Full-time.

Travel: Occasional day trips to field sites on a seasonal basis with the team. Occasional participation in local workshops or meetings, which may require overnight travel.

Expected start date: The position is full time and expected to begin January 2023. The selected applicant will become a temporary employee of ORAU working as a contractor to EPA. The contract renews each May through 2025.

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

• Be at least 18 years of age and
• Have earned at least a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science, Natural Resource Sciences, Geosciences, Biology, Chemistry, Aquaculture, Forestry, Marine Science, or a related field 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.

• Citizenship: LPR or U.S. Citizen
• Degree: Bachelor's Degree received within the last 24 month(s).
• Minimum Overall GPA: 2.00
• Discipline(s):
  • Chemistry and Materials Sciences (12 )
  • Earth and Geosciences (1 )
  • Environmental and Marine Sciences (14 )
  • Life Health and Medical Sciences (3 )

I certify that I am at least 18 years of age; a recent graduate with at least a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science, Natural Resource Sciences, Geosciences, Biology, Chemistry, Aquaculture, Forestry, Marine Science, or a related field from an accredited university or college within the last 24 months; a citizen or a Legal Permanent Resident of the United States of America; and not a current employee of EPA ORD or the spouse or child of an EPA ORD employee.

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