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The EPA National Student Services Contract has an immediate opening for a full-time Coral Laboratory Research Support position with the Office of Research and Development at the EPA facility in Gulf Breeze, FL.

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

Within ORD, the Center for Environmental Measurement & Modeling (CEMM) conducts research to advance EPA’s ability to measure and model contaminants/stressors in the environment, including research to provide fundamental methods and models needed to implement environmental statutes. The methods and models developed by CEMM are typically applied at the airshed, watershed and ecosystem level. Within CEMM, the Gulf Ecosystem Measurement and Modeling Division (GEMMD) provides leadership and specialized research in marine, estuarine, and watershed ecology and ecotoxicology to predict and assess the effects of human-generated stressors on the unique aquatic resources of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico & the Nation. GEMMD develops tools and the scientific basis that help facilitate sustainable environmental management decisions that maximize economic, ecosystem, social outcomes, and resiliency.

What experience and skills will you gain?

As a team member, you will work with EPA scientists working under the Safe and Sustainable Water Resource (SSWR) and Chemical Safety for Sustainability (CSS) teams. As a member of the SSWR team that determines the effects of land-based stressors on coral reef ecosystems, the team member will culture reef building corals in the laboratory as well as assist with experimentation. As a member of the CSS team that determines effects of chemical stressors on aquatic organisms, the team member may culture aquatic and terrestrial organisms (e.g., fathead minnow, sheepshead minnows, amphibians, and toads).

Primary responsibilities will include:  

• Data entry, documentation, and analysis;
• Constructing, cleaning, monitoring, and maintaining laboratory culture and testing systems and organisms;
• Measuring, maintaining, documenting, and quality assurance of laboratory test conditions and parameters;
• Obtaining, preparing, organizing, and/or maintaining research supplies,  materials,  and/or solutions;
• Preparing biological and environmental samples;
• Compiling data and literature references into organized computer files;
• Literature and web searches on environmental impacts on coral and their effects;
• Maintaining laboratory notebooks as instructed by mentor;
• Quality assurance and database management;
• Field collection of specimens and water samples; and
• Conforming to all health and safety, environmental compliance, and research protocols.

Communications-related responsibilities will include:

• Participating as a member of a multi-disciplinary research team;
• Interacting with EPA scientists; and
• Effectively communicating both verbally and in writing.

Required Knowledge, Skills, Work Experience, and Education

• Knowledge of coral biology;
• Experience with marine aquaculture, preferably coral husbandry;
• Experience with compiling, organizing, and summarizing data;
• Experience with proper laboratory techniques to reduce contamination;
• Experience in MS Word, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, and MS Outlook;
• Experience compiling, organizing, and summarizing literature references; and
• Knowledge of basic laboratory safety requirements.

Location:   This job will be located EPA’s facility in Gulf Breeze, FL

Salary: Selected applicant will become a temporary employee of ORAU and will receive an hourly wage of $22.68 for hours worked.

Hours: Full-time.

Travel: No overnight travel is anticipated.

Expected start date: The position is full time and expected to begin September 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 biology, ecology, marine biology, zoology, chemistry, statistics, or a related field of study 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):
  • Business (11 )
  • Chemistry and Materials Sciences (12 )
  • Communications and Graphics Design (6 )
  • Computer, Information, and Data Sciences (17 )
  • Earth and Geosciences (21 )
  • Engineering (27 )
  • Environmental and Marine Sciences (14 )
  • Life Health and Medical Sciences (48 )
  • Mathematics and Statistics (11 )
  • Other Non-Science & Engineering (13 )
  • Physics (16 )
  • Science & Engineering-related (2 )
  • Social and Behavioral Sciences (29 )

I certify that I am at least 18 years of age; a recent graduate with at least a Bachelor’s degree in biology, ecology, marine biology, zoology, chemistry, statistics, or a related field of study 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.