Water Quality Scientist Assistant or Water Quality Scientist

Minimum Qualifications
Water Quality Scientist Assistant:
Education and/or Equivalent Experience:

• Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university with major course work in a field related to Chemical, Environmental, or Biological Sciences.

Licenses and Certifications Required:

• Valid Texas Class “C” Driver’s License.
• For Analysts in the Water Quality Laboratory, must obtain a Class D Water Operator License from TCEQ within six (6) months.

Water Quality Scientist:
Education and/or Equivalent Experience:

• Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university with major course work in a field related to Chemical, Environmental, or Biological Sciences, plus two (2) years of experience in a field related to water quality testing.
• A master’s or doctoral degree in one of the above disciplines may be substituted for one (1) year of experience.

Licenses and Certifications Required:

• Valid Texas Class “C” Driver License.
• For Analysts in the Water Quality Laboratory: must obtain a Class D Water Operator License from TCEQ within six (6) months.

Notes to Applicants

Working with Austin Water provides a number of health and welfare benefits, such as medical, paid leave time, a great retirement plan, training opportunities and more - click HERE for more information.

Critical Position:

This position has been designation as critical for the City of Austin. Critical positions are necessary and vital and support activities that impact City or department operations. Work can be done while at a designated work site or while working at an alternate work location. Critical employees may be reassigned to another area to provide essential services to support any extraordinary situations or emergency conditions.

Please note that the Department may close the job posting at any time after 7 days.

This position performs analytical testing on water and wastewater samples in a TNI accredited lab.

Retention Incentive Bonus:

This position may be eligible for an Incentive Bonus of up to $3,000!

• $500 after 90 days.
• $500 after 180 days.
• $1,000 after 1 year.
• $1,000 after 2 years.

This position will be filled at one of the following levels based on qualifications:

Water Quality Scientist:
Salary Range: $28.29 - $34.80 per hour

Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university with major course work in a field related to Chemical, Environmental, or Biological Sciences, plus two (2) years of experience in a field related to water quality testing.

A master’s or doctoral degree in one of the above disciplines may be substituted for one (1) year of experience.

Water Quality Scientist Assistant:
Salary Range: $25.74 - $30.50 per hour

Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university with major course work in a field related to Chemical, Environmental, or Biological Sciences.

Licenses and Certifications Required: Valid Texas Class “C” Driver’s License.

For Analysts in the Water Quality Laboratory, must obtain a Class D Water Operator License from TCEQ within six (6) months.

These positions will be assigned to one of the following locations based on business need:

Water Quality Lab
14050 Summit Drive, #121
Austin, Texas 78728

Wastewater Process Lab
Hornsby Bend Biosolids Management Plant
2210 S FM 973
Austin, Texas 78725

Wastewater Environmental Lab
Walnut Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant
7113 FM 969
Austin, Texas 78724

When completing the City of Austin employment application:

• Please be sure to detail on the application all previous employment that you wish to be considered as part of your qualifications.
• A detailed, complete employment application is required. It helps us to better evaluate your qualifications and will be used to determine salary if you are selected for this position. Be sure to provide job title and employment dates for all jobs you wish to be considered. Please refer to the preferred qualifications listed in this posting when completing the “Duties and Responsibilities” section for each job listed on your application, describing which preferred qualifications are applicable for that position including any preferred software used.

• A resume is required but will not substitute for a complete employment application. Please do not use the phrase “see resume” or refer to other documents to complete your application. Do not leave the “Duties and Responsibilities” sections blank. These will be considered incomplete applications. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

If you are selected as a top candidate:

• Verification of your education (which may include high school graduation or GED , undergraduate and/or graduate degrees) will be required. You must provide proof of education from an accredited organization/institution and proof of your professional licenses or certifications.
• And are in the military or a veteran, you will need to provide a copy of your DD-214 prior to confirming a start date.

Technical Licensure:

• If assigned to the Water Quality Lab, this position may require employees to obtain a Class “D” Water Operator License from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality ( TCEQ ) within six (6) months of employment. TCEQ may restrict granting an occupational license to individuals with certain criminal convictions. To review TCEQ’s criminal conviction guidelines, go online to TCEQ .

Driving Requirement:

• This position requires a valid Texas Class C Driver License or the ability to acquire one by your hire date. External New Hires must meet the City of Austin’s Driver Record Evaluation ( DRE ) requisite. To be considered for a driving position, applicants cannot have more than three moving violations or a total of six Driver Record Evaluation points within a period of thirty-six (36) months.

Secondary Employment:

• All Austin Water employees are prohibited from accepting or engaging in any secondary employment that might conflict or interfere with an employee’s duty and responsibility to the Department.
• AW must review all secondary employment.
• Employees are required to submit a Secondary Employment Application for review and approval upon being hired with AW, as well as current AW employees considering Secondary employment.

All Austin Water worksite locations are tobacco-free. Use of tobacco products and/or e-cigarettes is not permitted on any AW worksite - including construction sites, parking lot, garage or in any personal vehicle located on the premises.
Pay Range
See Notes to Applicants
Hours
Monday through Friday
7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., plus holiday and weekend work as needed.

Job Close Date 03/17/2025 Type of Posting External Department Austin Water Utility Regular/Temporary Regular Grant Funded or Pooled Position Not Applicable Category Technical Location See Notes to Applicants Preferred Qualifications
Preferred Experience:

• Experience in water or wastewater testing using analytical techniques and methods (i.e., EPA , Standard Methods, etc.)
• Experience using and maintaining laboratory equipment
• Experience adhering to scientific protocols such as laboratory accreditation or certification requirements, analytical methods (i.e., EPA , standard Methods), and standard operating procedures
• Organizational, problem solving, and cultural competence skills

Duties, Functions and Responsibilities
This position is posted at multiple levels. For Duties, Functions, and Responsibilities, please click on the appropriate job description below. Essential duties and functions, pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act, may include the following. Other related duties may be assigned.

Water Quality Scientist Assistant

Water Quality Scientist

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
This position is posted at multiple levels. For Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities, please click on the appropriate job description below. Must possess required knowledge, skills, abilities, and experience and be able to explain and demonstrate, with or without reasonable accommodations, that the essential functions of the job can be performed.

Water Quality Scientist Assistant

Water Quality Scientist

Criminal Background Investigation This position does not require a Criminal Background Investigation EEO/ADA
City of Austin is committed to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. If you require reasonable accommodation during the application process or have a question regarding an essential job function, please call (512) 974-3210 or Texas Relay by dialing 7-1-1.

The City of Austin will not discriminate against any applicant or employee based on race, creed, color, national origin, sex, gender identity, age, religion, veteran status, disability, or sexual orientation. In addition, the City will not discriminate in employment decisions on the basis of an individual’s AIDS , AIDS Related Complex, or HIV status; nor will the City discriminate against individuals who are perceived to be at risk of HIV infection, or who associate with individuals who are believed to be at risk.
Information For City Employees: If you are an employee within the department, are in good standing and meet both the minimum and preferred qualifications, then you will receive an initial interview.

Supplemental Questions

Required fields are indicated with an asterisk (*).
* The minimum qualifications for the Water Quality Scientist Assistant requires: Graduation with a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university with major course work in a field related to Chemical, Environmental, or Biological Sciences. Do you meet these qualifications?

• Yes
• No

* This position requires a valid Texas Class C Driver License. Do you have a valid Texas Class C Driver License or, if selected for this position, do you have the ability to acquire a valid Texas Class C Driver License by your hire date?

• Yes
• No

* The City of Austin Driver Eligibility Standards require that external new hires meet the City's Driver Record Evaluation (DRE) requisite. To be considered for a driving position, applicants cannot have more than three (3) moving violations or a total of six (6) Driver Record Evaluation points within a period of thirty-six (36) months. Do you meet this requirement?

• Yes
• No

* How many years of experience do you have in water or wastewater testing using analytical techniques and methods (i.e. EPA, Standard Methods, etc.)?

• None
• Less than one (1) year
• One (1) to three (3) years
• Three (3) to five (5) years
• Five (5) to seven (7) years
• Seven (7) to ten (10) years
• More than ten (10) years

* Select the following instrumentation you have experience using (select all that apply):

• Auto-Analyzer
• TOC analyzer
• Spectrophotometer
• pH meter
• DO meter
• ISE meter
• Turbidimeter
• Colorimeter
• None of the above

* Do you have experience troubleshooting and maintaining any of the laboratory equipment you selected in the previous question? (Select all that apply)

• Experience with troubleshooting
• Experience performing preventative maintenance
• Experience operating the equipment
• None of the above

* Select the following you have experience with (select all that apply):

• Working in a TNI (The NELAC Institute) laboratory
• Working in a municipal (water or wastewater) laboratory
• Following TCEQ or EPA regulations
• Reviewing quality assurance / quality control requirements
• Testing drinking water matrices
• Testing wastewater matrices
• Using Horizon LIMS or other similar LIMS databases
• Method development
• None of the above

* Rate your organizational skills:

• Not very good
• Good: I typically have things organized.
• Excellent: I pride myself on my organizational skills.

* Rate your problem solving skills:

• Not so good: I struggle to find the resources I need to find the solution for problems
• Good: I am usually able to use the resources available to me to solve problems
• Excellent: I am able to think outside the box to come up with innovative solutions to problems

* Were you referred to this opportunity by an Austin Water employee? If yes, please provide the employee’s full name.
(Open Ended Question)
* Will you require sponsorship for employment visa status (e.g., H1B visa) either now or in the future?

• Yes
• No

Optional & Required Documents

Required Documents Resume Optional Documents

• 

• City of Austin

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