Surface Water Data Analysis Specialist

Job Description and Duties

Are you interested in a meaningful and impactful career? Would you like to contribute to protecting people and the environment and accelerating a statewide transition to sustainable pest management? The Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) could be the place for you!

Under the direction of the Environmental Program Manager I (Supervisory), the Senior Environmental Scientist (Specialist) acts as the scientific expert on the protection of surface water from pesticide contamination. The Senior Environmental Scientist (Specialist) independently identifies problems, develops courses of action, and conducts complex scientific investigations and studies. The incumbent may help lead or coordinate specific monitoring efforts for the Surface Water Protection Program and act as a subject matter expert analyzing monitoring and environmental data to support DPR's continuous evaluation and mitigation efforts.

Specific responsibilities include:

• Conceives, proposes, plans, organizes, and directs complex surface water protection tasks, including primary and lead responsibility on scientific and technical evaluation of pesticide impacts to surface water.
• Independently conceives plans and implements complex studies to assess the spatial and temporal distributions of pesticide detections (and associated toxicity and aquatic macro-invertebrate impairment) in surface water and sediment.
• Provides quality assurance and quality control of monitoring methods, analytical methods and monitoring data. Gathers, manages, assesses, and interprets monitoring and environmental data using a variety of tools and techniques including statistics, programming language (e.g., SQL, R, Python), geographic information systems (GIS), databases (e.g., MS Access), and/or other computer modeling in support of Surface Water's monitoring and mitigation efforts. Designs or defines needed equipment and instrumentation required for research, or develops new research methods to solve the most difficult surface water monitoring needs.
• Coordinates with state and federal pesticide and water quality agencies on scientific and regulatory projects of shared interest; consults with agencies, universities, growers, registrants, County Agricultural Commissioners, and stakeholders on complex monitoring and mitigation studies and other ecological health projects. Interacts with an interdisciplinary team of scientists.
• Writes reports, documents and technical publications, and makes oral presentations to governmental entities, professional societies, stakeholders, or pesticide user groups. Serves as technical advisor for programmatic or project needs.
• Performs critical review of data and proposed projects submitted by registrants, CDPR staff, and other agencies for scientific integrity and application to program objectives.

You will find additional information about the job in the .

Working Conditions

Employee must have the ability to work in a high-rise office environment and ability to use a computer monitor, mouse, and keyboard within an 8-hr day. Employee must be capable of performing field studies and site visits that may involve hiking or climbing in areas with moderate slopes, unpaved surfaces, undeveloped roads, and other areas or structures where studies may be required. The employee must have the ability to conduct fieldwork for long hours under a variety of climatic conditions and, also, operate vehicles on public roadways or travel to remote areas. Travel that includes flying and/or driving on short notice and overnight stays will be required on trips to various field locations and community/board meetings. Employee may occasionally be required to wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in order to minimize exposure to hazards. PPE include, but not limited to, gloves, safety glasses, ear plugs, hard hats, coveralls, and tight-fitting respiratory protective equipment. When respiratory protective equipment is required, the employee must adhere to the fitting requirements stated in DPR’s respiratory protection policy.

NOTE: This position may be eligible for hybrid telework under Government Code 14200 for eligible applicants residing in California, subject to the candidate meeting telework eligibility criteria set forth in the CalEPA telework policy and/or future program need. Employees not residing in California are not eligible for telework. Regardless of telework eligibility, all employees may be required to report to the position’s designated headquarters location, as indicated on their duty statement, at their own expense.

Beginning July 1, 2026, it is anticipated the position will be office-centered and employees will be expected to report to the office at least four days per week.

Special Requirements

• The position(s) require(s) Medical Clearance prior to being hired.

• This position is designated Conflict of Interest and requires disclosure of economic interests.

• If education is required to meet the minimum qualifications, you must include a copy of your degree and/or unofficial transcripts in order to verify you meet the minimum qualifications. If you use unofficial transcripts to verify you meet the minimum qualifications, you must provide official transcripts prior to your start date, if selected for the position.

• Please do not include any confidential information on any documents you submit for this job vacancy. Confidential information includes, but is not limited to: basis of eligibility, examination results, LEAP status, Social Security Number (SSN), birthdate, marital status, age, national origin, medical conditions, and use of medical leave.

Desirable Qualifications

In addition to evaluating each candidate's relative ability, as demonstrated by quality and breadth of experience, the following factors will provide the basis for competitively evaluating each candidate:

• Knowledge or experience working with diverse cultural communities
• Awareness of diverse communities and regional demographics
• Ability to communicate respectfully and with sensitivity
• Excellent verbal, oral, and written communication skills
• Experience designing and conducting environmental monitoring and/or field research projects related to surface water quality
• Knowledge of hydrology, pesticide practices, environmental chemistry, experimental design, field data collection, statistics, data visualization, and basic database management
• Previous experience with project management or acting in a lead role, working on aquatic or environmental toxicology projects, and/or evaluating environmental data by performing statistical or spatial analyses considered an asset
• Awareness and ability to work with diverse cultural communities

Benefits

Benefit information can be found on the CalHR website and the CalPERS website.

Supplemental Questionnaire

You must answer the supplemental question in its entirety and follow all instructions for answering the question in order to be considered interested/eligible in the position.

Instructions :
The total response must be no longer than 1 page, single-spaced, and in 12-point font.

Question :
Thinking about your educational background, work history, and overall experience, please explain what makes you the best candidate for this position.

Note: Resumes, letters, and other materials will not take the place of the supplemental application.

Required Application Package Documents

The following items are required to be submitted with your application. Applicants who do not submit the required items timely may not be considered for this job:

• Current version of the State Examination/Employment Application STD Form 678 (when not applying electronically), or the Electronic State Employment Application through your Applicant Account at All Experience and Education relating to the Minimum Qualifications listed on the Classification Specification should be included to demonstrate how you meet the Minimum Qualifications for the position.
• Resume is required and must be included.
• Degree and/or School Transcripts
• Supplemental Application - A response to the supplemental question is required to be considered interested/eligible in the position. The supplemental question and instructions are listed in the "Supplemental Questionnaire" section of this advertisement. You must answer the supplemental question in its entirety and follow all instructions for answering the question in order to be considered interested/eligible in the position.