Careers

Description:

King County Metro Transit Facilities Division has an exciting opportunity for an Environmental Scientist III to provide environmental compliance oversight for King County Metro Transit Operations. The person selected for this position will join a small work team consisting of Environmental Scientists and Equipment Operators.  

In this role, you will:

• Ensure compliance with environmental regulations such as stormwater and industrial wastewater discharges, spill response, underground storage tanks, hazardous waste, and air quality.
• Coordinate and implement projects that mitigate the environmental impacts of bus activities.
• Establish and manage a comprehensive recycling/waste minimization program.
• Educate fellow employees on these efforts. 

The Environmental Scientist III will also be required to perform both office and field duties throughout King County, share in 24/7 on-call duties, spill response, conduct training, and otherwise work closely with Metro Transit, Sound Transit, and regulatory personnel. Some of this work will be hands-on as the Environmental Scientist III will be expected to actively take part in addressing environmental concerns.

Job Duties

 

Applying equity and social justice principles is a daily responsibility and a foundational expectation for all King County employees. All employees are expected to model and apply our equity and social justice shared values, behaviors, and practices. As the Environmental Scientist III, you will also: 

• Manage Transit’s solid, universal, biomedical, and dangerous waste programs, including waste minimization and recycling. This may include rail, bus, and marine operations for Transit. 
• Ensure compliance with spill prevention, control, and countermeasure regulations. 
• Ensure compliance with stormwater and industrial wastewater discharge regulations.  Support field crew stormwater inspection requirements. 
• Ensure compliance with air quality regulations. 
• Ensure compliance with Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know requirements. 
• Provide technical training, leadership, and day-to-day direction to unit staff. 
• Review proposed regulations and evaluate their impacts on Transit operations. Identify budget and operational impacts and submit this information to Transit management. 
• Review Safety Data Sheets for environmental concerns including disposal of the product. 
• Provide input on and oversee environmental-related contracts such as those pertaining to spill response, waste oil, underground storage tank work, and dangerous waste disposal.
• Assist in processing invoices for environmental services.
• Conduct field inspections and sampling at Transit worksites to ensure compliance with applicable environmental regulations.  Work with site management to resolve any issues. 
• Act as the department’s liaison with regulatory agencies.  Participate in inspections and resolve any compliance issues generated during the inspections. 
• Act as the department’s environmental compliance liaison with support agencies.  Respond to and resolve any compliance issues raised by these agencies.
• Coordinate the work of two Equipment Operators assigned to the Environmental workgroup.
• Foster an equitable, diverse, and inclusive work environment. 
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Skills/Eligibility:

Additionally, the ideal candidate will possess the ability to apply the following key traits:

• Motivated self-starter, with a can-do attitude in settings of ambiguity.
• Build relationships through shared goals and influence. 
• Lifelong learner with a curiosity mindset. 
• Effective open-minded communicator, organized.  
• Adaptable to change, remaining positive and solutions oriented.
• Resilient, open to feedback, and not afraid to fail.

Experience, Qualifications, Knowledge, Skills

 

To be considered eligible for this role, applicants must possess these MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• Increasingly responsible professional experience working in the environmental compliance field in either private or public sectors in an environmental-related position for at least 3 years. 
• Bachelor’s degree in a scientific discipline, environmental field, or closely related field or an equivalent combination of education and work experience. 
• Ability and willingness to attend work on altered schedules including swing and graveyard shifts as needed when providing environmental training to staff. 
• Ability and willingness to periodically be on-call 24/7 Monday through Friday for responding to environmental emergencies including spills. 
• Ability to travel across King County to perform fieldwork. 
• Demonstrated experience interpreting analytical data and writing technical reports. 
• Demonstrated experience managing an environmental compliance program. 
• Demonstrated knowledge of small-project management techniques and organizational skills. 
• Strong oral and written communication skills, including experience presenting to groups. 
• Demonstrated ability to draft, proofread, edit, compile, and finalize official and technical documents. 
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. 
• Demonstrated ability to document, prepare and communicate information to staff. 
• Skill in interpreting plans, specifications, drawings, and technical maps and documents. 
• Skill in researching, analyzing, and interpreting technical data. 
• Skill in applying principles of customer service and continuous quality improvement. 
• Skill in promoting mutual respect and acceptance and maintaining effective working relationships with people from diverse cultures and backgrounds. 
• Skill in group problem-solving and decision-making. 
• Effective communication and interpersonal abilities, including working collaboratively, listening, managing conflicts or crises, and dealing with difficult situations. 
• Customer service orientation and skill in building partnerships with other agencies, organizations, and employers. 
• Demonstrated ability to work successfully with a diverse group of individuals from a variety of different positions and backgrounds.
• Ability to lift up to 50 pounds. 
• Ability to stand and walk, often under adverse field conditions. 
• Willingness to wear protective clothing and PPE (must be worn when working in areas where exposure to hazardous materials and/or pollutants might occur).

The most competitive applicants will possess these DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS:

• Professional experience developing and delivering an environmental compliance training program for staff. 
• Professional experience in a vehicle maintenance o