EPA Ecosystem Programming and Data Support

Organization
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Reference Code
EPA-SSP-0029-4
Description

The EPA Environmental Research and Business Support Program has an immediate opening for a part-time (25 hours per week) EPA Ecosystem Programming and Data Support position with the Office of Research and Development at the EPA facility in Gulf Breeze, Florida.

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.

The National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory (NHEERL) is the Agency’s focal point for scientific research on the effects of contaminants and environmental stressors on human health and ecosystem integrity. Its research mission and goals help the Agency to identify and understand the processes that affect our health and environment, and helps the Agency to evaluate the risks that pollution poses to human and ecosystems.

The Gulf Ecology Division (GED) is one of four ecology divisions supporting the strategic research mission of NHEERL. GED engages in research to develop innovative solutions for complex challenges to address EPA’s most pressing needs in protecting human health and environment. GED conducts systems-based, effects research to advance the science toward achieving sustainable communities, health and well-being.

The selected candidate shall be provided opportunities to develop the technical resources and expertise that contribute to innovative research that examines the influence of ecological, economic and social environments in terms of community sustainability, human health, well-being and resilience. Activities shall include data curation and extraction, quality control, model parameterization, data analysis, application development and web content contributions. Research topics shall cover: characterizing community resilience; assessing ecosystem condition relevance in context of socio-ecological systems; investigating indicator development strategies; and creating approaches to quantify sustainability measures at multiple spatial scales. He/she should expect to gain experience and knowledge in leveraging computing technologies in the execution of research, development and design of decision support tools, statistical analyses; outreach and education; and scientific writing. It is anticipated that the selected candidate shall contribute to research products and milestones to meet project objectives and provide services in support of research directed under the Sustainable and Healthy Communities Research Team.

Responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:

  • Computer programming to collect and format data from publically available data sources (secondary data),
  • Conducting quality control of collected secondary data,
  • Documenting data sources and collection methods (metadata), and
  • Developing research products.

Communications-related responsibilities will include:

  • Participating as a member of a multi-disciplinary research team, and
  • Providing regular progress updates.

Location: This job will be located at EPA’s facility in Gulf Breeze, Florida.

Salary: Selected applicants will become temporary employees of ORAU and will receive an hourly wage of $17.18 for hours worked.

Working Conditions: The selected candidate shall be supervised by a mentor who will provide day-to-day direction, as well as coach, advise and counsel the candidate, and review his/her work.  The mentor for this position will be a federal EPA employee. 

Travel: No overnight travel is anticipated.

Expected Start Date: The position is part-time up to 25 hours per week expected to begin November 2016.  There is an option to work full time during school breaks.  The selected applicant will be a temporary employee of ORAU working as a contractor to EPA. The initial contract period is through May 14, 2017, followed by three (3) additional 12 month option periods.

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

Qualifications

Eligible applicants must:

  • Be at least 18 years of age and
  • Have two or more years of college in computer science/engineering, bioinformatics, computational biology, information science or a closely 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.

Required Knowledge, Skills, Work Experience, and Education

Successful candidate shall have:

  • Experience in at least one of the following computer programming languages: Python, R, SAS, Java or JavaScript,
  • Experience in finding, extracting and organizing data from secondary data sources (electronic media, published standards, and downloadable databases),
  • Experience in formatting and normalizing data for use in a database,
  • Experience compiling, organizing, and summarizing literature references, and
  • Experience in developing tables and graphics for use in scientific reports, manuscripts and web content.

How to apply

  • Submit application and supporting documents by clicking on Apply Now button.
  • For more information, contact EPAjobs@orau.org. Do not contact EPA directly.
Eligibility Requirements
  • Citizenship: LPR or U.S. Citizen
  • Degree: Associate's Degree, Bachelor's Degree, or Master's Degree received within the last 24 month(s).
  • Overall GPA: 2.00
  • Discipline(s):
    • Computer, Information, and Data Sciences (16 )
    • Engineering (27 )
    • Environmental and Marine Sciences (1 )
    • Life Health and Medical Sciences (45 )
Affirmation

I certify that I am at least 18 years of age; Have two or more years of college in computer science/engineering, bioinformatics, computational biology, information science or a closely 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.

ORAU is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE AA M/F/Vet/Disability); visit the ORAU website for required employment notices.