Environmental Scientist Staff DCL-A

Lafayette, LA, LA, US Until 9/24/2026 3+ years exp First posted July 21, 2026 Last posted July 26, 2026
Job description
<img src="https://secure.neogov.com/images/AgencyImages/jobposting/1546/jobpostings/image/20260720083515_DEQLogo.jpg" style="width: 300px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"><p style="text-align: center">The Department of Environmental Quality/Office of Environmental Compliance has a vacancy.</p><p style="text-align: center">The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality’s (LDEQ) mission is to provide service to the people of Louisiana through comprehensive environmental protection in order to promote and protect health, safety and welfare.</p><div style="text-align: center">Join LDEQ’s mission to protect public health and the environment through field inspections, environmental investigations, and compliance monitoring. This position position performs highly technical duties in the Acadiana Regional Office (ARO) located in Lafayette, La. and the Kisatchie Central Office (KCO) located in Alexandria, La.&nbsp;</div><br>Supplemental Qualifications: One year of scientific/technical experience at or above the Environmental Scientist 3 level in field operations associated with Water Media (i.e., conducting compliance inspections, investigations, and responding to complaints.)<br><br><div><span style="color: inherit; font-style: normal; text-indent: 0">A bachelor’s degree in an environmental, biological, atmospheric, chemical, health, nuclear or physical science field, an engineering field, a geography/geosciences field, a natural resources field, or in a statistics or quantitative methods field plus three years of experience in an environmental program, nuclear energy or radiation protection program; Geographic Information Systems (GIS); an environmental, analytical, or research laboratory, LIMS (Lab Integrated Management Systems), or laboratory auditing; OR</span><br style="color: inherit; font-style: normal; text-indent: 0"><br style="color: inherit; font-style: normal; text-indent: 0"><span style="color: inherit; font-style: normal; text-indent: 0">A master’s degree in an environmental, biological, atmospheric, chemical, health, nuclear or physical science field, an engineering field, a geography/geosciences field, a natural resources field, or in a statistics or quantitative methods field plus two years of experience in an environmental program, nuclear energy or radiation protection program; Geographic Information Systems (GIS); an environmental, analytical, or research laboratory, LIMS (Lab Integrated Management Systems), or laboratory auditing; OR</span><br style="color: inherit; font-style: normal; text-indent: 0"><br style="color: inherit; font-style: normal; text-indent: 0"><span style="color: inherit; font-style: normal; text-indent: 0">A doctorate in an environmental, biological, atmospheric, chemical, health, nuclear or physical science field, an engineering field, a geography/geosciences field, a natural resources field, or in a statistics or quantitative methods field plus one year of experience in an environmental program, nuclear energy or radiation protection program; Geographic Information Systems (GIS); an environmental, analytical, or research laboratory, LIMS (Lab Integrated Management Systems), or laboratory auditing.</span></div><p>The official job specifications for this role, as defined by the State Civil Service, can be found <a href="https://apps01.civilservice.louisiana.gov/onestopjobinfo/DisplayJobSpec.aspx?JobCode=164900" target="_blank"><u>here</u></a>.</p><u>Job Duties:</u><br>1) Coordinates compliance inspections of major sources related to one or more of the media programs, in particular those related to water quality.<br>2) Conducts special investigations of citizen complaints, especially those that are chronic and difficult to resolve, particularly those related to water quality.<br>3) Assists regional staff and serves as an expert concerning response situations related to environmental incidents, including drills related to emergency response, spills, and nuclear power plants.<br>4) Provide technical assistance and regional staff training as needed to allow for access to work assignments and information relative to facilities, response activities, and sampling data in the region<br>5) Provides guidance and supports ambient sampling efforts designed to determine levels of environmental impacts caused by pollution sources within the region.<br><br><u>Position-Specific Details:</u><p><strong>Appointment Type:</strong> Promotion – Internal Open only to current permanent employees of DEQ</p><p><strong>Domicile</strong>: Lafayette Parish</p><p><strong>Compensation:</strong> This position offers a Special Entrance Rate (SER) listed below. This is the minimum compensation that may be offered. The job title and salary offered will be determined based on qualifications and experience.</p><ul style="margin-bottom: 3pt"><li>Environmental Scientist Staff DCLA: $31.38 per hour</li></ul><p><strong>Overview of the five major offices within the agency:</strong> It provides information on the mission, function, and organization along with a biography for each member of management.&nbsp;</p><ul type="disc" style="margin-bottom: 3pt"><li><a href="https://www.deq.louisiana.gov/directory/office/office-of-the-secretary">Office of the Secretary&nbsp;</a></li><li><a href="https://www.deq.louisiana.gov/directory/office/office-of-management-and-finance">Office of Management and Finance</a></li><li><a href="https://www.deq.louisiana.gov/directory/office/office-of-environmental-services">Office of Environmental Services</a></li><li><a href="https://www.deq.louisiana.gov/directory/office/office-of-environmental-compliance">Office of Environmental Compliance</a></li><li><a href="https://www.deq.louisiana.gov/directory/office/office-of-environmental-assessment">Office of Environmental Assessment</a></li></ul><br><br><u>How To Apply:</u><p><strong>No Civil Service test score</strong> is required in order to be considered for this vacancy. &nbsp;</p><p>To apply for this vacancy, click on the “Apply” link above and complete an electronic application, which can be used for this vacancy as well as future job opportunities. Applicants are responsible for checking the status of their application to determine where they are in the recruitment process. Further status message information is located under the Information section of the Current Job Opportunities page.</p><p>*Information to support your eligibility for this job title must be included in the application (i.e., relevant, detailed experience/education). <strong>&nbsp;</strong>Resumes <u>will not</u> be accepted in lieu of completed education and experience sections on your application. Applications may be rejected if incomplete.</p><p>Please make every effort to attach a copy of your transcript to your application if possible (PDF format preferred). The selected candidate will be required to submit original documentation upon hire.</p><p>You must submit an equivalency evaluation statement for any international degree(s) by the closing of this announcement.</p><p><strong>&nbsp;</strong></p><p><u>Contact Information:</u></p><p>For further information about this vacancy, contact:</p><p><strong>Kierra Smith</strong></p><p><strong>LDEQ/OMF</strong></p><p><strong>[email protected]</strong></p><p><strong>(225)219-3850</strong></p><p style="text-align: center">This agency participates in the E-Verify system for verification of citizenship and employment authorization.</p><p style="text-align: center">Louisiana is a State As a Model Employer (SAME) that supports the recruitment, hiring, and retention of individuals with disabilities. &nbsp;Equal Opportunity Employer.</p><br>
About this role

Summary

Conducts water quality inspections, investigations, and assists in environmental compliance activities.

Job title

Environmental Scientist Staff DCL-A

Experience level

3+ years

Minimum experience

3+ years exp

Industry

government

Location requirements

Lafayette, LA; remote work not allowed.

Salary

$31.38 per hour

Management role

No

Skills & keywords

Required skills

scientific/technical experiencefield inspectionscomplaint investigationsGISlaboratory

Preferred skills

None specified

Specializations

water qualityenvironmental inspectionsinvestigationsGISsampling
Locations

Structured locations inferred from the posting.

Lafayette, LA, USA

On-site City