Agency Mission: The mission of the Department of Ecology is to protect, preserve and enhance Washington’s environment, for current and future generations.

Program Mission: The mission of the Water Quality Program is to protect and restore Washington’s waters to support healthy watersheds and communities. Our work ensures state waters can support beneficial uses including recreational and business activities, supplies for clean drinking water, and the protection of fish, shellfish, wildlife, and public health.

What will you do?

• Plan, lead, organize and direct the work of a 10-person team of engineers, hydrogeologists, and environmental specialists. The unit’s work includes industrial wastewater National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), state waste discharge, and pretreatment permitting, compliance and enforcement; hydroelectric dam water quality certifications; compliance assurance at mining/quarry sites; environmental modeling for the Green-Duwamish River toxics project; and section-wide support in hydrogeology and permit administration using specialized internal software applications.
• As the section’s engineering authority on industrial wastewater regulation and technology, guide and advise other engineers with complex projects or engineering problems.
• Represent the agency at technical negotiations with industrial facility managers, private parties, and their engineering consultants to resolve complex environmental engineering issues involving regulatory compliance.
• Oversee all levels of compliance assurance work, including technical assistance, complaint response, on-site inspections, and informal and formal enforcement actions.
• Work with program staff and the Attorney General’s Office during appeals of permits and enforcement actions to ensure the program’s actions are legally defensible and procedurally compliant.

Why join the team?
This position is part of a team of professionals who are dedicated to protecting and improving our environment. Our work in the Northwest Region has special characteristics associated with population density, Puget Sound recovery, and salmon habitat protection.

• Lead a team of highly skilled and diverse professionals in establishing, communicating, and enforcing permit conditions for industries in order to protect water quality and address environmental injustice.
• Help Washington State businesses comply with Washington’s water quality regulations. The work you do will matter to the residents of Washington state. You’ll use your regulatory and leadership experience to evaluate technical issues and make sound decisions.
• Play a key role as the Industrial Permits Unit, along with Ecology’s entire Northwest Regional Office, transitions to a new office in Shoreline and a Modern Work Environment hybrid of in-person and remote work.
• Build relationships with internal and external partners and stakeholders to cultivate an environment of trust, engagement, and continuous improvement.
• Support the Agency’s commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and respect by demonstrating and continually growing within the statewide DEI competencies.

Please note: During Stay Home, Stay Healthy, staff are working a combination of in-office and/or telework based on position and business need. As a unit supervisor, this position is expected to be actively engaged with all employees in the unit, regardless of work locations, during Stay Home, Stay Healthy and Roadmap to Recovery conditions.

Ecology is maintaining less than maximum building occupancy, and requiring masks, health screening questions before entry, and social distancing.

This position will remain open until filled, with an initial screening date of May 25, 2021 In order to be considered for initial screening, please submit an application on or before May 24, 2021. The agency reserves the right to make an appointment any time after the initial screening date.

Our Northwest Regional Office will be moving to a new location at 15700 Dayton Ave North in Shoreline, WA starting in May 2021.

Required Qualifications:

There are multiple ways to qualify for this position. See options below:

Option 1: 

• A Engineer-in-Training Certificate or a Bachelor’s degree or with major study in one of the following engineering fields: sanitary, water resource, civil, geotechnical, environmental, chemical, mechanical, or related field.
• Registration as a professional engineer in the State of Washington or another state based on registration requirements equivalent to those in Washington
• Five (5) years of experience in environmental engineering.

Option 2: 

• A Master’s degree with major study in one of the following engineering fields: sanitary, water resource, civil, geotechnical, environmental, chemical, mechanical, or related field.
• Registration as a professional engineer in the State of Washington or another state based on registration requirements equivalent to those in Washington
• Four (4) years of experience in environmental engineering.

Desired Qualifications:

We highly encourage you to apply even if you do not have some (or all) of the desired experience below. Having some (or all) of this desired experience may make your application more competitive in a highly competitive applicant pool.

• Experience flexing communication style based on the situation and audience
• Experience negotiating difficult conversations and using conflict resolution skills
• Experience with water quality discharge permitting
• Experience leading a team or project that required organization and time management skills

Special Requirements/Conditions of Employment:

• Valid driver’s license
• Licensed as a Professional Engineer in the State of Washington.

NOTE:  Individuals who are interested in applying to this position, and believe they meet licensing requirements for the State of Washington based on reciprocity, are responsible for ensuring they meet licensing requirements for the State of Washington prior to submitting their application materials. These requirements can be found at the following website: WA State Licensing (DOL) Official Site: How to get your license: Professional engineer by comity

Why work for Ecology?

Joining Ecology means becoming a part of a team committed to protecting and restoring Washington State’s environment.

A career in public service allows you to help solve some of the most challenging problems facing our state, while keeping the health and financial security of you and your family a priority. We combine one of the most competitive benefits packages in the nation with a strong commitment to work/life balance.

Ecology employees may be eligible for the following:
Medical/Dental/Vision for employee & dependent(s), Public Employees Retirement System (PERS),  Vacation, Sick, and other Leave*, 11 Paid Holidays per year*, Public Service Loan Forgiveness, Tuition Waiver,  Long Term Disability & Life Insurance, Deferred Compensation Programs, Dependent Care Assistance Program (DCAP),  Flexible Spending Arrangement (FSA), Employee Assistance Program, Commute Trip Reduction Incentives (Download PDF reader), Combined Fund Drive, SmartHealth

Student debt and how working for Ecology can help
Employees may be eligible for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program, which forgives the remaining balance on your Direct Loans after you have made 120 qualifying monthly payments under a qualifying repayment plan while working full-time for a qualifying employer. See https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/public-service for more details.

*See the Benefits tab in this announcement for more information

Application Instructions:

Please complete the short on-line application, supplemental questions and upload:

• Your current chronological resume;
• A cover letter explaining how you fit the requirements of the position;
• Three professional references with current contact information.

Important Note:

When attaching documents to your application (Resume, Cover Letter, Transcripts, DD-214, etc.):

• Please be sure to remove private information such as your social security number, date of birth, etc.
• Do not attach documents that are password protected as these documents may not be reviewed and may cause errors within your application when downloaded.

Please to do NOT include your salary history. Wage/salary depends on qualifications or rules of promotion, if applicable.  

Please complete the applicant profile when applying for this position. Or, you may paste the text of your resume within the profile’s resume text field.

Please read the supplemental questions carefully and answer completely. Incomplete responses, including “please see resume,” may disqualify you from further consideration.

It is in the candidate’s best interest to submit all of the documents requested above. Applications without these documents may be declined.

Department of Ecology employees, please make sure to answer the agency-wide questions regarding permanent status as a classified employee within the Washington General Service or Washington Management Service. Do not forget to select Department of Ecology as a response to question 2, and type your personnel ID number for question 3. If you are not sure of your status or do not know your personnel ID number, please contact Human Resources.

If you are reading this announcement in print format, please visit www.careers.wa.gov to access the online recruitment system. Click on “Look for Jobs” and select Dept. of Ecology under the “Department” search list. Click “Apply Search.”

Other Information:

If you need assistance applying for this job, please e-mail careers@ecy.wa.gov. Please do not send an email to this address to follow-up the status of your application. You can view the latest status of your application on your profile’s main page.

If you have specific questions about the position, please email Rachel McCrea at: Rachel.McCrea@ecy.wa.gov. Please do not contact Rachel to inquire about the status of your application.

The act of submitting application materials electronically is considered affirmation that the information is complete and truthful. The state may verify this information and any untruthful or misleading answers are cause for rejection of your application or dismissal if employed.

This recruitment may be used to fill other positions of the same job classification across the agency. Once all the position(s) from the recruitment announcement are filled, the recruitment may only be used to fill additional open positions for the next sixty (60) days.

The Washington State Department of Ecology is an equal opportunity employer. We strive to create a working environment that includes and respects cultural, racial, ethnic, sexual orientation and gender identity diversity. Women, racial and ethnic minorities, persons of disability, persons over 40 years of age, veterans, military spouses or people with military status, and people of all sexual orientations and gender identities are encouraged to apply. Persons needing accommodation in the application/testing process or this job announcement in an alternative format may call (360) 407-6186. Applicants who are deaf or hard of hearing may call the Washington Relay Service by dialing 7-1-1 or 1-800-833-6388.