Air Pollution Specialist

The California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) on-road emissions inventory work is at the forefront of scientific development and analysis and supports a wide range of policies and regulations. The emissions inventories and supporting projects facilitate setting national and international standards as the most cutting-edge resource for information and methodology to understand the transportation sector's impacts on emissions, and air quality in California.

The On-Road Light Duty Analysis Section (ORLDAS) in the Mobile Source Analysis Branch (MSAB) within the Air Quality Planning and Science Division (AQPSD) assesses on-road light-duty (LD) vehicle activity and emissions to develop fundamental emissions inventory estimates and models.  Major projects include continued development and refinement of CARB’s official emissions inventory model (EMFAC) for mobile sources, supporting emission inventory estimates for regulations, assisting in enforcement cases, and collaborating with the emissions modeling community. The Section is also responsible for development of new programming platforms upon which the next generation of EMFAC models will be based.

We are looking for a dynamic individual with a strong work ethic, a commitment to the goals of our team, an ability to creatively analyze data to reach scientifically defensible conclusions, and the skills to communicate results effectively. Under the direction of the Section Manager, the incumbent will design, conduct and monitor vehicle test programs and analyze emissions data, evaluate vehicle activity from available data sources and analyze very large datasets for characterizing California’s vehicle populations (including, but not limited to DMV data). The goal of this position is to improve on-road emissions inventory methodologies; improve on-road vehicle emissions, activity, and population estimates; and, produce documentation for CARB's regulations, attainment plans, and other programs.  Conducting such programs will require understanding of vehicle emissions testing, data analyses from test programs, analysis of activity data and DMV registration data. The primary focus of this position will be on light-duty on-road emissions, but this position may also involve working on heavy-duty vehicle and off-road equipment emissions inventories. The job duties will also involve understanding databases, programming using existing software packages, and utilizing a high-level of data analysis skills. Furthermore, this position requires providing support for future regulation development at CARB. The position requires excellent writing and communication skills and close interaction and teamwork with other CARB inventory staff as well as a variety of internal and external clients, including other CARB divisions, government agencies, policymakers, industry, environmental organizations, and the public.   

This position is an excellent opportunity for an applicant looking for creative, independent, challenging projects that allow demonstration of project ownership and initiative. The incumbent will successfully handle multiple dynamic short- and long-term assignments from competing high-priority and policy-sensitive assignments with very tight deadlines.

You will find additional information about the job in the Duty Statement.