Lead Carbon Dioxide Removal Specialist

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is the state agency responsible for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in California. CARB leads the development and implementation of strategies to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045 and tracks progress toward that goal. Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) is a critical component of California’s carbon-neutrality pathway, as directed by Senate Bill 905 (Caballero, 2022).

The Carbon Strategies Section leads CARB’s technical analyses, protocol development, and carbon accounting related to CDR. The Section’s work spans non–nature-based carbon removal pathways, including carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS); biomass carbon removal and storage (BiCRS); marine CDR; direct air capture (DAC); and other emerging technologies.

The Lead Carbon Dioxide Removal Specialist serves as the senior technical and policy expert within the Carbon Strategies Section. This position leads the most complex and impactful technical, regulatory, and policy work related to CDR, ensuring the timely, credible, and high-quality delivery of Section products. The role requires strong engineering or scientific judgment, policy acumen, and the ability to translate complex technical concepts into actionable regulatory and strategic outcomes.

The Lead Carbon Dioxide Removal Specialist serves as a subject-matter expert on carbon dioxide removal technologies, pathways, and policies, providing technical leadership across the full scope of the Section’s work. The position conducts and oversees advanced technical and policy analyses to evaluate the efficacy, costs, benefits, limitations, public-health impacts, feasibility, scalability, and equity implications of CDR approaches for use in protocol development, regulatory design, and statewide climate policy. The Specialist stays current on CARB, interagency, academic, and federal research, programs, and policy developments to ensure that the Section’s work reflects the best available science and data and achieves meaningful policy impact. The role involves communicating the Section’s work to external stakeholders, coordinating meetings and engagement with partners, and collaborating closely with public agencies, research institutions, equity stakeholders, industry representatives, and CARB staff, management, and executive leadership. The Specialist identifies research gaps and emerging issues to advance CARB’s understanding of cutting-edge CDR topics and incorporates social-equity considerations into all aspects of technical and policy development. In addition, the position leads the development of reports and other section deliverables, ensures project timelines are met, and mentors and coaches staff by providing guidance on the section’s most complex and high-priority technical and policy efforts.

Please note that applicants will need to have successfully taken the Staff Air Pollution Specialist exam or to be currently employed as a Staff Air Pollution Specialist in California State Service, available here: https://www.calcareers.ca.gov/CalHrPublic/Exams/Bulletin.aspx?examCD=3PB05

The exam is to determine experience in and exposure to relevant fields; it does not include technical questions.  Exam-takers should consider review of material in a professional or academic setting to count towards relevant experience.

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

Working Conditions

This position may be eligible for hybrid in-office work and in-state telework. The amount of telework is at the agency's discretion and is based on the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) current telework policy. While the CARB may support telework, some in-person attendance is also required.

The positions at the CARB may be eligible for telework with in-person attendance based on the operational needs of the position under Government Code 14200 for eligible applicants residing in California, subject to the candidate meeting telework eligibility criteria outlined in the CalEPA telework policy and/or future program need. Employees not residing in California are not eligible for telework. Regardless of hybrid telework eligibility, all employees may be required to report to the position’s designated headquarters location at their own expense, as indicated on their duty statement.

Effective July 1, 2025, the California Department of Human Resources (CalHR) implemented the Personal Leave Program 2025 (PLP 2025). PLP 2025 directs that each employee shall receive a 3 percent reduction in pay in exchange for 5 hours PLP 2025 leave credits, monthly. The salary range(s) included in the job advertisement do not reflect the 3 percent reduction in pay.

• Position located in a high-rise building.
• Requires being stationary, consistent with office work, for extended periods.
• Standard office environment (artificial lighting, controlled temperature, etc.).  
• Daily use of a personal computer, office equipment, and/or telephone.