Staff Air Pollution Specialist

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is seeking a Staff Air Pollution Specialist (SAPS) to support the development of area source emissions methodologies and community-scale emissions inventories across California. This position is part of the Area Source Improvement and Community Inventory Development Section, which plays a central role in advancing CARB’s mission to protect public health and the environment through accurate, transparent, and policy-relevant emissions data.

The section’s work is focused on developing statewide area source methodologies and supporting community-scale emissions inventories for Assembly Bill 617 (AB 617) communities. Area source inventories developed by the section are a key component of the emissions inventories used to support State Implementation Plan (SIP) development, providing critical inputs for air quality modeling, attainment demonstrations, and control strategy evaluation. These same methodologies are also adapted and refined to support community-scale inventories, ensuring consistency between statewide planning efforts and localized emissions assessments while allowing for incorporation of community-specific data where appropriate.

Under the direction of an Air Resources Supervisor I, the SAPS will serve as a technical lead on complex emissions estimation projects and will work closely with internal staff, local air districts, and external stakeholders to improve data quality, consistency, and transparency across both statewide and community-level inventories.

The SAPS will:

• Lead the development, documentation, and improvement of area source emissions estimation methodologies, including activity data collection, emission factor evaluation, and calculation approaches;
• Develop and refine community-scale emissions inventories to support AB 617 community emissions reduction programs, including working with local air districts to incorporate local data and community-specific information;
• Conduct technical analyses using large datasets to support emissions inventory development, quality assurance, and program evaluation;
• Coordinate with local air districts, other state agencies, and external stakeholders to gather data, resolve technical issues, and ensure consistency between statewide area source inventories used for SIP development and community-scale inventories developed for AB 617 communities;
• Provide technical guidance and mentorship to Air Pollution Specialist (APS) staff, including review of analytical work products and methodologies;
• Prepare technical reports, white papers, and documentation that clearly communicate methods, assumptions, and results to both technical and non-technical audiences, including community-facing materials where appropriate;
• Support the integration of emissions inventory data into air quality planning, regulatory programs, and AB 617 implementation efforts;
• Represent the section in internal and external meetings, workgroups, and technical discussions related to emissions inventory development, area source characterization, and community-scale assessments.

This position offers the opportunity to work on technically challenging and high-impact projects that directly inform California’s air quality planning and community-level air quality improvement efforts. The SAPS will contribute to improving the accuracy and transparency of emissions inventories that are foundational to protecting public health, advancing environmental justice, and meeting the State’s air quality and climate goals.

Occasional travel may be required. Specific duties can be found in the Duty Statement.

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