Staff Air Pollution Specialist

This position is a 12-month Limited Term (LT) and may be extended up to 24 months or become permanent.

If you have permanent status and have passed probation, you have mandatory reinstatement rights into your former position/classification at the end of this LT appointment. You will be separated from state service if you have not had prior permanent or probationary civil service status. During this 12-month limited-term assignment, you may be entitled to receive health, dental, and vision benefits. You will also earn State Service and accrue monthly leave credits.

The Atmospheric Processes Research Section (APRS) of the Research Division (RD) conducts research needed to efficiently achieve the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) and California’s climate change mitigation goals. Research conducted under APRS supports the development of the State Implementation Plans (SIPs), evaluates the short-lived climate pollutant (SLCP) emission reduction strategies, improves the characterization of various air pollutant emission sources, and takes preemptive steps to study the effects of climate change on California’s air quality. APRS leverages scientific knowledge, internal air monitoring and analysis capabilities, contracts, and partnerships with various stakeholders to improve the robustness of CARB’s policy and regulatory decisions.

Under the direction of the Air Resources Supervisor I, the Staff Air Pollution Specialist (SAPS) will innovate and utilize advanced air monitoring and analysis methods (e.g., advanced air analyzers, mobile platforms, source apportionment models, emission models) to conduct research that addresses California’s immediate and emerging air quality and climate change mitigation challenges. The SAPS will work closely with the management team and various stakeholders to develop program-relevant research projects and contracts that inform future SIPs, local air quality challenges, air toxics initiatives, and SLCP emission reduction efforts. In the process, the SAPS will proactively initiate discussions with various entities to promote research that simultaneously fulfills multiple air quality and greenhouse gas (GHG) research needs. The SAPS will collect and analyze a variety of large spatiotemporal data (e.g., terrestrial remote sensing derivatives, airborne measurements, surface-level mobile measurements, long-term stationary monitoring data, reporting databases, etc.) that is relevant for CARB’s programs and will effectively synthesize and disseminate complex research findings to technical and non-technical audiences. The SAPS will maintain up-to-date knowledge of ambient air quality trends, GHG trends, atmospheric processes, air pollutant (including GHGs and air toxics) emission sources, mandatory reporting and emission reduction requirements, and CARB’s air pollution and climate change mitigation policies necessary for advising CARB staff and formulating comprehensive research projects for the agency.

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 Resource Boards' (CARB) current telework policy. While the CARB may support telework, some in-person attendance is also required. 

Beginning July 1st, 2025, per Executive Order N-22-25, CARB employees will be required to report into office four days a week.

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.

• Position located in a high-rise building
• Requires being in a stationary position, consistent with office work, for extended periods.
• Standard office environment (for example, artificial lighting, controlled temperature, etc.)
• Daily use of a personal computer, office equipment, and/or telephone.
• Driving long distances using state vehicle fleet, operating out of an equipment warehouse.