Senior Air Quality Engineer (Compliance & Enforcement)

This recruitment is open to internal Air District employees only.

The Bay Area Air District is a regional government agency, committed to achieving clean air to protect the public's health and the environment. The District accomplishes this goal through regulation of industrial facilities and various outreach and incentive programs designed to encourage clean air choices.   

The District's jurisdiction encompasses all of seven counties - Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Napa, and portions of two others - southwestern Solano and southern Sonoma.    

The Compliance and Enforcement Division supports the mission of the District by helping companies comply with air quality rules and regulations by offering education, guidance, and technical assistance. The Compliance and Enforcement Division’s inspection staff perform routine inspections at companies to ensure compliance with regulations, perform source investigations, respond to complaints as well as non-routine releases of air contaminants causing a major incident. When companies do not meet air quality requirements, the division takes action in proportion to the violation.

The District is conducting an internal recruitment for the position of Senior Air Quality Engineer (SAQE). This recruitment is for one (1) full-time, represented position, in the Compliance & Enforcement Division – Field Operations Group (FOG).

The Field Operations Group (FOG) within the Compliance and Enforcement Division focuses on more in-depth investigations or audits of a facility’s operations, especially refineries, chemical & automotive plants, power plants etc. These highly specialized audits can include investigations into complex violations that require additional technical knowledge of the operation to determine the root cause of the problem or a thorough review of the facility’s overall operations, thorough knowledge of abatement and continuous monitoring systems to determine any systematic problems related to either underreporting emissions or the underperformance of a system that may result in an increase of emissions. These complex investigations require a thorough knowledge of District, State and Federal regulations.

 

About the Position  

The Senior Air Quality Engineer (SAQE) in the Compliance & Enforcement (C&E) Division FOG section is a full-time position dedicated to assist in conducting audit and investigations at Title V facilities. The role of the SAQE will be to provide technical and engineering knowledge within C&E to assist in performing complex facility audits and apply enhanced investigative techniques towards refineries, landfills, chemical and power plants, and automotive plants. The SAQE will support in these investigations at these complex facilities with a focus on events that impact communities, such as flaring events from refineries, odors and emission impacts from landfill operations, and investigations into facilities with ongoing or persist complaints from the community. The results of the enhanced investigations will result in being able to properly quantify the emissions results from such single release events, such as flaring events or major incident releases, or persist releases from non-compliance with district, state, and federal regulations. The SAQE will assist in investigations of overall landfill operation related to odors and excess emissions, events that results in the underreporting of emissions, review of Title V permit conditions for deviations, and the issuance of Notice of Violations, as appropriate, to increase overall compliance with air quality requirements at the Bay Area refineries and landfills. The SAQE will also assist in regulatory audits, including power plants, chemical plants, and composting operations, allocate resources following non-routine releases of air pollutants from major incidents in a timely manner, identifying, analyzing and resolving non-compliance with air quality standards, and assist in conducting in-depth complex investigations to determine the cause and corrective action to deter future events.

EXAMPLES OF DUTIES (Illustrative Only)

Performs the more difficult and complex air quality engineering work such as, but not limited to, permit processing for petroleum refineries, power plants and semiconductor manufacturing facilities, air pollution dispersion modeling, providing detailed source inventories and providing project leadership.

Upon assignment, provides lead direction training and work review to Air Quality Engineers on routine, continuing or well-defined tasks, priorities and follows up on work to ensure timely completion. Coordinates and reviews the work of engineering and support staff involved in complex, sensitive and controversial engineering projects, studies and audits.

Upon request, provides input into selection decisions and performances. Coordinates technical data gathering and compilation, including coordination with other District sections and divisions.

Reviews permit and enforcement files to prepare materials and responses for variance requests, violation notices and case summaries and hearing board referrals; recommends appropriate actions; may testify of behalf of the District.

Coordinates on-site compliance inspections of sources and abatement devices; evaluates compliance and recommends enforcement actions.

Responds to industry, public and District inquiries regarding regulation interpretation, permit preparation, various compliance measures and emission calculation methods in person, by telephone and in writing.
 
Reviews and evaluates new developments in motor vehicle technology, fuels, and test procedures, as they affect air pollutant emissions.

Develops and recommends revisions to District procedures and regulations.
 
Uses a computer terminal and a variety of software and programs to make engineering calculations, enter and retrieve data and to monitor and correct data entry; writes and revises computer programs; investigates and corrects errors in the data bank.

Acquires, evaluates, and applies computer models to simulate motor vehicle use and calculate vehicle emissions.
 
Coordinates toxic risk screening and risk assessment analysis; calculates toxic emissions, determines and applies appropriate air dispersion models, calculates maximum concentrations and calculates risk; recommends approval or denial of permit applications.

Performs, reviews, and directs the preparation of air quality impact analyses for permits, risk assessments and environmental impact documents.
 
Uses emissions models, geographic information systems, and relational data base to prepare and modify large data files on inventory input to air quality models.

May manage contracts with vendors and consultants.
 
Develops procedures to calculate and forecast pollutant emissions from natural and man-made sources of air pollution.
 
Conducts environmental audits, compliance inspections and source tests; evaluates results and recommends appropriate actions, including violation notices.
 
Participate in calculating, reviewing, correcting and documenting the emissions inventory; evaluates accuracy of source emission calculations and methodologies.
 
Provide engineering expertise in preparing and updating the emission inventory and other aspects of State and Federal air quality plans, including developing required programs, structuring data and preparing long-range emission forecasts for major industrial classifications.
 
Conduct special studies and write technical reports related to research and planning functions, and coordinate activities with District Staff, outside agencies and organizations.

Prepare new regulations and evaluated revisions to existing District procedures and regulations based upon changes in State and Federal programs. 

Represent the District as technical expert in meetings with outside agencies, environmental groups and industry personnel regarding air quality control regulations, and source inventory procedures and results; act as an expert witness before the Hearing Board.

 


A typical way to obtain the knowledge and skills is:

Equivalent to graduation from a four-year college or university with major coursework in environmental, chemical, mechanical or petroleum engineering or a closely related field.
 
Two years of air quality environmental engineering experience at a level equivalent to the District's class of Air Quality Engineer II. 

A directly related graduate degree may be desirable for some assignments and may be substituted for one year of the experience.



Knowledge of:

The specialty area to which assigned.

Authority and functions of governmental agencies involved in air pollution control and environmental regulations.

Air quality engineering principles and practices.

Air pollution analysis techniques and control methodologies and equipment

Applicable District rules and regulations and state and federal laws

Principles and practices of computer science including programming and data base structures.

Industrial chemical processes and pollution control equipment.


Skill in:

Applying sound engineering principles and techniques in difficult and complex air quality engineering matters.

Computing complex engineering calculations quickly and accurately.

Performing detailed analyses of designs, specifications and plans.

Coordinating a variety of air quality engineering studies.

Establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with those contacted in the course of the work.

Preparing clear and concise reports, correspondence and other written materials.

Exercising sound independent judgement.



Interested individuals must submit a completed Air District application, chronological resume, and responses to the supplemental questionnaire by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, February 17, 2025. Applications are accepted online; please visit our website at www.baaqmd.gov/jobs to apply.

Resumes must be attached to the application and will not be accepted in lieu of the required application materials. Postmarks, faxes, and e-mailed applications will not be accepted. 

Except as requested in this announcement, do not include any additional documents, such as letters of recommendation, performance evaluations, work samples, etc. They will not be considered or returned. 

Supplemental Questions Instructions 
Individuals who apply for this position must respond to each of the required supplemental questions. Applications must be received by the Human Resources Office no later than the time and date specified in this vacancy announcement. The responses to the supplemental application questions will be used in accordance with the procedures indicated under the Selection Criteria section. 

 Do not combine your responses or reference your application, resume, or any other requested documentation that you have included with your application packet to answer a question. This information will be evaluated as is and may be used to determine those applicants with the most directly related experience, education, and training to continue in the selection process. It is very important to provide a concise, clear, legible, complete response to each question. 

Selection Criteria 
Selection may be based upon a competitive examination consisting of a written exercise, interview, or combination of the two. Depending on the number of qualified applicants, an application screening and/or panel interview may be used to determine the most qualified applicants. 

The District may hire from this recruitment process to fill future vacancies occurring within the next 18 months. 

Persons with disabilities who may require reasonable accommodations during the application and/or selection process should notify the Human Resources Office at (415) 749-4980. 

Salary : $131,969 - $160,410