What are the responsibilities and job description for the Senior Analytical Chemist position at City of Boca Raton, FL?
Salary : $31.69 - $35.31 Hourly
Location : Boca Raton, FL
Job Type : Full-Time
Job Number : 04156
Department : Utility Services
Division : Quality Control 42 / 09701
Opening Date : 01 / 16 / 2025
Closing Date : 1 / 23 / 2025 11 : 59 PM Eastern
FLSA : Non-Exempt
Bargaining Unit : N
Job Description
The Senior Analytical Chemist performs challenging and intricate chemical analysis of the City of Boca Raton's drinking water, wastewater, and production wells utilizing advanced technical instruments. This role is critical in coordinating and managing various compliance projects mandated by federal, state, and local regulations. This role provides high-quality customer service when interacting with the City's residents. Work is performed with considerable independence under the general direction of the Laboratory Supervisor and Director.
Essential Functions
- Operates and utilizes advanced laboratory equipment, including Gas Chromatography / Mass Spectrometry (GC / MS), Electron Capture Detector (ECD), Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS), Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP / MS), and Liquid Chromatography / Mass Spectrometry (LC / MS) instrumentation to perform specialized analyses. This includes the detection and quantification of volatile organic compounds, disinfection by-products, inorganic substances, heavy metals, and per / polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water, production wells, and wastewater.
- Develops and implements new analytical procedures and methodologies, standard operating procedures (SOPs), preventative maintenance schedules, and quality control procedures based on current regulatory policies and anticipated changes.
- Develops short and long-range laboratory objectives; evaluates work methods, policies and procedures, on an ongoing basis.
- Collects samples from various locations within the drinking water plant, wastewater plant, and throughout the distribution system as needed.
- Ensures laboratory operations align with the latest TNI (The Nelac Institute) guidelines and maintains certification through demonstrations of capability, internal audits, proficiency testing, and analyst training.
- Manages PFAS Laboratory, Organics Laboratory, or Metals Laboratory to ensure compliance with state certification, licensure requirements, and other local, state, and federal regulations.
- Coordinates and manages various specialized projects, including tri-annual lead and copper testing, disinfection-by-products, semi-annual wells, annual reclaim, annual nitrate and nitrite, reuse monitoring wells (RMW), water quality parameters (WQP), annual raw and east finish, annual local limits and priority pollutants, cryptosporidium and giardia testing, annual YMW-05 sample collection, radionuclides, and asbestos.
- Oversees other analysts in sample receiving, field sampling, laboratory analysis, and reporting of results during specialized projects.
- Participates, samples, and reviews data for the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR).
- Adheres to safety regulations and protocols within the laboratory.
- Maintains all laboratory specific inventory for all associated instruments and testing.
- Manages laboratory inventory for analytical instruments and testing materials. Responsible for the maintenance of all laboratory instrumentation, ensuring preventive maintenance is conducted and repairs are handled efficiently, including coordinating with vendors for repairs and upgrades.
- Prepares, organizes, and archives laboratory records such as bench sheets, calibration logbooks, reagent logbooks, chain of custody (COC) forms, non-conformance forms (NCFs) and demonstration of capability forms (DOCs).
- Reviews and interprets complex analytical data to generate accurate, detailed reports for internal use and regulatory submission to the Department of Health (DOH), Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
- Reviews and interprets complex analytical data to generate reports.
- Utilizes Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) to create sample identification, record analyses, track sample preparation, generate reports, and ensure data integrity.
- Supports Laboratory Director and Laboratory Supervisor with internal audits and various activities to maintain TNI certification.
Additional Responsibilities
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
Minimum and Preferred Qualifications
POST OFFER PRE-EMPLOYMENT SCREENING REQUIREMENTS :
Final offer and employment are contingent upon successful completion of the following post-offer, pre-employment screening items :
The City of Boca Raton is an Equal Opportunity, Inclusive, Veteran's Preference Employer and Drug Free Workplace. It is the policy of the City of Boca Raton to prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, marital status, age, national origin, disability, pregnancy, familial status, sexual orientation, genetic information, or any other status or condition protected by applicable federal, state or local laws.
BENEFITS SUMMARY
Full-Time Non-Bargaining Employees
ANNUAL LEAVE : Shall accrue prior to an employee attaining permanent status in the classified service, and may be used after six (6) months of employment at the sole discretion of the Department Head, but it shall not be paid out upon resignation or termination unless the employee has attained permanent status (one full year). The maximum accrual is 360 hours.
Year of ServiceAccrual
0 to 5 full years8 hours per month
5 to 10 full years10 hours per month
10 to 15 full years12 hours per month
15 full years and over14 hours per month
CASH OUT OF ANNUAL LEAVE : Employees who have attained permanent status shall be permitted to cash out up to forty (40) hours of accrued and unused Annual Leave, either in a single lump sum payment or two or more partial payments, each fiscal year.
SICK LEAVE : 8 hours per month. Any hours in excess of 960 will be paid off annually at 50%. Upon retirement, employees with a minimum of 5 years continuous service will receive 50% of sick leave balance. Termination for reasons other than retirement shall be entitled to payment for accrued, but unused sick leave, as follows :
Years of servicePercentage
Less than 2 full years0%
2 to 5 full years10%
5 to 10 full years20%
10 full years or more30%
Retirement (normal, early or disability)50%
HEALTH INSURANCE (Premiums) : Employee Medical (Base Plan) - Paid 100% by City. Employee contributions are required for the buy up employee coverage plans. Employee Dental (DHMO or Basic PPO Plan) & Vision (Basic Plan) paid 100% by City. Employee contributions are required for the Employee Dependent(s) for the Medical, Dental, & Vision Plan.
CONTINUOUS SERVICE BENEFIT : As of December 1 each year - Paid during the month of December.
Year of ServiceBenefit
5 to 10 full years$600 annually
10 to 15 full years$800 annually
15 full years and over$1,100 annually
RETIREMENT PLANS : The two pension / retirement options are listed below :
Optional : 457 Deferred Compensation Savings Plan is available.
HOLIDAYS : 15 per year : 12 recognized holidays and 3 floating days which are allocated for the fiscal year beginning October 1, to all 8 hour per day employees. Employees hired between October 1 and March 31 shall receive 3 floating holidays. Employees hired between April 1 and September 30 shall receive 1.5 floating holidays. Floating holidays must be used within the fiscal year. Non-task employees working 10-hour days receive 10, 10-hour paid holidays but do not receive floating holidays.
FUNERAL LEAVE : Up to 3 workdays - In State; Up to 5 workdays - Out of State
TUITION REIMBURSEMENT : Full-time employees are eligible for tuition reimbursement as outlined in the City's Tuition Reimbursement Policy which is available in Human Resources and subject to the availability of departmental funds.
MILITARY LEAVE : Members in military reserve units who attend annual training are entitled to paid leave not to exceed 30 days each calendar year.
EAP : Employees, spouses, and eligible dependents have access to five (5) face-to-face sessions with a counselor through Cigna's Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Services include assistance with legal, financial, parenting, elder care, pet care, and identity theft.
Each applicant must complete this supplemental questionnaire as a part of the application screening and selection process. The information you provide will be reviewed and used to determine your eligibility to move forward in the selection process. Incomplete responses, false statements, omissions, or partial information may result in disqualification from the selection process. Do you agree to answer each supplemental question truthfully and that your responses can be verified from information included within the application?
What is the highest level of education that you have completed? NOTE : Proof of education is a required condition of employment.
What area of study is your education?
How many years of experience do you possess in a laboratory environment?
Please describe your experience in the laboratory environment.This experience must be clearly listed on your application work history.NOTE : "See Resume" will not be considered as a valid response. If you have no previous experience, please state "N / A"
How many years of experience do you have working in a laboratory environment with a focus on water quality analysis?
Please briefly summarize your experience working in a laboratory environment with a focus on water quality analysis.This experience must be clearly listed on your application work history. NOTE : "See Resume" will not be considered as a valid response. If you have no previous experience, please state "N / A"
Please select your level of proficiency using Microsoft Office
Do you have experience with laboratory data reporting systems such as LIMs?
Please select the analytical instruments you have experience with from the list below.
If you selected "Another related instrument" in the question above, please specify the instrument in the space provided below.
To be considered for employment with the City of Boca Raton, applicants must provide at least ten (10) years of continuous history. Did you account for the last ten (10) year period including all employment, periods of inactivity, school and / or retirement?
Required Question
Salary : $600 - $1,100
