Principal Air Quality Chemist

PRINCIPAL AIR QUALITY CHEMIST

SALARY: $ - $ Annually

CLOSING DATE: 9/3/2026 11:59 PM Pacific

South Coast Air Quality Management District (South Coast AQMD) is seeking an experienced and highly motivated Principal Air Quality Chemist to lead our Advanced Spectrometry and Microscopy groups within our Monitoring and Analysis Division.

South Coast Air Quality Management District (South Coast AQMD) is one of the largest and most technologically sophisticated environmental regulatory agencies in the nation, serving a four-county region that includes Los Angeles, Orange County, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, and the Coachella Valley. South Coast AQMD's headquarters is located in Diamond Bar, 30 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, at the junction of the 57 and 60 Freeways.

With a highly diverse "Clean Air Team" of over 870 employees, an annual budget of $225.2 million, and a state-of-the art air quality laboratory, our mission is to ensure clean air and a healthy environment. South Coast AQMD is an organization you can be proud to work for -- we make a difference in the quality of life in Southern California!

South Coast AQMD is committed to creating and maintaining a work environment that appreciates the unique backgrounds, skills, and experiences of our employees and fosters professional development and growth. South Coast AQMD respects the ideas and perspectives of our stakeholders and works to bring them together toward the common goal of clean air.

Principal Chemists are expected to have expertise in many analytical techniques, data analysis, and to supervise the work of staff in their respective group. Therefore, the most competitive candidates for this position will bring a strong combination of education, atmospheric and analytical chemistry training and experience, broad knowledge of QA/QC procedures, and supervisory skills and readiness. This position will be responsible for oversight of the South Coast AQMD laboratory's Advanced Spectrometry and Microscopy groups.

The primary role of the Advanced Spectrometry Principal Chemist is to help with community monitoring needs under several South Coast AQMD programs, including AB 617 (Community Air Toxics Monitoring), incident response, rule development and support, and special monitoring projects using a mobile Proton-Transfer-Reaction-Time-of-Flight-Mass Spectrometer (PTR-MS) and other advanced instrumentation.

EDUCATION:

Graduation from an accredited college or university with a bachelor's degree in chemistry, preferably with an emphasis in qualitative and quantitative analysis.

One (1) year as a Senior Air Quality Chemist or equivalent (One year working as a Manager, Supervisor, Senior Chemist, or similar leadership position that oversees a group of chemists focused on air quality measurements and/or research)

OR

Three (3) years as an Air Quality Chemist or equivalent (Three years working as a Chemist conducting air quality analysis).

SALARY: $ - $ Annually

CLOSING: 9/3/2026 11:59 PM Pacific