Lead Spill Responder​/Dangerous Waste Coordinator; Environmental Specialist or ; In Training

Keeping Washington Clean and Evergreen

The Department of Ecology is hiring a Lead Spill Responder / Dangerous Waste Coordinator (Environmental Specialist
4) within the Spill Prevention, Preparedness, and Response program.

Location

• Southwest Region Office in Lacey, WA.
• Must live within a 60-minute commuting distance of the Southwest Region Office.
• Upon hire, you must live within a commutable distance from the duty station.

Schedule

• This position is eligible for telework and flexible schedule options.
• This position requires field work and emergency response, while there is some office work and you may telework most of your office work time with occasional in-person meetings and activities.
• Schedules are dependent upon position needs and are subject to change.

Application Timeline

• Apply by February 26, 2026
• This position will remain open until filled. The agency reserves the right to make a hire at any time after application review begins. Applications received after the date above may not be considered.

In this role, you will respond to spills of oil and hazardous materials. You will have the opportunity to have a hands-on, direct, and immediate positive impact on and benefit to Washington’s residents and environment. You will also manage complex human health and environmental emergencies through coordination with other federal, state, local, and Tribal response partners.

What you will do

• Respond to spills of oil and hazardous materials, abandoned waste, fish kills, pressurized cylinders, illegal drug manufacturing facilities, and other environmental and human health emergencies
• Coordinate responses to illegal drug manufacturing facilities with law enforcement partners
• Ensure safe storage and disposal of dangerous or hazardous waste following Ecology’s waste management rules and guidelines
• Provide guidance, training and mentoring to others responding to and cleaning-up oil and hazardous materials spills
• Perform hands-on clean-up work, including opening unknown drums or containers, sampling, repackaging chemicals, and transporting waste
• Complete case documentation in support of enforcement and cost recovery actions
• Participate in an after-hours and weekend on-call duty rotation that responds to spills 24/7/365

As a Spill Responder, you will be eligible for 10% Assignment Pay once required training and certifications are completed. Spill Responders are periodically required to be on call outside of their scheduled work hours but are paid an hourly Standby Rate (7% of their regular hourly rate). If they work on a response outside of their scheduled work hours they receive Responder Pay (150% of their regular hourly rate).

Specialized clothing, equipment, and PPE is required for this position and will be provided.

This position offers an in-training plan and may be filled at the Environmental Specialist 3 or 4 level, depending on your qualifications. If you qualify at the ES3 level and are hired, you will progress through an in-training plan to become an ES4 within a specified time period.

For detailed information on how we calculate experience and responses to other frequently asked questions, please visit our Recruitment website.

Required Qualifications

At the Environmental Specialist 3 level (In-Training)

Pay Range 53, $4,882 - $6,576 monthly

Six years of combined experience and/or education

Experience:

Performing environmental-based work, OR work related to any of the following:

• Incident Command and Emergency Response Leadership
  Experience serving as an initial Incident Commander or State On-Scene Coordinator, applying Incident Command System (ICS) principles to manage complex oil and hazardous materials incidents involving multiple agencies and competing priorities.
• Advanced Spill Response and Hazardous Materials Operations
  Skill in planning, directing, and performing hands-on response actions for oil spills, hazardous substance releases, abandoned waste, and illegal drug manufacturing facilities, including containment, cleanup, and mitigation in high-risk environments.
• Hazard Identification, Sampling, and Field Analysis
  Knowledge of hazardous substance identification, sampling techniques, field testing, and hazard…