Subject Matter Expert II

Cherokee United Services (CUS), part of Cherokee Federal, partners with federal clients to deliver mission-critical solutions in environmental research and federal contracting.

About the role

The Subject Matter Expert II (SME II) supports ecotoxicology research by executing and improving laboratory and field studies focused on emerging contaminants, exposure pathways, and risk. This role operates, maintains, and troubleshoots advanced freshwater invertebrate culture and propagation systems and deploys and maintains water-quality monitoring sensors and analytical instruments to generate high-quality, defensible data.

Responsibilities

• Support ongoing ecotoxicology laboratory and field studies, with emphasis on evaluating exposure pathways and risk from emerging contaminants and deploying/operating water-quality sensors.
• Operate, maintain, and troubleshoot advanced culturing systems to produce healthy, high-quality organisms for laboratory and field experiments and for augmentation/restoration activities.
• Follow validated environmental testing methods and internal Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to maintain data quality, integrity, and reproducibility.
• Organize, manage, and interpret complex laboratory datasets; develop clear summaries, tables, figures, and other deliverables for technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Collaborate with staff to prepare and publish data releases in accordance with policy, Fundamental Science Practices (FSP), and metadata standards.
• Provide training and workflow support to scientists and other staff as needed to ensure consistent execution of laboratory processes.
• Perform core laboratory functions including sample tracking; sample preparation and processing; operation and upkeep of advanced analytical instrumentation; data quality control and data management; reporting of results; and other laboratory duties as assigned.
• Maintain advanced freshwater invertebrate culture and propagation systems; produce organisms to support science activities.
• Plan and conduct controlled laboratory and/or field experiments using established methods and internal Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
• Operate, maintain, and troubleshoot analytical and monitoring equipment (e.g., Coulter counter, water-quality sensors/sondes, microscopes, spectrophotometers); perform routine maintenance and instrument calibrations to support high-quality data generation.
• Apply strong attention to detail to ensure data accuracy, consistency, and reproducibility.
• Evaluate data against published method criteria and SOP requirements (e.g., review calibration performance, identify outliers, and document results).
• Manage and organize data using appropriate software tools and databases to maintain complete records and enable efficient retrieval for analysis and reporting (e.g., Solinist, PME, R, Excel).
• Support preparation of data releases and reporting deliverables, including tables, graphs, figures, and narrative summaries that clearly communicate methods and results to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Perform other job-related duties as assigned, including general lab upkeep, chemical inventory support, dissections, and preparation of documentation, spreadsheets, and related materials.

Requirements

• Master’s degree and relevant education and experience in one or more related fields, such as mathematics, hydrology, soils, water quality, fluvial geomorphology, biometeorology, biology (including invertebrate ecology), plant and wildlife ecology, chemistry, biochemistry, sociology, psychology, political science, public administration, or economics.
• U.S. citizenship is required.
• Must pass pre-employment qualifications of Cherokee Federal.

Skills

• Serve as a key contributor to collaborative research efforts; coordinate closely with the Project and Team Lead and other internal team members.
• Demonstrated written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain technical information to business users and other non-technical stakeholders.

Benefits

• Medical, Dental, and Vision coverage.
• 401K retirement plan.
• Other possible benefits as provided.

Pay

Estimated starting salary range: $69,000.00 – $71,000.00 per year, commensurate with experience.