TCEQ - Program Management Specialist II

About the role

Join TCEQ! We bring passion and drive to carry out our mission of protecting our state's public health and natural resources. This position will be a member of our Air Monitoring Division.

Responsibilities

• Plan, direct, and coordinate laboratory activities; optimize laboratory throughput, workflow efficiency, and resource allocation; ensure data quality objectives are achieved and assign and distribute work directly or through the Work Leader.
• Execute core personnel management functions including hiring, performance evaluations, and progressive discipline; actively track and assure professional development requirements of the staff; ensure team performance goals and objectives are met.
• Direct the evaluation of laboratory needs; formulate strategic feedback for the Laboratory & QA Section Manager regarding procurement; assist with maintaining the Section’s budget.
• Serve as the primary technical authority and escalation point for complex analytical issues within the air laboratory; lead the development and optimization of analytical methods and provide advanced troubleshooting and diagnostic support for GC/MS and UPLC/MS analytical systems to ensure absolute data integrity.
• Serve as the Technical Manager per TNI Sec. 5.2.6.1.a ensuring strict adherence to the National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program (NELAP) requirements; review and approve standard operating procedures (SOPs) and quality documentation.
• Provide expert technical testimony at public hearings; design and deliver technical presentations to agency staff, regulatory bodies, and the public.

Qualifications

• Experience supervising staff (developing team goals, hiring, developing performance plans and evaluations, and remediating underperforming staff) OR serving as a technical Team Lead / Work Lead managing laboratory workflow and mentoring junior analysts.
• Experience overseeing an analytical chemistry laboratory, including hands-on operation, maintenance, and troubleshooting of complex analytical systems (GC/MS, UPLC/MS, or equivalent high-level chromatography and mass spectrometry platforms).
• Experience implementing or participating in process improvements to increase lab throughput and team efficiency (e.g., resolving data bottlenecks, reducing turnaround times) without compromising data quality.
• Bachelor's degree in chemistry, environmental, biological sciences, physical sciences or engineering, with at least twenty-four college semester credit hours in chemistry and at least two years of experience in environmental analysis of inorganic/ organic analytes. A Master's or Doctoral degree may substitute for one year of experience.
• Experience performing quality assurance and quality control tasks associated with compliance analyses, including control charting, calculating measurement uncertainty, equipment validation, and determining limits of detection (LOD/LOQ).
• Experience training laboratory personnel (ensuring cross-training for complete workflow coverage), authoring technical Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), or participating in method development/validation.

Skills

Not specified.

Benefits

Optional 401(k) and 457 plans
Insurance: Health, Vision, Dental, and optional FSAPaid day(s) off from work on national holidays and holidays that the state observes
Professional development opportunities
Longevity pay based on your number of years working for the state
Wellness Program and Activities
Onsite Nurse Practitioner in HQ

Pay

TBD

Schedule

Standard business hours are M-F, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Individual and work group schedule determined by the TCEQ Air Monitoring Division.