What are the responsibilities and job description for the Environmental Scientist 1/2/3 position at Department of Environmental Quality?
Salary
$3,181.00 - $5,724.00 Monthly
Location
Baton Rouge, LA
Job Type
Classified
Job Number
26-86B ES HS
Department
Department of Environmental Quality
Division
OEC CRO
Opening Date
10/09/2026
Closing Date
10/18/2026 11:59 PM Central
About this Job
The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality’s (LDEQ) mission is to provide service to the people of Louisiana through comprehensive environmental protection in order to promote and protect health, safety, and welfare.
The ideal candidate for this role would enjoy conducting field and office work, working with industry/community, and working alongside the EPA and other state/governmental agencies. This role will perform inspections, collect samples, conduct environmental monitoring, and respond to complaints/environmental incidents in the surrounding parishes in which the regional office serves.
The ideal candidate for this role would enjoy conducting field and office work, working with industry/community, and working alongside the EPA and other state/governmental agencies. This role will perform inspections, collect samples, conduct environmental monitoring, and respond to complaints/environmental incidents in the surrounding parishes in which the regional office serves.
Minimum Qualifications
A bachelor’s degree in an environmental, biological, atmospheric, chemical, health, nuclear or physical science field, an engineering field, a geography/geosciences field, a natural resources field, or in a statistics or quantitative methods field; OR
A master’s degree or doctorate in an environmental, biological, atmospheric, chemical, health, nuclear or physical science field, an engineering field, a geography/geosciences field, a natural resources field, or in a statistics or quantitative methods field.
A master’s degree or doctorate in an environmental, biological, atmospheric, chemical, health, nuclear or physical science field, an engineering field, a geography/geosciences field, a natural resources field, or in a statistics or quantitative methods field.
Job Specification
The official job specifications for this role, as defined by the State Civil Service, can be found here.
Job Duties and Other Information
Job Duties:
- Performs inspections, collects samples, conducts environmental monitoring and responds tocomplaints/environmental incidents in the surrounding parishes in which the regional office serves.
- Completes detailed reports for all inspections/investigations based upon observations recorded in the field.
- Participates in special inspections/incidents, sampling projects, natural disaster response, etc. on a statewide basis.
- Completes training that is necessary/required to perform duties related to the position such as water vesseltraining, HAZWOPER training, and defensive driving training.
- Operates/ensures maintenance is performed on the state vehicle assigned to perform field-related job duties.
Position-Specific Details:
Appointment Type: Either a probationary appointment, a job appointment (a temporary appointment not to exceed four years), or promotion of a permanent classified employee. If the position is filled as a job appointment, it could be converted to a probational appointment should funding become available.
Location: East Baton Rouge
Career Progression: Environmental Scientist 1- Environmental Scientist 3, depending on the level of experience of the selected applicant.
Compensation: This position offers a Special Entrance Rate (SER) listed below. This is the minimum compensation that may be offered. The job title and salary offered will be determined based on qualifications and experience.
- Environmental Scientist 1: $20.91 per hour
- Environmental Scientist 2: $22.38 per hour
- Environmental Scientist 3: $25.62 per hour
- Office of the Secretary
- Office of Management and Finance
- Office of Environmental Services
- Office of Environmental Compliance
- Office of Environmental Assessment
How To Apply:
No Civil Service test score is required in order to be considered for this vacancy.
Applicants are responsible for checking the status of their application to determine where they are in the recruitment process. Further status message information is located under the Information section of the Current Job Opportunities.
- Information to support your eligibility for this job title must be included in the application (i.e., relevant, detailed experience/education). Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of completed education and experience sections on your application. Applications may be rejected if incomplete.
Please make every effort to attach a copy of your transcript to your application if possible (PDF format preferred). The selected candidate will be required to submit original documentation upon hire. You must submit an equivalency evaluation statement for any international degree(s) by the closing of this announcement.
For recruitment purposes, applicants who are within 90 days of graduating with a qualifying degree may be eligible for this position.
Contact Information:
For further information about this vacancy, contact:
Heidi Seba
Human Resources
LA Department of Environmental Quality
P.O. Box 4303
Baton Rouge, LA 70821
225-219-3867
This agency participates in the E-Verify system for verification of citizenship and employment authorization.
Louisiana is a State As a Model Employer (SAME) that supports the recruitment, hiring, and retention of individualswith disabilities. Equal Opportunity Employer.
Louisiana State Government represents a wide variety of career options and offers an outstanding opportunity to make a difference through public service. With an array of career opportunities in every major metropolitan center and in many rural areas, state employment provides an outstanding option to begin or continue your career.
As a state employee, you will earn competitive pay, choose from a variety of benefits, and have access to a great professional development program:
As a state employee, you will earn competitive pay, choose from a variety of benefits, and have access to a great professional development program:
Insurance Coverage More information can be found at https://info.groupbenefits.org/
Parental Leave – Up to six weeks paid parental leave
More information can be found at https://www.civilservice.louisiana.gov/Parental-Leave/Default.aspx
Holidays and Leave – State employees receive the following paid holidays each year:
- New Year's Day
- Martin Luther King, Jr. Day,
- Mardi Gras,
- Good Friday,
- Memorial Day,
- Independence Day,
- Labor Day,
- Veteran's Day,
- Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.
State employees earn sick and annual leave which can be accumulated and saved for future use. Your accrual rate increases as your years of service increase.
Retirement – State of Louisiana employees are eligible to participate in various retirement systems (based on the type of appointment and agency for which an employee works). These retirement systems provide retirement allowances and other benefits for state officers and employees and their beneficiaries. State retirement systems may include (but are not limited to):
- Louisiana State Employees Retirement System (www.lasersonline.org). LASERS has provided this video to give you more detailed information about their system
- Teacher's Retirement System of Louisiana (www.trsl.org),
- Louisiana School Employees Retirement System (www.lsers.net), among others
Salary : $21 - $26