DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH SERVICES

Address:  4814 South 40th Street, Phoenix, Arizona 85040

Salary: $56,335.00 

Grade: 20

Closing Date: Open Until Filled

A Career in Public Service Awaits You, Come Join our Licensing Team!

Your Talent, Our Mission: To promote, protect, and improve the health and wellness of individuals and communities in Arizona.

Why work for ADHS? A great benefit of working for the State of Arizona is a fantastic work/life balance. State employees enjoy challenging work, popular remote work options, comprehensive health and wellness benefits, and career growth opportunities.

The Environmental Radiochemist position performs radiochemical analysis of environmental air, direct radiation, soil, water, and milk along with conducting inspections of ionizing and non-ionizing radiation facilities.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Collecting soil, air, water, milk, and direct radiation samples from the environments surrounding the Palo Verde Generating Station, and supporting the development and implementation of a statewide environmental radiation surveillance program
• Performing radiochemical analysis of environmental and other samples for gamma and beta emitting radionuclides using various techniques
• Preparing, placing, retrieving and analyzing environmental thermoluminescent dosimeters
• Evaluating and interpreting measurement results
• Performing peer review of radiochemistry analysis results and other quality assurance activities associated with radiochemical analysis
• Performing preparation of samples for analysis utilizing wet chemistry techniques
• Planning and conducting inspections and investigations of registrant activities that relate to radiation safety and the use of ionizing and non-ionizing radiation
• Evaluate and interpret measurement results
• Respond to incidents involving radioactive material throughout the state
  

Knowledge of:

• Principles, theories, and practices related to radiation safety and environmental protection aspects of research, medical, educational, and industrial use of ionizing and non-ionizing radiation
• Principles and application of liquid scintillation counting, gamma spectrometry, gas flow proportional counting, and thermoluminescent dosimetry
• Laboratory radioactive materials license, laboratory and radiation safety requirements, analytical procedures, and sampling procedures

Skill in:

• Clear communication, both orally and in writing, for the reporting of the results of analyses and preparation of procedure revisions and other programmatic documentation

Ability to:

• Use computers and other information technology to perform a variety of technical, analytical, and written communication tasks effectively and efficiently
• Demonstrate an understanding of quality assurance and quality control requirements of laboratory analysis
• Demonstrate an ability to recognize and distinguish issues of safety or regulatory significance
• Demonstrate an ability to assess the programmatic quality of laboratory sampling, analysis, procedures and documentation; and recommend, implement and document corrective actions
• Support a diverse multi-cultural workforce that reflects the community, promotes equal opportunity at all levels of public employment, and creates an inclusive work environment that enables all individuals to perform to their fullest potential free from discrimination

The ideal candidate for this position will have:

• A baccalaureate degree in health physics, physics, chemistry, or other closely related physical science or engineering discipline, supplemented by a number of years of specialized work experience related to radiological safety and health physics

• Driving is required for State Business. Employees who drive on state business require possession of and the ability to retain a current, valid state-issued driver’s license appropriate to the assignment. Employees who drive on state business are subject to driver’s license checks, must maintain acceptable driving records and must complete any driver training (See Arizona Administrative Code R2-10-207.11).
• All newly hired State employees are subject to and must successfully complete the Electronic Employment Eligibility Verification Program (E-Verify).

The State of Arizona provides an excellent comprehensive benefits package including:

• Affordable medical and dental insurance plans
• Paid vacation and sick time
• Paid Parental Leave-Up to 12 weeks per year paid leave for newborn or newly-placed foster/adopted child (pilot program).
• 10 paid holidays per year
• Wellness program and plans
• Life insurance
• Short/long-term disability insurance
• Defined retirement plan
• Award winning Infant at Work program
• Credit union membership
• Transit subsidy
• ADHS Student Assistance Pilot Program

Learn more about the Paid Parental Leave pilot program here. For a complete list of benefits provided by The State of Arizona, please visit our benefits page

To help you build a financially secure future, the State makes monthly contributions to finance your retirement benefit. The State will contribute to the ASRS in an amount equal to your contribution. In other words, you and the State will each pay 50% of the total cost of the benefit. New State employees have a 27-week wait period for contributions to begin.

The State of Arizona is an Equal Opportunity/Reasonable Accommodation Employer. Persons with a disability may request a reasonable accommodation such as a sign language interpreter or an alternative format by calling (602) 542-1085. Requests should be made as early as possible to allow sufficient time to arrange the accommodation. DHS is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. All newly hired employees will be subject to E-Verify Employment Eligibility Verification.