“***Please note this position is NOT eligible for sponsorship***
The pay range for this position starts at $50,000.00/year and depends on qualifications”
Summary:
This position will be responsible for coordinating and managing daily operations of the NRRI Central Analytical Laboratory (CAL), a state-certified water quality laboratory specializing in low-level detection of water quality parameters in the Laurentian Great Lakes and nutrient-poor lakes and streams in the Upper Midwest. NRRI CAL provides analytical laboratory and field research support services to Institute and University scientists; other University collaborators; local, state, federal, and tribal agencies; and private businesses and commercial laboratories. The position will assist on research projects studying interacting stressors of climate and land use change on lake and stream health and biogeochemical cycling; drivers of cyanobacteria bloom formation and toxicity in lakes; and ecosystem structure and functioning in the Laurentian Great Lakes and inland aquatic ecosystems.
Job Duties:
1. Manage operations of a state-certified water quality laboratory, including planning and coordinating sample throughput, scheduling analyses, and personnel to meet analytical holding times and deliverable deadlines, updating Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) based on revised guidelines, maintaining and troubleshooting instruments, monitoring and ordering supplies, maintaining the laboratory’s chemical inventory, and communicating with clients. 40 % of Time
2. Supervise and train lab staff and student workers in analytical methods, instrument use, and good laboratory practices, including delegating and prioritizing tasks, setting deadlines, tracking individual performance and compliance with approved analytical methods, and scheduling personnel. 20 % of Time
3. Implement Quality Assurance / Quality Control (QA/QC) practices for laboratory operations and large multi-institution, cross-research platform research projects at NRRI (e.g., Great Lakes Coastal Wetland Monitoring Program), including leading and contributing to overall project Quality Assurance / Quality Control (QA/QC) protocols; assisting with development of Quality Assurance Project Plans (QAPP); assisting project personnel with development and implementation of Quality Control measures to ensure compliance with the QAPP; conducting internal program audits and coordinating findings with the project PI and funding agencies; and performing data QC audits to assist with data review, verification, and validation. 15 % of Time
4. Perform various chemical, biological, and physical analyses following standard operating procedures (SOPs), safety, and quality assurance practices (QA), and keep meticulously detailed records of analytical results. This includes operating complex laboratory equipment (e.g., UV/VIS spectrophotometer, fluorometers, FIA auto-analyzers, DOC analyzers). 10 % of Time
5. Assist with collection of field data and water samples, measuring stream flow, maintaining water quality stations, and recording environmental observations, including operating water quality instrumentation and sensors, and flow gauging telemetry stations. 10 % of Time
6. Serve as laboratory contact and analytical resource for clients; local, state, federal, and tribal partners; Institute and University scientists; and collaborators from other universities. Assist with data management, including entering data into a central laboratory database, evaluating data quality and completeness, producing data summaries and reports. Assist with data analyses and report / manuscript preparation. Other duties as assigned to support future research projects. 5% Effort.
This position is responsible for preparing project budgets and external sales contracts, monitoring existing project accounts, and planning for future expenditures. Additionally, this position is responsible for approving student timecards and assigning their work to various budgets based on work tasks completed and available account balances.
Incumbent sets own goals and determines how to accomplish results with few guidelines to follow, although precedents may exist; supervisor/manager provides broad guidance and overall direction. This position works independently to manage daily operations of the analytical lab, including setting weekly priorities and goals. Priorities and deadlines may shift quickly, so this position must be flexible and adaptable. Analytical problems are resolved with assistance from other lab members as needed.