Environmental Scientist (Solar - Permitting & Compliance)
State of Louisiana
About This Job
Office of Permitting & Compliance – Permitting
The Office of Permitting and Compliance (OPC) oversees all permitting and regulatory functions within the Department, ensuring clarity, consistency, and regulatory integrity. By streamlining processes, accelerating permitting timelines and enhancing data-driven decision-making, the Office ensures compliance with environmental standards while supporting responsible economic development.
OPC centralizes all permitting and compliance functions, aligning engineering, geology, ecology, design, and compliance divisions into a single workflow. Its structure includes integrity and production audits, UIC and storage regulation, groundwater protection, coastal permits and mitigation, and reservoir and legacy site management.
The Environmental Scientist 1, 2, 3, or 4 within the Office of Permitting and Compliance has the responsibility for journeyman level work for program, divisional, or departmental projects including technical review and processing of Solar Permit Applications for complex multi-phased projects, jointly reviewing solar applications with other entry-level Environmental Scientists, and programmatic assistance and technical support.
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.
Job Specification
The official job specifications for this role, as defined by the State Civil Service, can be found here.
Job Duties
Job Duties and Other Information
As An Environmental Scientist, You Will Conduct Research, Analyze Environmental Data, And Support Initiatives That Protect Natural Resources And Ensure Compliance With Environmental Laws And Regulations. In This Role, You Will:
- Review and process Solar Permit applications (Immediate Solar Permits and Solar Siting Permits) for complex activities for a wide variety of projects.
- Review permit applications for compliance with the department’s guidelines, perform an analysis of project impacts, and make recommendations for permit decisions to leadership.
- Produce and analyze reports, maps, and other data from the Office of Permitting and Compliance files and computer system to aid in formulating conditions for permits and recommendations for permit decisions.
- Maintains workflows and recommends improvements to the electronic system for the most efficient processing of Solar Permit applications.
- Maintain knowledge of current methodologies and procedures regarding solar power generation by reviewing regulatory literature and seminar attendance.
- Ensure activity complies with all relevant federal and state regulations, policies and procedures.
- Work with other sections when reviewing and processing applications to ensure required permits are obtained.
- Develop and serve as the point of contact and contract manager for contracts that provide efficient and effective supplemental assistance to the Solar Permitting program, these contracts may be professional service contracts, interagency agreements, cooperative endeavor agreements and/or any others that meet the needs of the program.
- Respond to inquiries from industry and citizens via telephone, electronic mail and regular mail.
- Perform other duties and responsibilities as assigned by the Director and/or members of the C&E executive leadership team.
Position-Specific Details
Appointment Type: Probational
Career Progression: This position does participate in a Career Progression Group.
Work Schedule: Work hours are flexible.
Compensation: The salary offered will be determined based on qualifications and experience.
Environmental Scientist 1
LEVEL
MIN
QTR1
MIDPOINT
QTR3
MAX
PERIOD
TS-308
$18.35
$22.02
$25.69
$29.36
$33.02
Hourly
TS-308
$1,468.00
$1,761.60
$2,055.20
$2,348.80
$2,641.60
Biweekly
TS-308
$3,181.00
$3,817.00
$4,453.00
$5,089.00
$5,724.00
Monthly
TS-308
$38,168.00
$45,802.00
$53,435.00
$61,069.00
$68,682.00
Annual
Environmental Scientist 2
LEVEL
MIN
QTR1
MIDPOINT
QTR3
MAX
PERIOD
TS-309
$19.63
$23.56
$27.48
$31.41
$35.33
Hourly
TS-309
$1,570.40
$1,884.80
$2,198.40
$2,512.80
$2,826.40
Biweekly
TS-309
$3,403.00
$4,084.00
$4,763.00
$5,444.00
$6,124.00
Monthly
TS-309
$40,830.00
$49,005.00
$57,158.00
$65,333.00
$73,486.00
Annual
Environmental Scientist 3
LEVEL
MIN
QTR1
MIDPOINT
QTR3
MAX
PERIOD
TS-311
$22.47
$26.97
$31.46
$35.96
$40.45
Hourly
TS-311
$1,797.60
$2,157.60
$2,516.80
$2,876.80
$3,236.00
Biweekly
TS-311
$3,895.00
$4,675.00
$5,453.00
$6,233.00
$7,011.00
Monthly
TS-311
$46,738.00
$56,098.00
$65,437.00
$74,797.00
$84,136.00
Annual
Environmental Scientist 4
LEVEL
MIN
QTR1
MIDPOINT
QTR3
MAX
PERIOD
TS-312
$24.04
$28.85
$33.66
$38.47
$43.28
Hourly
TS-312
$1,923.20
$2,308.00
$2,692.80
$3,077.60
$3,462.40
Biweekly
TS-312
$4,167.00
$5,001.00
$5,834.00
$6,668.00
$7,502.00
Monthly
TS-312
$50,003.00
$60,008.00
$70,013.00
$80,018.00
$90,022.00
Annual
Louisiana is a State As a Model Employer (SAME) that supports the recruitment, hiring, and retention of individuals with disabilities.
How To Apply
No Civil Service test score is required in order to be considered for this vacancy.
To apply for this vacancy, click on the “Apply” link above and complete an electronic application, which can be used for this vacancy as well as future job opportunities. 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 page.
- Information to support your eligibility for the position 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. Applications may be rejected if incomplete.
For Further Information About This Vacancy Contact
Human Resources
Department of Conservation and Energy
PO Box 94396
Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9396
Email: ***email_hidden***
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.
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.
- Additional holidays may be proclaimed by the Governor
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
Do you possess 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?
- Yes
- No
If you answered "yes" to the previous question, please indicate the course titles, semester hours earned, and the institution. If you answered "no" to the previous question, please enter N/A. (Ex. BIOL 1201 – Biology for Science Majors – 3 hrs - LSU) NOTE: Failure to list all specific courses may result in your application being considered incomplete.
- Required Question
