Industrial Hygienist

The incumbent serves as an Industrial Hygienist in the Safely and Emergency Management Service at the VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System. They will analyze identify and measure workplace hazards or stresses that can cause sickness impaired health or significant discomfort in workers through chemical physical ergonomic or biological exposures.


Major duties include but are not limited to:

• Conduct studies of work operations and processes examining work environments analyze findings promulgating recommendations and preparing various reports.
• Inspect medical center to identify occupational health hazards and the need for further investigative studies and surveys.
• Perform analysis to determine nature and degree of toxic materials present.
• Interpret results of studies for the work environment in terms of possible impairment to health nature of health impairment potential for medical centers damages etc.
• Prepare comprehensive and legally sufficient written reports of all monitoring activities performed in accordance with OSHA and EPA state law and VA regulations.
• Ensure proper documentation and notification of employee exposures.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 7:30am - 4:00pm
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Industrial Hygienist/PD04842O
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• To be considered for this position you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• Physical Requirements: The work required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. A pre-placement physical examination is not required.
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements ( Effective May 7 2025 drivers licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See Required Documents below for details.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public determining if your employment advances the public interest we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification in writing that your continued employment advances the public interest.

To qualify for this position applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement 09/09/2026.

Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-9. The grade may have been in any occupation but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade as required by the this instance you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade.
Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.

This Occupational series has Individual Occupational Requirements

The Basic requirements are:

• A bachelors or graduate/higher level degree in industrial hygiene occupational health sciences occupational and environmental health toxicology safety sciences or related science; or
• A bachelors degree in a branch of engineering physical science or life science that included 12 semester hours in chemistry including organic chemistry and 18 additional semester hours of courses in any combination of chemistry physics engineering health physics environmental health biostatistics biology physiology toxicology epidemiology or industrial hygiene; or
• Certification from the Board for Global EHS Credentialing (formerly American Board of Industrial Hygiene(external link) (ABIH)).

Courses in the history or teaching of chemistry are not acceptable.

Evaluation of Education All science or engineering courses offered in fulfillment of the above requirements must be acceptable for credit toward the completion of a standard 4-year professional curriculum leading to a bachelors degree in science or engineering at an accredited college or university. For engineering degrees to be acceptable the curriculum must be in a school of engineering with at least one curriculum accredited by the ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) as a professional engineering curriculum.

Evaluation of Experience Qualifying experience involves the recognition evaluation corrective actions and elimination of environmental conditions in the workplace that causes sickness impaired health or illness. This experience must demonstrate a professional knowledge of the theory and application of the principles of industrial hygiene and closely related sciences such as physics and engineering controls. Such work must have involved experience in all of the following areas: the acquisition of quantitative and qualitative data and the measurement of exposures for a variety of chemical physical and biological stresses; the analysis of the data acquired and the prediction of probable effects of exposures on the health and well-being of workers; and the selection and recommendation of appropriate controls including management medical engineering education or training and personal protective equipment. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-9 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include but are not limited to:

• Developing and advising on a comprehensive industrial hygiene program and monitoring and conducting workplace inspections to determine compliance with health and safety standards and regulations; recognition evaluation corrective actions preparing comprehensive industrial hygiene reports; and elimination of environmental conditions in the workplace that causes sickness impaired health or illness. This experience must demonstrate a professional knowledge of the theory and application of the principles of industrial hygiene and closely related sciences such as physics and engineering controls. OR
• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree directly related to the position being filled. OR
• Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond a masters degree.

For more information on these qualification standards please visit the United States Office of Personnel Managements website at transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges universities schools or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information visit: