Position: Industrial Hygienist with background in laboratory safety or chemical safety experience
Location: Beltsville, MD (Onsite)
Schedule: Full Time, 40 hours/week (MondayFriday; rotating shifts may include nights and weekends)
Duration:1 Year Contract
Position Summary
We are seeking a qualified Industrial Hygienist (IH) to provide full time onsite industrial hygiene support services at the USDA Agricultural Research Service Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC). This role supports the Safety, Occupational Health, and Environmental Management (SHEM) Unit and is critical to maintaining a safe, compliant, and health protective work environment across laboratories, research facilities, greenhouses, animal facilities, and administrative spaces. Must have laboratory safety or chemical safety experience.
This is a one year contract with a standard 40 hour workweek and 24/7 on call responsibilities to support emergency response needs at a large, continuously operating federal research campus.
Key Responsibilities
- Conduct routine industrial hygiene, occupational health, and environmental exposure assessments across laboratories, industrial spaces, greenhouses, animal facilities, and offices in response to staff concerns or complaints.
- Perform noise monitoring and hearing conservation assessments, including evaluation results and personal protective equipment (PPE) recommendations.
- Conduct annual qualitative and quantitative respirator fit testing in accordance with OSHA 29 CFR 1910.134 and support the Respiratory Protection Program.
- Serve as Radiation Safety Officer, including:
o Development and maintenance of a comprehensive radiation safety program
o Preparation of quarterly radiation waste assessment reports
o Development of radiation dosimetry programs, standard operating procedures, and dose tracking processes
- Provide rapid response (24/7 on call) to chemical, biological, radiological, industrial, and environmental incidents requiring industrial hygiene support.
- Prepare clear, comprehensive incident and assessment reports documenting findings, sampling results, corrective actions, and recommendations within required timeframes.
- Conduct annual reviews of SHEM programs, policies, and standard operating procedures, including gap analyses and corrective action recommendations.
- Support the Occupational Medical Surveillance Program (OMSP) by serving as the primary industrial hygiene point of contact for enrollment coordination.
- Perform annual industrial hygiene inspections of all facilities and submit inspection reports and checklists.
- Serve as Chemical Hygiene Officer (CHO), including management of chemical inventories, development and maintenance of the Chemical Hygiene Plan, laboratory inspections, hazard mitigation, and training coordination.
- Ensure all work complies with federal regulations, USDA policies, ARS safety directives, and recognized industrial hygiene standards.
Required Skills
- Bachelors degree in chemistry, biology, physics, environmental engineering, or another STEM related field.
- Minimum 4 years of professional, full time industrial hygiene experience.
- Demonstrated experience in the recognition, evaluation, and control of workplace hazards in laboratory, industrial, and administrative environments.
- Experience performing industrial hygiene decision making beyond technician level tasks.
- Hands on proficiency with industrial hygiene monitoring equipment, including:
o Multi gas detectors
o Personal and area air sampling pumps
o Noise dosimeters and sound level meters
o Radiation detection and monitoring instruments
o Ability to inspect, calibrate, test, and maintain monitoring equipment
- Must have laboratory safety or chemical safety experience
Preferred Skills
- Prior experience supporting federal facilities, research campuses, or laboratory environments.
- Familiarity with OSHA and federal occupational health and safety requirements.
Work Environment & Schedule
- Onsite, full time position at a large federal research campus.
- Standard schedule of 40 hours per week, with rotating shifts as needed.
- 24/7 on call availability required for emergency response support.