The NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) enriches the environment and protects public health for all New Yorkers by providing 1.1 billion gallons of high quality drinking water, managing wastewater and stormwater, and reducing air, noise, and hazardous materials pollution. DEP is the largest combined municipal water and wastewater utility in the country, with nearly 6,000 employees. DEP's water supply system is comprised of 19 reservoirs and 3 controlled lakes throughout the system’s 2,000 square mile watershed that extends 125 miles north and west of the City.

The Bureau of Water Supply seeks to hire a Scientist (Water Ecology) III for a position with the Wetlands Program, Ecological Research and Assessment Section, Natural Resources Division, Watershed Protection Programs Directorate, located in Kingston, New York.

The Ecological Research and Assessment (ERA) Section provides an array of services to the Bureau of Water Supply in the fields of wetland science, aquatic ecology, invasive species management, and ecological restoration. Through research, monitoring, and environmental reviews, ERA supports the management of City lands and a wide range of watershed protection and management programs. Understanding the condition and relationships among the watershed’s wetlands, aquatic, and terrestrial ecosystems is very important for identifying and mitigating potential water quality threats. The Wetlands Program is a Filtration Avoidance Determination (FAD) program responsible for implementing the Bureau’s Wetlands Protection Strategy to protect wetlands to help maintain the high quality of surface waters in the New York City Watershed.

Under direction, of the Wetlands and Aquatic Ecology Program Supervisor, the Scientist (Water Ecology) III serve as Wetland Scientist and will plan and perform field surveys, management activities, data collection and analysis, project reviews, and procurement related and administrative tasks to support the completion of goals of the Wetlands Protection Strategy. Specific duties include:

- Assisting in the planning and execution of field surveys in support of the goals and tasks in DEP’s Wetland Protection Strategy including, delineating wetlands on City owned watershed lands based on current federal methodology, conducting habitat assessments, vegetation, soils, and hydrologic monitoring to support DEP’s reference and mitigation wetland monitoring and land management programs.

- Entering, maintaining, analyzing and summarizing field, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and Global Positioning System (GPS) data, to support the preparation of presentations, maps, papers, reports, and other deliverables. They will also guide the development and review of wetlands geospatial data.

- Reviewing project plans, wetland permit applications, environmental impact statements, and other technical documents and make recommendations to avoid or minimize wetland impacts from proposed activities in the New York City Watershed and make recommendations on mitigating unavoidable impacts.

- Planning and performing educational programs for the public, agency, and other watershed stakeholders.

- Performing various administrative functions such as procurement, equipment inventories, and written and verbal correspondence to support program initiatives.

- Performing related work as required.

(This is a brief description of what you might do in this position and does not include all the duties of this position.)


Some of the physical activities performed by Scientists (Water Ecology) and environmental conditions experienced are: lift and carry packages weighing approximately 20 pounds for a distance of 30 feet, perform duties in confined work areas, wear protective garments such as gloves, lab coats, goggles, and life vests, handle and manipulate laboratory equipment and instruments and tools such as glass test tubes, slides, beakers and other glassware, scalpels, scissors, etc., adjust settings on machines, which requires fine finger and hand coordination and control, and collect samples at sites in all weather conditions.

Special Working Conditions: Scientists (Water Ecology) may be required to work shifts including nights, Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays.


Preferred Skills:

- Driver’s license valid in the State of New York

- Ability to travel to meetings, work facilities, and field locations, utilizing a New York City vehicle

- Knowledge and proficient use of Microsoft Office products such as Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint

- Experience with ArcGIS and handheld GPS units

- Experience with statistical analysis software (i.e., Excel, Minitab, Statistica, R)

- Plant identification skills for the Northeast United States

- Wetland delineation skills using the Federal three parameter approach

- Experience conducting USFWS phase 1 bog turtle surveys

- Ability to design and conduct statistically rigorous field investigations and studies

- Ability to collect and perform complex analysis of data using spreadsheets and statistical software packages

- Ability to write, review, and edit reports and presentations

- Experience installing and operating field equipment such as handheld computers, pH probes, water level monitoring wells etc.

- Proficiency in planning and conducting wetland field work and data collection

- Knowledge and ability to identify wetland plants and wildlife native to the northeastern U.S.

- Competent in data analysis and reporting

- Ability to read construction plans, environmental impact statements, environmental assessment forms, and other documents at various levels of completion and complexity, evaluate potential impacts to wetlands and make recommendations on avoiding, reducing, or mitigating those impacts

- Ability to work independently

- Attention to detail

- Strong writing and communication skills

- Time management skills


Hours and Shift:
35 Hours per week. May be required to work shifts including nights, Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays.


Residency Requirement: New York City residency is not required for this position.



Work Location:

71 Smith Avenue

Kingston, NY 12401


Kingston is a City in Ulster County, New York approximately 90 miles north of New York City.

1. A masters degree from an accredited college or university in one of the following areas of study: environmental or chemical engineering, limnology, environmental science, marine science, geology, biology, earth science, chemistry, physics, or health science; or

2. A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university with 24 semester credits in one or a combination of the areas of study described in ""1"" above, at least 12 of which must have been in one of these areas of study; and at least one year of satisfactory full time experience, which may not have been part of graduate or undergraduate course work, working in the field of water quality planning, management or
research or performing environmental laboratory analyses, and/or environmental field sampling of water; or

3. An associate degree from an accredited college or university including or supplemented by 24 semester credits in one or a combination of the areas of study described in "1" above, at least 12 of which must have been in one of these areas of study; and at least three years of satisfactory full time experience as described in "2" above.

Additional Requirements

To be assigned to Assignment Levels II or III, all candidates must have a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university as described in "2" above and must have one additional year of the experience described in "2" above for a total of two years of experience.

Special Note
A master's degree from an accredited college in one of the areas described in "1" above may be substituted for up to two years of the required experience.

This position is also open to qualified persons with a disability who are eligible for the 55-a Program. Please indicate at the top of your resume and cover letter that you would like to be considered for the position through the 55-a Program.

As a prospective employee of the City of New York, you may be eligible for federal loan forgiveness programs and state repayment assistance programs. For more information, please visit the U.S. Department of Education’s website at https://studentaid.gov/pslf/.

New York City residency is not required for this position.

The City of New York is an inclusive equal opportunity employer committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and providing a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment based upon any legally protected status or protected characteristic, including but not limited to an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity, or pregnancy.