King County: Environmental Laboratory Trace Metals Intern

Pay Range: $22.00-$27.89 per hour.

How to Apply: Please e-mail your cover letter, resume or letter of interest to crivers@kingcounty.gov. Please be sure to: Specify whether applying for the Laboratory Trace Metals Internship position; Describe your interest related to laboratory science and or studies;Indicate what you hope to gain from this internship;   Deadline for submitting application materials is April 13, 2026.    

Description:

Section:  Environmental Laboratory

Background:

Our mission at the King County Environmental Laboratory (KCEL) is to produce high-quality field and laboratory data. Many of our programs track long-term environmental health and water quality. Some of these projects started more than 40 years ago. These long-term datasets help our scientists to understand how our environment changes over time and to identify potential problems. Other projects we work on are shorter term. These are like snapshots of what is happening in our environment so we can understand and protect our natural resources better.

Every year we test thousands of water, sediment, and other types of environmental samples from all over King County and surrounding areas. The data we produce are used in environmental studies, to enforce environmental laws, and make resource management decisions.

Our data scientists use it to:

• Track regional water quality
• Design and operate wastewater treatment plants
• Track wastewater treatment plant discharge permit compliance
• Enforce industrial waste laws
• Create plans and programs to protect and improve local water bodies
• Take part in studies with other governmental and research organizations

Internship Purpose:

The purpose of this internship will be to provide the college student with hands-on laboratory skills, and knowledge in Tissue, Water and Solid sample analysis.  The intern will start tissue collection and homogenization and then progress to hands-on analysis of samples from a variety of projects.

Associated programs of study:

• General sciences or engineering
• Environmental studies
• Biology or ecology
• Earth Science
• Chemistry

Work Experience:

The applicant does not need to have work experience outside of college course work in science, however, since the intern will be working in a laboratory setting, there will be some requirements that need to be met for safety concerns.  These requirements are outlined in both State and Federal safety regulations.  Generally, students will be expected to have had some training in laboratory safety through their college courses that have lab classes.

Desired skills or requirements:

• Will be provided with a County-issued laptop and must maintain a workspace with an internet connection where they can reliably perform work and remain available and responsive during scheduled work hours.
• Ability to get to Environmental Laboratory in a timely manner using any available means of transportation.
• Ability to follow written and verbal instructions and complete tasks in a given timeframe.
• Ability to work independently on assigned tasks.
• Ability to work safely in a laboratory environment.
• Functional knowledge of Microsoft Word and Excel.

Additional Information:

The student selected for this internship must be able to work 40 hours per week starting in June when the student is anticipated to be out of school for the summer.

To be qualified, you must be a college student currently enrolled. You will need to provide proof of enrollment.

Wage Information

Intern II: $22.00-$27.89