Salary: $68,573.00 - $72,749.00 Annually

Location: Angleton, TX

Job Type: Full Time

Department: Sheriff's Office

Description

Under general supervision, applies scientific principles in the analysis, identification, and classification of chemical and physical substances, materials, liquids, or other physical evidence related to criminology, law enforcement, or investigative work in the crime laboratory.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS: -- Essential functions, as defined under the Americans with Disabilities Act, may include any of the following representative duties, knowledge, and skills.  This is not a comprehensive listing of all functions and duties performed by incumbents of this class; employees may be assigned duties which are not listed below; reasonable accommodations will be made as required.  Employees are required to be in attendance and prepared to begin work at their assigned work location on the specified days and hours. The job description does not constitute an employment agreement and is subject to change at any time by the employer. Essential duties and responsibilities may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Analyzes drug specimens submitted to the crime laboratory;
• Analyzes urine/blood specimens for the presence of drugs and/or ethanol;
• Receives and logs into evidence submissions to the laboratory and places evidence into temporary storage area or refrigeration unit as proper for specific evidence;
• Performs technical and administrative review of cases submitted to finalize the report of the results;
• Prepares, reviews, and signs reports and documents relating to cases;
• Enters and reports cases into computer database; performs computer searches in County database for case dispositions; prepares court orders for disposal of evidence after final disposition; performs other necessary job-related computer tasks;
• Collaborates with other government offices and law enforcement agencies in order to exchange information and coordinate activities; testifies for criminal court and grand jury hearings as an expert witness relating to the cases received by the laboratory;
• Files, sorts, and organizes evidence in the laboratory and drug evidence vault and carries responsibility for drug and toxicology evidence care, custody, and control;
• Prepares evidence for destruction by removing it from evidence storage, placing it in disposal barrel, and recording destruction completion when a court orders the destruction of the evidence; organizes and researches court ordered evidence destruction notices;
• Performs quality control functions such as weekly monitoring and recording of the refrigerator and freezer temperatures and checking gas levels;
• Transports evidence, such as, but not limited to, controlled substances of substantial monetary value, to court and to disposal unit or transports for other purposes;
• Works on multiple forensic science disciplines and related cross training and licensure;
• Maintains proper safety protocols in the laboratory in relation to handling chemical hazards, pressurized gases, biohazard risks, stick hazards present when handling syringes, risks associated with handling unknown substances (such as fentanyl) and performs laboratory equipment maintenance to ensure a safe working order; calibrates equipment and validates instruments; maintains a safe and clean laboratory work space and environment;
• Performs other duties as assigned.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

Education, Experience and Training Guidelines:

Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry or a related field; AND at least two (2) years of experience; OR an equivalent combination of education, training, and experience.

Knowledge of:

• County and state legal principles, practices, procedures regarding the criminal justice system and court settings;
• Legal terminology and various state and federal codes and agencies;
• Instrumental analytical chemistry techniques including Gas Chromatography, HPLC, Mass Spectroscopy, and FTIR;
• Working with mathematical concepts such as probability and statistical inference, and fundamentals of plane and solid geometry and trigonometry;
• Applying concepts such as fractions, percentages, ratios, and proportions to practical situations; applying advanced geometry, algebra, trigonometry, and calculus principles to technical situations;
• Modern office procedures and equipment;
• Department policies, procedures and regulations covering specific areas of assignment.

Skill in:

• Communicating effectively, both orally and in writing, including writing routine and technical correspondence, reports, and specialized legal documents;
• Reading, analyzing, and interpreting the most complex documents;
• Making effective and accurate presentations on complex technical topics to public groups and in courtroom settings;
• Providing mature, experienced judgments regarding the legal and technical aspects of area of assignment;
• Maintaining strict confidentiality;
• Properly handling high level of responsibility and highly sensitive security information in a challenging, demanding job;
• Establishing and maintaining cooperative working relationships with judges, managers, supervisor, employees, external public agencies and organizations, attorneys, and the general public;
• Using initiative, discretion and decision making within established procedures, guidelines and rules;
• Defining problems, collecting data, establishing facts and drawing valid conclusion;
• Interpreting an extensive variety of technical instructions in mathematical or diagram form and dealing with several abstract and concrete variables;
• Performing effectively under stressful working conditions;
• Multitasking;
• Operating a computer and various software applications.

LICENSE & CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS:

Must be licensed or eligible for licensing as a seized drug analyst by the Texas Forensics Science Commission and must possess a valid Texas Driver’s License.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORKING ENVIRONMENT:

The noise level in the work environment is usually low to high. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently exposed to a variety of environments to include, office, automobile, hospitals, jails, and courts of law. The employee is also exposed to outside weather conditions while assigned to various special cases. The assignments may require travel outside of the County to locations in other states. May be required to lift and carry items weighing up to 25 pounds. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear. The employee frequently is required to stand; walk; sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.

DISCLAIMER

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this classification.  They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required of personnel so classified.

Benefits

Brazoria County is a local government entity that offers competitive salaries with an excellent benefits package, which includes:

Government Pension through TCDRS with 7% fixed interest and a county match of 2:1 at retirement; we do not pay into Social Security but instead contribute to a 457 Deferred Compensation Plan as an additional savings for retirement (AUL).

Reasonable medical/dental health insurance (Aetna) for employees and dependent coverage rates.

Section 125 Cafeteria Plans including- Aflac, Humana and others; free LTD; free Life Insurance coverage 3x annual salary with a cap of $150K; with AD&D.
Free employee health clinic, EAP; 14 paid holidays, vacation and sick benefits, free telemedicine services.

At retirement, a free paid up $50K Life Insurance policy; a 401h retiree medical reimbursement plan.