Water Quality Lab Lead – Hands-On & Team Leadership (Onsite)

Shedd Aquarium; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 69,000 - 75,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical Insurance

Paid Time Off

401(k)

Employee Discounts

Transit Subsidies

Job summary

Shedd Aquarium is seeking a Water Quality Lab Supervisor to lead the daily operations of the water quality laboratory onsite in Chicago, IL. The role combines hands-on testing with strong leadership of a five-member staff plus volunteers and interns.

The ideal candidate has 5+ years in water quality or environmental labs, with expertise in wet chemistry, ion chromatography, and QA/QC, and excels at coordinating cross-functional teams to ensure data quality and timely reporting.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in chemistry, biology, environmental science, or a related field.
• 5+ years of progressively responsible experience in water quality, environmental, analytical, or related laboratory settings.
• Experience leading, supervising, training, or mentoring staff, interns, or volunteers.
• Experience interpreting laboratory data and identifying trends or potential water quality concerns.
• Experience maintaining laboratory QA/QC practices and documentation.

Responsibilities

• Lead daily laboratory operations, including workflow, testing schedules, sample prioritization, and staffing assignments.
• Perform ~50% hands-on laboratory testing and analysis (microbiology, wet chemistry, spectrophotometry, ion chromatography).
• Supervise five staff members (including at CACS) and coordinate volunteers and interns.
• Coordinate with external laboratories for specialized testing and services.
• Maintain laboratory records, QA/QC, and calibrate/maintain equipment.

Skills

Water quality testing

Lab supervision

Data interpretation

QA/QC

Instrumentation troubleshooting

Education

Bachelor’s degree in chemistry, biology, environmental science

Tools

Ion chromatography

Instrumentation

Job description

Shedd Aquarium is seeking a Water Quality Lab Supervisor to lead the daily operations of the water quality laboratory onsite in Chicago, IL. The role combines hands-on testing with strong leadership of a five-member staff plus volunteers and interns.

The ideal candidate has 5+ years in water quality or environmental labs, with expertise in wet chemistry, ion chromatography, and QA/QC, and excels at coordinating cross-functional teams to ensure data quality and timely reporting.