Closing Date: 7th October, 2025

Description:

Job Description and Duties:
This position can be located in Sacramento or Riverside County.

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is a global leader in protecting air quality, fighting climate change, and furthering environmental justice. CARB's Executive Office plans, organizes, and directs the activities of staff to further the Board's mission to protect and preserve California's air quality while considering the effects on the State's economy. The Legal Office is part of the Executive Office. Its mission is to provide the highest quality legal advice and representation to the Board and staff to support programmatic efforts to improve air quality to protect public health and the environment and to ensure that all legal obligations of CARB are met in carrying out these efforts. The Legal Office provides legal support to the agency on a variety of complex topics related to the control of air pollution (criteria pollutants, toxic air contaminants, and greenhouse gases), including, but not limited to: adoption, interpretation, implementation, and enforcement of State and federal environmental and administrative laws and regulations, litigation in conjunction with the Attorney General's Office, personnel matters, contracts, grants, conflicts of interest, hearing procedures, and proposed legislation. The Legal Office maintains the primary responsibility for assisting CARB staff in the development of regulations and the documentation necessary to support their adoption. The Legal Office also provides legal assistance to California's 35 Air Pollution Control and Air Quality Management Districts.

The Legal Office maintains primary responsibility for ensuring compliance with statutory requirements and providing necessary legal support. Under general direction of an Assistant Chief Counsel, Deputy Counsel, and Chief Counsel, this position is responsible for providing written and oral legal advice to CARB's executives, management, and staff on legal issues, with a concentration on complex matters arising under CARB's mobile source programs. The attorney in this position has primary responsibility for overseeing all aspects of legal work related to CARB's mobile source programs. The Attorney IV will have expertise in one or more relevant legal authorities applicable to CARB, including the federal Clean Air Act and California Health and Safety Code. They will perform legal work in areas of their expertise in a high level of independence under general direction of the Assistant Chief Counsel.

Travel between CARB headquarters (Sacramento and Riverside locations), other offices, and occasionally out of state, as required to complete duties.

You will find additional information about the job in the Duty Statement. (https://www.calcareers.ca.gov/CalHrPublic/FileDownload.aspx?aid=29112134&name=AttorneyIVDutyStatement.pdf)

Working Conditions:
This position may be eligible for hybrid in-office work and in-state telework. The amount of telework is at the agency's discretion and is based on the California Air Resource Boards' (CARB) current telework policy. While the CARB may support telework, some in-person attendance is also required.

The positions at the CARB may be eligible for telework with in-person attendance based on the operational needs of the position under Government Code 14200 for eligible applicants residing in California, subject to the candidate meeting telework eligibility criteria outlined in the CalEPA telework policy and/or future program need. Employees not residing in California are not eligible for telework. Regardless of hybrid telework eligibility, all employees may be required to report to the position's designated headquarters location at their own expense, as indicated on their duty statement.

Position located in a high-rise building.
Requires being stationary, consistent with office work, for extended periods.
Standard office environment (artificial lighting, controlled temperature, etc.)
Daily use of a personal computer, office equipment, and/or telephone.

Desirable Qualifications:
In addition to evaluating each candidate's relative ability, as demonstrated by quality and breadth of experience, the following factors will provide the basis for competitively evaluating each candidate:

Candidates should have a desire to advance the underlying objectives of CARB to protect and enhance California's air quality, fight climate change, and improve environmental justice. Candidates should have the ability to work with high-level government officials, as well as experience dealing with members of the public, technical staff, and other public agencies, and should be familiar with the functioning of administrative agencies in State government.

Among other qualities, the most highly desirable candidates will have:

Extensive background or in-depth knowledge of the federal and State laws governing air pollution (greenhouse gases, criteria air pollutants, toxic air contaminants), other environmental laws (e.g., California Environmental Quality Act, administrative law, and constitutional law).
Excellent writing skills.
Demonstrated capacity to analyze issues arising under federal, State, and local laws and effectively provide clear recommendations on complex multidisciplinary issues.
Ability to work quickly and effectively under pressure to identify issues, develop solutions, and produce products within a short timeframe.
Demonstrated capacity to communicate clearly, effectively, and professionally -- both orally and in writing -- to technical, lay, and policy-oriented audiences.
Demonstrated capacity to work cooperatively with a team and work independently to complete work assignments.
Demonstrated expertise in California's authority for its mobile source emissions programs and related legal issues, administrative rulemaking, negotiating to resolve complex disputes, litigating complex disputes, and technical aspects of the mobile source emission control programs.

Desirable candidates will also have demonstrated expertise in a variety of legal requirements applicable to CARB, such as the rulemaking and adjudicative provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act, Public Records Act, California Environmental Quality Act, and the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act.