Responsibilities

Under direction, to supervise and coordinate activities and staff in a forensic specialty unit within the District Attorney's Crime Laboratory; and to participate in the work of the unit.

The County of Santa Clara District Attorney's Crime Laboratory is recruiting for a Supervising Criminalist to manage Forensic Biology/DNA analysis unit.

The selected candidate must successfully pass a full background investigation prior to appointment.

Typical Tasks
The following are the duties performed by employees in this classification. However, employees may perform other related duties at an equivalent level. Each individual in the classification does not necessarily perform all duties listed.

Manages, directs, and supervises the daily activities in a forensic specialty unit;
Develops, administers, and implements laboratory systems, procedures, and techniques;
Oversees research and experimentation to develop and improve analytical methods and procedures;
Prepares statistical reports of work performed in the forensic specialty areas such as Audio-Video, Computer Forensics, Drug Chemistry, Trace Evidence, Firearms/Toolmarks, Forensic Biology/DNA, Latent Print Processing, Toxicology, Questioned Documents, Footwear/Shoe Print Analysis, Bloodstain Pattern Analysis, Crime Scene Analysis etc.;
Consults and advises law enforcement regarding nature of evidence, laboratory analysis, and interpretation; Interprets findings for the courts and other legal hearings;
Writes reports and standard operating procedures outlining methods and results;
Ensures proper compliance and reporting with regulatory agencies;
Evaluates and manages requests for analytical examinations and reviews case files and reports to ensure quality control, ability to support conclusions, and evaluate staff performance;
Oversees training of staff in procedures and techniques of forensic science, and may assist in the more difficult or unusual evidence analysis;
Resolves administrative, agency liaison, and technical problems associated with analysis, instrumentation repair and maintenance, and procedures;
May ensure quality control and compliance with state laws and laboratory accreditation requirements;
Solves technical problems and provides oversight of quality assurance program;
May be assigned as a Disaster Service Worker (DSW), as required*;
Performs other related duties, as required.

Qualifications

Employment Standards
Sufficient education, training, and experience to demonstrate the ability to perform the above tasks, plus the possession and direct application of the following knowledge and abilities:

Training and Experience Note: Possession of a Bachelor's Degree, preferably in a natural science, applied science, or in a related field, AND five (5) years full-time experience in the practice of criminalistics, of which, one (1) year must include experience performing complex physical, chemical, biological, and/or digital analyses related to scientific examination of physical evidence in criminal cases;
A Master's Degree or higher in a natural science, applied science, or related field may substitute for one (1) year of full-time experience in the practice of criminalistics.
Lead or supervisory experience is desirable.

Compensation

$151,869.12 - $184,608.32 Annually.

Benefits are detailed on the Application URL

How to apply

Apply at the Application URL

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