About South Coast AQMD
What is South Coast AQMD?
The South Coast Air Quality Management District is the air pollution control agency for the four-county Los Angeles basin — Orange County and the urban portions of Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties — a region of about 17 million people with some of the most challenging air quality in the United States. Created by the California legislature in 1976, South Coast AQMD writes and enforces the rules that cut smog across the basin, permits and inspects tens of thousands of industrial facilities, runs one of the most advanced air monitoring networks in the world, and funds clean-technology development.
Where will I work?
District headquarters in Diamond Bar, California (21865 Copley Drive) — on a compressed schedule that gives you every Monday off. The bulletin benefits summary states it unconditionally: "Work Schedule — Four 10-hour days, Tuesday through Friday." (One exception is disclosed: field air-monitoring Instrument Specialists rotate across seven-day coverage, and we exclude those roles from our feed.)
What is the South Coast AQMD team like?
Around 780 employees, overwhelmingly white-collar: air quality engineers, chemists, scientists, inspectors, planners, attorneys, analysts and technologists. It is one of the largest and most technically deep environmental agencies in the country — the kind of place where a Principal Air Quality Chemist presents research at academic conferences as part of the day job. Its work shapes national air policy: rules written in Diamond Bar routinely become templates for other regulators.
Work-Life Balance
Every weekend is three days: the whole district works Tuesday-Friday. Note this is a compressed 40-hour week (four 10-hour days), not a reduced one.
Perks and Benefits
- 4/10 schedule — "Four 10-hour days, Tuesday through Friday", every Monday off
- "Monthly Benefit Allotment $1,912, to purchase medical, dental, and life insurance, with unused portion paid to you as cash"
- "Vacation — 80 hours per year, increasing to 120 after five years" plus "13 paid holidays per year" and "Sick Leave — 100 hours per year"
- "Tuition Reimbursement — Reimbursed up to $5,000 per year"
- Deferred Compensation 457 plan
- Dependent children covered to age 26 on medical, dental and vision plans