Stationary Engineer, Sewage Plant

APPOINTMENT TYPE: This position is excluded by the Charter from the competitive Civil Service examination process and shall serve at the discretion of the Appointing Officer. The duration of this appointment shall not exceed 36 months.

Applicants who are interested are encouraged to apply as soon as possible since the announcement may close at any time, but will not close any sooner than 5:00 pm on September 29, 2025.

San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC)

Headquartered in San Francisco, we have 2,300 employees working in seven counties with a combined annual operating budget of over $900 million.

Our Mission: To provide our customers with high quality, efficient, and reliable water, power, and wastewater services in a manner that values environmental and community interests and sustains the resources entrusted to our care.

Our Vision: We are an innovative utility leader, recognized for excellent results in service, safety, stewardship, and inclusiveness.

We are an award-winning and industry-leading utilities organization committed to our customers, community interests, and the environment. To learn more about our organization, please visit our website at

We are proud of our infrastructure and programs, but most importantly, we value our highly qualified and dedicated workforce which ensures that this vision becomes a reality.

The 7372 Stationary Engineers work in two divisions, Operations and Maintenance, and we currently have openings in both divisions. 

The 7372 Stationary Engineer, under general supervision during an assigned shift, is responsible for operating and maintaining a wide variety of complex machinery and equipment in a sewage disposal plant or pumping station, following established plant operations, methods and procedures; maintaining and preparing routine plant operations records and reports; and performs related duties as assigned.

Essential Functions:

• Makes regular visual, audio, olfactory and tactile inspections and/or manual tests of all plant machinery and equipment, including auxiliary equipment, in an assigned area or pumping station, maintaining logs and records of required maintenance, completed maintenance, equipment and work order history by taking periodic readings of gauges and meters to ensure that sewage plant is working safely, efficiently and properly; and to provide an accurate record of maintenance, preventive maintenance, equipment, and work order history.
• Performs a variety of manual tasks requiring the handling of equipment exposed to raw sewage; collects and performs simple assessments of raw sewage and chemical samples on prescribed schedule at specific locations by making chemical and physical assessments to assess the efficiency of the treatment processes and to ensure compliance with the NPDES Permit (National Pollution Discharge Elimination System, Permit).
• Operates, inspects, maintains, overhauls and makes major and minor repairs to wide variety of pumping, heating, ventilating, process machinery and equipment in a wastewater treatment plant or pumping station, including pumps, bar racks, grit collectors, conveyors and washers, chlorinators, evaporators and storage tanks, sludge collectors, drive units, deodorizing equipment and a wide variety of metering and recording devices to assure the safety and efficiency of equipment and facilities; includes lubricating and greasing machinery and equipment; cleaning and maintaining machinery, equipment and facility to ensure safety and equipment reliability.
• Inspects sewage pipe lines, tanks and gates to check for the condition of equipment, for infiltration and blockage of debris and build-up of mineral deposits, etc., by draining tanks, by monitoring pressure and flow indicators and by visual inspection to determine any problem areas to ensure proper operation.
• Operates, inspects and maintains solids treatment and flocculating chemical systems by monitoring and adjusting flow indicators or controllers, by visual inspection and by analysis of samples to ensure optimum treatment. 
• Operates, inspects and maintains disinfection and dechlorination systems by performing tests and analyzing sample to determine proper chemical dosages to ensure that effluent or final discharge meets Regional and State pollution control requirement.
• May assist in training and in supervising work of apprentices or other trainees by oral instruction and hands-on demonstration in the operation and maintenance of sewage treatment processes to ensure competent performance of required skills by apprentices and other trainees.
• Class 7372 Stationary Engineer performs other related duties as required.

If you are interested in a job like this, we are looking for people that have the following:

• Four years of verifiable journey level Stationary Engineer, Plant Operator and/or Plant Mechanic experience in the operation, maintenance, and repair of a variety of mechanical and electrical pumping, heating, air-conditioning, ventilating, and related plant machinery of wastewater treatment plant; government establishment; hospital; industrial, production, or commercial building; OR
• Completion of a recognized four-year stationary engineer Apprenticeship Program; OR 
• Graduation from a recognized four-year Maritime Academy with a degree in Engineering or technology; OR
• Possession of at least a 3rd Assistant Marine Engineer's License of any unrestricted horsepower (experience as an Oiler or Firetender will not be accepted as qualifying); OR
• Possession of a FAA Airframe or Power Plant Certificate and four years verifiable experience in an Airframe or Powerplant mechanic or maintenance technician capacity that utilizes the certificate; AND
• Possession of a valid driver's license.

Notes on Qualifying Experience and Education

1. In addition to the above Minimum Qualifications, all positions in the Operations Division at the PUC will require at least a Grade Level I Wastewater Treatment Operator Certificate or an Operator-in-Training Certificate issued by the State of California Water Resources Control Board, , upon appointment to a position.
2. If an operator is hired with an OIT (Operator-in-Training) Certificate, upon expiration of the OIT Certificate, the Operator must have a California Grade I Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator Certificate; within two (2) years of obtaining a California Grade I Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator Certificate, the Operator is required to obtain a California Grade II Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator Certificate. If an Operator is hired with a California Grade I Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator Certificate, within two (2) years of appointment, the Operator is required to obtain a California Grade II Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator Certificate.
3. Employees assigned to positions at the Maintenance Section of the PUC who do not fulfill the requirement in Note 2 above, will be required to obtain a California Water Environment Association Grade I Mechanical Technology Certificate within two (2) years of hire.
4. Failure to meet the requirements set forth in either Note 2 or Note 3 may be the basis for termination or dismissal from employment. 
5. Passing the exam to obtain a California Grade III Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator Certificate within six (6) years of appointment is highly encouraged.
6. Upon appointment to employment, and then on an annual basis, employees will be required to pass a State-mandated Respirator Medical Examination and be clean-shaven as required for use, and at least annually for respirator and self-contained breathing apparatus fitting.
7. For Operator positions, candidates are required to obtain six educational points as defined by State of California Water Resources Control Board. For details, please see attached link (Sections: 3685–3687). 

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS

The stated desirable qualifications may be used to identify job finalists at the end of the selection process when candidates are referred for hiring in the Operations Division.

• California Grade III, or higher, Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator Certificate
• 4-year bachelor's degree
• 2-year associate's degree

Verification of Education and Experience:

Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. More information can be found at:

• 7372 Stationary Engineer, Sewage Plant - COMPENSATION
• Information About the Hiring Process 
• Equal Employment Opportunity
• Conviction History

All City and County of San Francisco employees are designated Disaster Service Workers through state and local law (California Government Code Section Employment with the City requires the affirmation of a loyalty oath to this effect. Employees are required to complete all Disaster Service Worker-related training as assigned, and to return to work as ordered in the event of an emergency.

Applications for City and County of San Francisco jobs are only accepted through an online process. Visit  and begin the application process.

• Select the "I'm Interested" button and follow instructions on the screen

Applicants may be contacted by email about this recruitment and, therefore, it is their responsibility to ensure that their registered email address is accurate and kept up-to-date. Also, applicants must ensure that email from CCSF is not blocked on their computer by a spam filter. To prevent blocking, applicants should set up their email to accept CCSF mail from the following addresses , , , , , , , , , , , , , , and ).

Applicants will receive a confirmation email that their online application has been received in response to every announcement for which they file. Applicants should retain this confirmation email for their records. Failure to receive this email means that the online application was not submitted or received.

If you are having trouble with the application, please visit Smart Recruiter's FAQs or email [email protected]. It is suggested you use Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge web browser to submit the application.

Exam Analyst Information: If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact the exam analyst, David Jung, at [email protected].

DRUG TESTING REQUIREMENT: Applicants for positions in this classification who are not currently employed by the City and County of San Francisco in a safety-sensitive position represented by IUOE Stationary Engineers, Local 39, are required to pass pre-employment drug and alcohol testing. All employees in this classification may also be subject to drug and alcohol testing upon reasonable suspicion or after a work-related accident. Applicants with a positive result from a pre-employment drug test will be restricted from hire in safety-sensitive positions for six months after the date of the positive test.

The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.