Job Details

This job opportunity is continuous and application reviews are performed periodically.

San Mateo is a city of approximately 104,000 residents, strategically located midway between San Francisco and San Jose, and is within the Silicon Valley. One of the City's strengths is its diversity, both in the ethnic makeup and the physical development of the community. San Mateo has a vibrant business and retail environment with national and international businesses, two major shopping centers and an active downtown. The community values its historic and new residential neighborhoods and recently approved a major new Transit Oriented Development that will add 1,500 new homes, 300,000 square feet of new retail and as much as 1.5 million square feet of commercial office space.

The City organization has a culture of innovation, collaboration and strong customer service. The City's annual budget is $191 million and is staffed by approximately 540 full time employees. The City is continually evaluating new and innovative ways of providing high quality services to its residents while acknowledging the competing demands for the limited funds available. Find out more interesting facts at: www.cityofsanmateo.org.

Look at some of the reasons why the City of San Mateo is a great place to work, https://youtu.be/_GTIzeSpc_g

The Department

The Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) is a 15.7 MDG sub-regional facility that serves an estimated 164,545 customers administering the annual operation and maintenance budget over $12.8 million with a staff of 34 professional and technical personnel. The City of San Mateo is building a team tasked with the safe and continuous operation of the current expansion of this conventional activated sludge plant by introducing new facilities including; preliminary treatment, primary treatment, enhanced biological nutrient removal/membrane bioreactors (BNR/MBR), biological and chemically enhanced treatment (BioACTIFLO), and additional upgrades to existing process equipment. A vital and instrumental member of this team is the WWTP Operator III.

The Position

This position will receive general direction from the Chief Plant Operator and instruction from their Shift Supervisor to provide daily guidance to lower level operators and trainees. The WWTP Operator III will be responsible for supporting these efforts to guide, develop and mentor staff on their assigned shift, act in a supervisory capacity in the absence of the Shift Supervisor, and is the assigned lead in getting both scheduled and unscheduled work completed. Those who have prepared themselves and are ready for the challenge to use their skills as a journey-level wastewater professional should seriously consider this opportunity.

This position is assigned rotating shifts working nights, weekends, and holidays with on-call emergency response 24 hours per day. However, along with this challenge is the benefit of working a 12-hour shift that results in a very favorable work/life balance and requires the minimum commuting days as compared to other standard 8-hour shifts.

The Duties

Depending upon assignment, duties may include, but are not limited to the following.

Operate wastewater treatment facilities to control flow and processing of wastewater, sludge and effluent; monitor gauges, meters and control panels; observe variation in operating conditions, interpreting meter and gauge readings and test results to determine process requirements.

• Operate valves and gates; start and stop pumps, engines and electric motors to control and adjust flow and treatment processes; operate and maintain boilers; perform routine maintenance work on valves, tanks, related equipment and facilities to optimize performance.


• Maintain appropriate plant records to support water quality goals.


• Perform the duties of the Designated Operator-in-Charge when required in accordance with State regulations.


• Operate rolling vehicles and stationary machinery as required to perform essential job functions.


• Foster and maintain good working relationships and provide excellent customer service in the course of their work.


• Assist in the inventory, requisition, and purchase of supplies and materials.


• Supervise and train less experienced operators on assigned shift.