City of Palo Alto

  • Senior Operator - Regional Water Quality Control Plant (Multiple Positions)

  • City of Palo Alto
  • Palo Alto, California United States View Map

Job Description

Description

Advance Your Career as a Senior Operator and Join Our Team

The City of Palo Alto is seeking experienced wastewater treatment professionals to join our team at the Regional Water Quality Control Plant (RWQCP). We are recruiting for multiple Senior Operator positions, offering an opportunity to apply advanced knowledge and experience in support of a critical regional facility. Learn more about the City’s RWQCP .

Under general direction of the Shift Supervisor, Senior Operators direct and participate in the daily operation and routine maintenance of the RWQCP on an assigned shift. Senior Operators provide lead direction, technical guidance, mentoring, and on-the-job training to other Operators, while exercising sound judgment and advanced operational expertise to support safe, reliable, and efficient plant operations. This classification is distinguished from the Operator II level by the assignment of lead responsibilities and from the Supervisor level by its focus on operational leadership rather than full supervisory and management responsibilities.

The ideal candidate will possess strong technical knowledge, leadership skills, sound judgment, and the ability to work effectively with others, along with the following:
  • In-depth knowledge of wastewater treatment plant processes, equipment, and digital control systems, including SCADA and PLC systems.
  • Experience operating and monitoring advanced treatment processes, including Biological Nutrient Removal (BNR), membrane treatment systems, and Reverse Osmosis (RO).
  • Ability to provide lead direction, training, and technical guidance to wastewater treatment operators.
  • Knowledge of applicable safety rules, codes, regulations, and safe practices for the handling of hazardous gases and chemicals.
  • Knowledge of wastewater sampling, routine process control testing, and wastewater treatment principles.
  • Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate plant conditions, provide direction, and work effectively with others.


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Compensation (SEIU): Comprehensive compensation plan. To learn more, click here.

Benefits: The City offers a fantastic benefits package including:
  • Professional development: Tuition reimbursement, leadership training, and career growth opportunities
  • Education benefits: Potential enrollment for dependents in the Palo Alto Unified School District (pilot program, subject to change)
  • Childcare support: $10,000 in childcare subsidies (pilot program, subject to change)
  • Commute benefits: Incentives for walking, biking and taking transit to work. The City of Palo Alto participates in the Clipper Bay Pass program (Employee Cost: $5 per month).
  • Defined-Benefit Retirement Plan: with competitive pension benefits


This position is represented by Service Employee International Union position (SEIU).

Essential Duties

Essential and other important responsibilities and duties may include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Inspects equipment, analyzing operational or mechanical problems, and implements emergency corrective repair or adjustive actions.
  • Ensures compliance with Federal, State, and local quality standards. Interprets data from laboratory analyses and implements process control strategies to ensure optimum process performance.
  • Responsible for maintaining adequate chemical and supplies inventories,
  • Assists shift supervisor in developing and implementing training programs for lower level Operators.
  • Responds to chlorine and sulphur dioxide chemical leaks as a member of the lead response team.
  • Provides technical guidance to Trainees and Operators; monitors work to assure timely and efficient completion; serve as acting supervisor in the absence of the shift supervisor.


To review full job description, click here.

Minimum Qualifications

Sufficient education, training and/or work experience to demonstrate possession of the following knowledge, skills, and abilities which would typically be acquired through:

  • Equivalent to completion of the twelfth grade; and,
  • Possession of a Grade III Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator's certificate issued by the State Water Resources Control Board.
  • Three years experience in a related field.
  • Possession of a valid California Driver's license.


Special Requirements:
  • Ability to work shifts, on-call, weekends and holidays as assigned or as required.
  • Will be required to meet Division of Clean Water Programs continuing education credits to maintain required certification.
  • Must be able to hear and perform emergency response duties in a level A full-body protection suit and S.C.B.A. weighing 32 pounds and must maintain a face seal while using the self-contained breathing equipment.


Supplemental Information

The Selection Process:
  • Recruitment status notifications will be sent via email or text (please enroll in text alerts when applying).
  • Updates can also be found on your governmentjobs.com account.
  • Applicants will be screened throughout the posting process, and highly qualified candidates may be invited to interview at any time.
  • The screening process for this position may include a virtual recorded interview, panel interviews, and/or skills assessment preceding final interviews with the hiring manager or their designee.
  • This posting may be used to fill multiple vacancies.


Technical Support:

For technical issues applying online, please contact NeoGov's Live Applicant Support at(855) 524-5627between 6:00 AM and 5:00 PM Pacific Time, Monday - Friday.

The City of Palo Alto is an Equal Opportunity Employer. In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the City will provide reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities and encourages both prospective and current employees to discuss potential accommodations with the employer.

See our Benefits at a Glance Bookletfor more details.
Learn more about our Memorandum of Agreements (MOAs) between the City and its bargaining units, by clicking HERE.

Closing Date/Time: 10/13/2026 11:59 PM Pacific
City of Palo Alto

City of Palo Alto

650-329-2376

The Community


The birthplace of Silicon Valley, Palo Alto, is a community of approximately 68,000 residents and nearly 100,000 jobs. Located on the mid-Peninsula between San Francisco and San Jose, Palo Alto is recognized worldwide as a leader in cutting-edge technology, medicine, and green innovation. The community's treelined streets and historic buildings reflect its California heritage, and, at the same time, many world-class businesses maintain or started offices here, such as Stanford Health Care and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, Amazon, Broadcom, Hewlett-Packard, Houzz, Rivian, SAP and SAP Ariba, Tesla, and Varian Medical Systems. Numerous start-ups are also at home in Palo Alto, arguably making it the start-up capital of the world. Stanford University is foundational to the history and prestige of Palo Alto, reflected in the community's dedication to lifelong learning. Stanford's cultural and educational offerings are integral to the vibrancy and charm of Palo Alto, while the City's exceptional K-12 school district ranks among the top public-school systems in the country. With more than 50% of adult residents holding a graduate degree or higher, Palo Alto is frequently listed as one of the most educated cities in the nation. Palo Alto boasts a genuine sense of community and an active citizenry with strong environmental values. Beautiful neighborhoods are complemented by vibrant commercial corridors and a bustling economy featuring premium shopping and dining options. Excellent healthcare facilities, performing arts, and diverse recreational opportunities are some of the community's incredibly desirable and cherished amenities. To learn more, visit https://www.paloalto.gov/Departments/City-Manager/Latest-News

City Government

Palo Alto is a full-service charter city with a council-manager form of government. The seven-member City Council is elected at large, and the City Council annually selects the Mayor and Vice Mayor from among its members. The Mayor and City Council appoint the City Manager, City Attorney, City Clerk, and City Auditor. The City Manager is responsible for the strategic direction and day-to-day operations of the City. Palo Alto is organized into 15 departments/offices with 1,093.10 authorized positions in FY 2025. There is also a FY 2025 capital budget of $316.2 million. Palo Alto owns and operates its own utilities, including electricity (carbon-neutral), gas, water, wastewater, and an expanding fiber network. This dynamic municipal environment ensures an ever-engaging platform for unique problem-solving and advances new initiatives, including sustainability, broadband, and effective service delivery. Community assets also include five libraries, 36 parks, five community centers, a museum and zoo, youth centers, a general aviation airport, an 18-hole golf course, a regional water treatment plant, and wildland open space preserves at the San Francisco Bay and in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains offering 41 miles of walking/biking trails in addition to its police, fire, and ambulance services. Palo Alto has long been a leader in sustainability, and the City's ambitious greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction goals are part of what sets it apart. Since the City's first Climate Protection Plan was passed in 2007, Palo Alto has set goals that exceed State and Federal targets. Today, the City's goal to reduce emissions 80% below 1990 levels by 2030 (the "80x30" goal) and achieve carbon neutrality by 2030 guides sustainability efforts. An award-winning City, Palo Alto is recognized nationally as innovative and well-managed. City services and performance also receive impressive marks from community members in the Palo Alto Community Survey.

Many of those ratings put City programs and services in the highest percentiles among the hundreds of benchmark cities. Palo Alto makes decisions through comprehensive processes and proactively seeks to involve its extremely informed, educated, and engaged residents. Projects are naturally a cooperative effort among the City Council, Boards, Commissions, Committees, engaged residents, neighborhoods, businesses, property owners, and staff.

Join an Award Winning Team 

Palo Alto is an award-winning City recognized nationwide as innovative and well-managed. Palo Alto is one of a small number of California cities with a AAA bond rating. Recently, Palo Alto became one of the most livable cities in the U.S. by Livability.com. It's the only city to receive the Platinum Beacon Award in sustainability best practices by California’s Institute for Local Government. We offer a variety of career paths that relate to building and improving communities. The City has fourteen departments employing 1,000 full-time staff. Police officers, fire fighters, paramedics, and building inspectors keep us safe. Engineers and public works staff build and re-build the physical infrastructure. City planners help envision and shape future community growth. Recreation, arts and library professionals enhance community life. Utilities provides electric, gas, water, sewer and other services. Internal services departments help manage, staff, and protect the City.

Want to learn more about our benefits? Learn more by reviewing our "Benefits at a Glance Booklet."

Contact Us

Phone: 650-329-2376   

Email: [email protected]   

Location: City Hall, 1st Floor | 250 Hamilton Ave 94301 | View Map

 

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