About the Department

The Environmental Services Department (ESD) is a national leader in pollution prevention, watershed protection, utility service provision, and climate action. Together, ESD employees positively impact every resident and business in San Jose.  

Our department is an exceptional place to start or grow your career. We have a supportive leadership team, numerous professional growth opportunities, and an inclusive workplace culture that is welcoming of your talents! We offer an array of meaningful career paths and value flexibility – offering possible hybrid work and alternative work schedules in select roles. Additionally, the City benefits, as well as 15 paid holidays! 

To learn more about ESD, follow @sjenvironment on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and San Jose Environmental Services on LinkedIn.

Position Duties

Note: ESD intends to use the candidate pool developed from this recruitment to fill current vacancies, as well as future vacancies that may occur in the coming months throughout the entire department. Descriptions of teams that have Assistant Environmental Inspectors are below:
 
Job Classification Overview – Assistant Environmental Inspector:
Assistant Environmental Inspectors are responsible for collecting industrial and commercial wastewater, stormwater, and Fats, Oils, and Grease (FOG) samples. They perform basic inspection tasks at industrial, commercial, and food service facilities to determine compliance with local, state, and federal environmental regulations. They also assist with the review of pretreatment systems and grease control devices, including evaluation of pretreatment system performance and review of maintenance and cleaning records.
 
Workgroup Overviews 
 
Source Control:
This group is responsible for implementing the Pretreatment Program for industrial and commercial discharges to the San José-Santa Clara Regional Wastewater Facility (Facility). The program is required by the Facility's NPDES permit and is aimed at ensuring that certain dischargers have adequate treatment prior to discharge to protect water quality and the integrity of the wastewater collection system and the Facility. On an annual basis, this group inspects approximately 350 businesses, collects more than 1,900 water quality samples, and reviews more than 900 self-monitoring reports.
 
The Assistant Environmental Inspector position for the Source Control team conducts inspections, sampling, and samples preservations of industrial and commercial facilities and associated industrial and commercial wastewater waste streams daily. Inspection and sampling of these facilities includes lifting automatic sampling devices. Additionally, this position is required to collect samples from sanitary sewer waste streams when conducting surveillance monitoring. To complete these tasks, these positions must use a manhole hook or magnetic lifter and a winch to remove manhole covers when collecting samples.
 
Fats, Oils, and Grease (FOG):
This group is responsible for an inspection program focused on commercial food service establishments with an emphasis on controls for Fats, Oils, and Grease (FOG). This program is required under the City’s Sewer System Management Plan (SSMP). This program provides detailed inspections of more than 4,000 food service establishments in San José.
 
The Assistant Environmental Inspector position for the FOG team conducts inspections of grease control devices daily (approximately 6 inspections per day). Inspection of these devices requires using a magnetic lifter to remove manhole covers on grease interceptors. Additionally, inspecting grease traps requires the use of hand tools and the ability to remove the device’s lid for inspection. To complete these tasks, these positions must use a manhole hook or magnetic lifter and a winch to remove manhole covers when collecting samples.
 
Stormwater Treatment Measures Operations and Maintenance (STM):
The STM group is responsible for inspecting nearly 4,000 public and private stormwater treatment measures installed throughout San José to ensure that they are operating and maintained in good working order. These devices capture and treat stormwater before it is infiltrated into the native soil or discharged into the storm sewer system for certain new and redevelopment projects. In addition, this group inspects Private Land Drainage Areas (PLDA) for trash load reduction and investigates and abates old industrial properties with higher levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). This program is required under the City’s Municipal Regional Stormwater Permit (MRP).
 
The Assistant Environmental Inspector position for the STM team is primarily tasked with conducting early outreach and education to property owners regarding maintenance of stormwater treatment measures. Other duties may include inspection of vault-based stormwater treatment systems (i.e., measurement of sediment loadings and assessing condition of devices), receiving and reviewing maintenance documentation, logging the findings into the database, and collecting photographic evidence. To complete these tasks, these positions must use a manhole hook or magnetic lifter and a winch to remove manhole covers when collecting samples. The Assistant Inspector may occasionally be assigned a limited number of Low Impact Development (LID) system inspections and may also assist with PLDA inspections and PCB old industrial investigations.
 
Note: ESD intends to use the candidate pool developed from this recruitment to fill current vacancies, as well as future vacancies that may occur in the coming months throughout the department.
 
Salary Range
Actual salary shall be determined by the final candidates’ qualifications and experience. The salary range for this classification is:

• $73,881.60 - $89,793.60 Annually 

Minimum Qualifications

Education: Two (2) years of college, INCLUDING two (2) semesters (or equivalent quarter units) of college level chemistry.
 
Experience: None
 
Licenses or Certificates: Possession of a valid State of California driver’s license.

Physical Requirements
The job typically requires physical requirements defined as Medium Work: Exerting up to 50 pounds of force occasionally, and/or up to 20 pounds of force frequently, and/or up to 10 pounds of force constantly to move objects.
 
To view the full Class Specification for Assistant Environmental Inspector, click the following link: https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/sanjoseca/classspecs/1553777 

Selection Process

The selection process will consist of an evaluation of the applicant's training and experience based on the application and responses to all the job-specific questions. You must answer all questions to be considered or your application may be deemed incomplete and withheld from further consideration. Only those candidates whose backgrounds best match the position will be invited to proceed in the selection process. Additional phases of the selection process will consist of one or more interviews.
 
If you have questions about the duties of this position, the selection, or the hiring process please contact Ernesto Zamaguey at Ernesto.Zamaguey@sanjoseca.gov.

Additional Information:

Employment Eligibility:  Federal law requires all employees to provide verification of their eligibility to work in this country. Please be informed that the City of San Jose will NOT sponsor, represent, or sign any documents related to visa applications/transfers for H1-B or any other type of visa which requires an employer application.  

Please note that applications are currently not accepted through CalOpps or any other third-party job board application system.

This recruitment may be used to fill multiple positions in this, or other divisions or departments. If you are interested in employment in this classification, you should apply to ensure you are considered for additional opportunities that may utilize the applicants from this recruitment.

Please allow adequate time to complete the application and submit before the deadline or the system may not save your application.  If your online application was successfully submitted, you will receive an automatic confirmation email to the email address you provided.  IF YOU DO NOT RECEIVE THE CONFIRMATION, please email CityCareers@sanjoseca.gov and we will research the status of your application.