Senior Permit Specialist- Fire Department

Our diverse and inclusive workforce of more than 7,000 employees play a key role in the success of San José, the heart of the Silicon Valley. All City of San José employees work together as one team to make San José a vibrant, innovative, and desirable place to live and work. Visit here to learn more about our One Team Leadership Values and Expectations, including quality and excellent customer service and here to learn more about San José.

The City of San José is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants for all job openings will be considered without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, veteran status or any other consideration made unlawful under any federal, state or local laws. The City of San José is committed to offering reasonable accommodations to job applicants with disabilities. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please contact us at 408-535-1285, 711 (TTY) , or via email at CityCareers@sanjoseca.gov .

About the Department

The San José Fire Department's (SJFD) mission is to serve the community by protecting life, property, and the environment through prevention and response. SJFD is a high-volume, high-performance, “all hazard” fire department, responding to approximately 110,000 calls for service each year from 34 Fire Stations. SJFD’s service area includes a number of high-hazard occupancies, including an international airport; a general aviation reliever airport; five major hospitals (including two trauma centers, and five emergency departments); the SAP Center, home of the NHL’s San Jose Sharks (17,500 capacity); PayPal Park, home of MLS’s San Jose Earthquakes (18,000 capacity); San José State University (the oldest public institution of higher education on the West Coast) with a student population of nearly 40,000; three super regional malls; approximately 100 high-rise structures; and the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

For more information on the San José Fire Department (SJFD), please visit the website here.

Please note that applications are currently not accepted through CalOpps or any other third-party job board application system. To apply, applicants must complete an application via the City of San Jose’s website at www.sanjoseca.gov/citycareers .

Position Duties

The San Jose Fire Department is currently seeking to fill one (1) full-time Senior Permit Specialist vacancy in the Bureau of Fire Prevention.

The salary range for this classification is:

• Senior Permit Specialist: $82,534.40 - $100,505.60 annually

Actual salary shall be determined by the final candidates’ qualifications and experience. In addition to the starting salary, employees in the Senior Permit Specialist classification shall also receive an approximate five percent (5%) ongoing non-pensionable compensation pay.

The Sr. Permit Specialist performs a variety of construction review, permit issuance, and customer service functions related to the plan review processes and permit issuance. This position serves as a key resource to applicants, contractors, design professionals, and City staff by providing guidance on permit requirements, code compliance, and development review processes.

Key duties include but are not limited to:

• Processes and issues a variety of Fire permits for large scale multi-family, tract home projects, commercial and single-family projects.
• Receive/obtain and review a variety of fire protection and hazmat applications, construction plans and supporting documentation for completeness, accuracy, and conformance with state, county and local codes and other applicable criteria; secures missing information from applicants; determines the required level of plan review and/or inspection, based on submittal documents and enters detailed project data into computer-based systems.
• Research project address and files regarding prior actions, decisions, and development activities to support new project submittal; and ensure all necessary approvals are obtained from City Departments and external agencies.
• Respond to inquiries and confer with developers, engineers, contractors, architects, and the public concerning development review requirements, fire codes, and permit regulations in-person at the public counter, on the phone, virtually or by email.
• Coordinate project workflow and meetings between City staff, contractors, and applicant development teams.
• Act as a mentor and provide technical direction on fire protection and hazardous materials permits processes, policies and procedures to city staff and the general public.
• Calculate and issue plan check, inspection and permit fee invoices as necessary.
• Resolve permit review complications, complaints and customer service issues.
• Perform other duties of similar nature or level as required.

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.

Minimum Qualifications

Education: Completion of high school, General Equivalency Diploma (G.E.D.) or equivalent.

Experience: Two (2) years of experience as a Permit Specialist or equivalent in a public agency.

Acceptable Substitutions: Associate’s degree from an accredited college and one (1) year of experience as a Permit Specialist or equivalent in a public agency.

Licenses: Valid California Driver's License or the ability to obtain one.

Other Qualifications

The ideal candidate will possess the following competencies, as demonstrated in past and current employment history.

• Job Expertise - Demonstrates knowledge of and experience with applicable professional/technical principles and practices, Citywide and departmental procedures/policies and federal and state rules and regulations, including ability to read, comprehend, and interpret building plans and knowledge of Zoning, Building and/or Fire Code terminology, administration and permitting procedures. Ability to learn and use the department's automated permit processing database system and development related programs.

• Customer Service - Demonstrates the ability to anticipate customers' needs and deliver services effectively and efficiently in a timely, accurate, respectful and friendly manner.

• Computer Skills - Experienced with common business computer applications including but not limited to: MS Outlook, MS Word, MS PowerPoint, MS Access, and MS Excel.

• Communication Skills - Communicates and listens effectively and responds in a timely, effective, positive and respectful manner; written reports and correspondence are accurate, complete, current; well-organized, legible, concise, neat, and in proper grammatical form.

• Problem Solving - Approaches a situation or problem by defining the problem or issue; determines the significance of problem(s); collects information; uses logic and intuition to arrive at decisions or solutions to problems that achieve the desired outcome.

• Teamwork & Interpersonal Skills - Develops effective relationships with co-workers and supervisors by helping others accomplish tasks and using collaboration and conflict resolution skills.

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 these positions, the selection or hiring processes, please contact Laura Black at laura.black@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.

You must answer all job-specific questions to be considered for this vacancy or your application will be deemed incomplete and withheld from further consideration. Applicants are expected to write their own essays/responses.

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.

AI and the Hiring Process

We recognize that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming part of daily life and can be a valuable tool for learning, research, and professional growth. We encourage candidates to use AI responsibly as a support in preparing application materials, live assessments, and interviews. However, we value authenticity, accuracy and truthfulness. Application responses and interview answers must reflect your own knowledge, skills, and experiences. While AI can supplement preparation, it cannot replace the originality and judgment we look for in our employees. This ensures fairness, transparency, and equity for all applicants in the hiring process.

The City of San Jose offers a wide range of core health benefits including Medical, Dental, Vision, Employee Assistance Program, Life Insurance, Disability, and Savings Plans. Please visit the City's benefits pagefor detailed information on coverage, cost, and dependent coverage.

For information on the City’s Retirement Plan(pension for full-time employees), please visit the Office of Retirement Services website. You will be able to view information based on different Sworn/Federated job classification.

In additional to the benefits above, there is an additional perks siteto explore further benefits of working for the City of San Jose like paid leave, educational reimbursements, and holiday pay are specific to the job classification and union membership.

Closing Date/Time: 6/22/2026 11:59 PM Pacific

• 

• City of San Jose

• 408-535-1285

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