City of Palo Alto

  • Heavy Equipment Operator (WGW)

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

Job Description

Description

The Position
Palo Alto is the only city in California that offers a full range of utility services to its citizens and businesses. With over 100 years of successful public utility operations, Palo Alto continues its tradition of delivering safe services, local decision-making on policies, utility rate-setting, environmental programs, and tailored solutions for the community. The Heavy Equipment Operator position is in the Water Gas and Wastewater Operations (WGW Operations) Division, which is part of the City of Palo Alto Utilities Department. Water Gas Wastewater Operations is responsible for the maintenance, installation, and demolition of underground water, gas, and wastewater utilities. Learn more about the City's Utilities Department, click here.

The ideal candidate will be possess the following skills/attributes:
  • Extensive experience using a backhoe
  • Safety-conscious
  • Detail-oriented
  • Experience managing heavy equipment
  • Excels in operating machinery
  • Reliable team player
  • Capable of handling the physical demands of construction work in various conditions.

Schedule:
  • 9/80 schedule, Monday - Thursday 6:30 am - 4:00 pm and Fridays 6:30 am- 3:00 pm with every other Friday off.
  • This role requires regular in-person attendance at our Municipal Service Center.

To learn more about the SEIU compensation plan, click here!

Essential Duties

Essential and other important responsibilities and duties may include, but are not limited to, the following:
  • Works with Utilities Installer/Repairer Lead or Utilities Installer/ Repairer operating equipment used during installation, maintenance, and repair of the water, gas, and wastewater system and the installation of underground piping system
  • Operates backhoe to excavate trenches to install, maintain, and repair City's utility system
  • Operates a front-end loader to backfill trenches and load trucks
  • Complies with safety standards and practices
  • Knowledge of safety practices and procedures in working with Heavy Equipment

To review the 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:
  • Completion of High School, GED, or equivalent
    and
  • One year of experience operating type(s) of heavy equipment used in area of assignment

Special Requirements:
  • Possession of a valid California Class A commercial driver's permit with appropriate endorsements required within sixty days of appointment with the ability to obtain a license within six months.
  • Ability to pass a drug test as mandated by the Department of Transportation.


Supplemental Information

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

The Selection Process
  • Recruitment status notifications will be sent via email or text (please enroll in text alerts when applying).
  • The screening process for this position will include a Skills (hands-on) Assessment using a CAT backhoe and/or panel interviews preceding final interviews with the hiring manager or their designee.
  • More than one position may be filled through this posting.
  • An eligible list may be established from this recruitment and may be used to fill future vacancies for up to six (6) months, or until the list has been exhausted.

Recruitment Timeline (All dates subject to change) :
First Application Review: October 12th
Skills Assessment: Week of November 2nd
Final Interview: Week of November 16th

Our online application system is provided by NeoGov. If you have problems while applying online, please contact NeoGov's Live Applicant Support at (855) 524-5627 between 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: 10/18/2026 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: Recruit@paloalto.gov   

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

 

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