Career Opportunity

Surgical Procedures Technician (2310) – Citywide - H00187

Recruitment: REF60032N

Published: February 06, 2026

Apply using SmartRecruiters, the City and County of San Francisco's application portal.

About:

The Department of Public Health prioritizes equitable and inclusive access to quality healthcare for its community and values the importance of diversity in its workforce. All employees at the Department of Public Health work to advance equity, inclusion, and diversity with a specific lens and focus on race, ethnicity, gender, sex, sexuality, disability, and immigration status. 

• Application Opening – Friday February 6, 2026
• Application Deadline – Application filing will close on or after Friday March 6, 2026
• Salary: $93,002-$113,100 Annually
• Appointment Type: Permanent Civil Service
• Recruitment ID: CBT-2310- H00187

San Francisco is a vibrant and dynamic city, on the forefront of economic growth & innovation, urban development, arts & entertainment, as well as social issues & change. This rich tapestry of culture and ideas is sustained by our City's commitment to heighten the quality of life for the diverse population of San Franciscans and residents of the greater Bay Area. Our employees play an important role not only in making our City what it is today, but also in shaping the future of San Francisco. 

The Mission of the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) is to protect and promote the health of all San Franciscans. SFDPH strives to achieve its mission through the work of multiple divisions - the San Francisco Health Network, Population Health, Behavioral Health Services, and Administration. The San Francisco Health Network is the City’s only complete system of care and has locations throughout the City, including Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center, and over 15 primary care health centers. The Population Health Division (PHD) provides core public health services for the City and County of San Francisco: health protection, health promotion, disease and injury prevention, and disaster preparedness and response. Behavioral Health Services operates in conjunction with SFHN and provides a range of mental health and substance use treatment services. 

Role description

Under supervision of a Registered Nurse and/or Physician, the 2310 Surgical Procedures Technician acts as a technically trained assistant to a physician in the Operating Room.

Essential duties include:

1. Creates a sterile field for surgical procedures; scrubs, dons gowns and gloves for self and physicians in a manner that adheres to sterile technique; sets up sterile back tables, drapes patient and anticipates needs of and assists physician by selecting and receiving instruments and supplies; holds retractors if requested; maintains vigilance over the sterile fields; recognizes and rectifies breaks in sterility with the assistance of the circulator and other team members

2. Assists with breaking down the sterile field; safely disposing of sharps; removing all instruments and reusable items and begins decontamination process for instruments on the back table preparing operating room for room turnover by removing linens from the operating room table; removes suction liners or docks high volume suction machines for cleaning

3.  As the surgical procedures technician, under the direction of a registered Nurse, sets up for procedures and adjusts setup depending on procedure needs and surgeon's requests; assists in the cleaning and preparation of the physical setting, placing furniture and equipment in correct position; assists with patient transfer from bed or gurney to the operating room table or mobilizer; assists with skin preparation, and positioning of patient; assists with dressing and transfer of the patient

4. Maintains cleanliness and order of supplies and equipment; keeps environment clean; opens sterile packs and dispenses supplies, arranges sterile instruments and supplies in specific fashion; cleans, checks for instrument and powered equipment functionality, decontaminates, and replenishes supplies and equipment; practices financial stewardship with the opening and use of sterile supplies

5. Restocks, assembles and sets up supplies, instruments, and other equipment; cleans and stores instruments as prescribed; selects instrument sets for surgery; reports broken equipment to supervisor

6. Maintains working knowledge of unit’s Policies and Procedures and Standard Work, may explain hospital rules, regulations, and procedures to patients; assists nurses in orienting other personnel in procedures and equipment used

7. May take vital signs and routine swab wound cultures; may measure and record urine output

The 2310 Surgical Procedures Technician may perform other duties as assigned/required.

Please note that incumbents in this classification may be required to perform duties as listed in the class specification, which can be found on DHR’s website: https://careers.sf.gov/classifications/

How to qualify

Education:

Possession of a certificate of graduation/diploma from a school of surgical technology accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP)

OR

Completion of comparable surgical technology training in an accredited community college, the military service, or an accredited nursing education program.

OR

Experience:

Two (2) years of experience performing scrub duties in an acute care hospital providing elective and emergency surgery within the last five (5) years may be substituted for the required education.

Applicants must meet the minimum qualification requirement by the final filing date unless otherwise noted.

NOTES: Please include an attachment in your application of your program certificate; certificate of graduation; and/ or diploma.

CONDITION OF EMPLOYMENT: Basic Life Support (BLS) Certificate Requirement/Provision:

Possession of a valid Basic Life Support (BLS) Certificate issued by the American Heart Association is required as a provision to employment for all positions. Candidates who do not possess such a certification may participate in this examination process and be appointed to a position(s) but will be required to obtain the certificate within two (2) weeks of hire date and maintain validity throughout length of employment. 

Desirable Qualifications: The stated desirable qualifications may be considered at the end of the selection process when candidates are referred to for hiring.

• Completion of or working towards completion of clinical rotation requirements to be completed within one month of application closing.
• Experience performing the role of a surgical technician in an acute care facility.

VERIFICATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:

Every application is reviewed to ensure that you meet the minimum qualifications as listed in the job ad. Review SF Careers Employment Applications for considerations taken when reviewing applications.

Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. If education or experience verification is required, information on how to verify education and experience requirements, including verifying foreign education credits or degree equivalency, can be found at https://careers.sf.gov/knowledge/experience-education/.

Note: Falsifying one’s education, training, or work experience or attempted deception on the application may result in disqualification for this and future job opportunities with the City and County of San Francisco.

What else should I know?

Selection Procedures:

After application submission, candidates deemed qualified must complete all subsequent steps to advance in this selection process, which includes the following.

TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE EXAMINATION: (WEIGHT: 100%)

The Training and Experience Evaluation is designed to measure the knowledge, skills, and abilities in job related areas which may include but not be limited to:

Skill in utilization and maintenance of various instruments and equipment used in operating room or other procedures; and/or organizing skills as related to surgical procedures; nursing skills and practices.

Ability to: follow oral and written instructions; cope with surgical problems; carry out hospital rules, policies and procedures as related in operating room; work closely and effectively with interdisciplinary team members; assist nurses in orienting other personnel to unit, techniques, procedures and equipment; explain procedures to patients; and/or assemble equipment.

Candidates must achieve a passing score on the Training and Experience Examination to continue in the selection process and will be placed on the confidential eligible list in rank order according to their final score.

Additional selection processes may be conducted by the hiring department prior to making final hiring decisions.

Certification

The certification rule for the eligible list resulting from this examination will be the Rule of The List.

Eligible List/Score Report:

A confidential eligible list of applicant names that have passed the civil service examination process will be created and used for certification purposes only. An examination score report will be established, so applicants can view the ranks, final scores and number of eligible candidates. Applicant information, including names of applicants on the eligible list, shall not be made public unless required by law. However, an eligible list shall be made available for public inspection, upon request, once the eligible list is exhausted or expired and referrals are resolved. The eligible list/score report resulting from this civil service examination process is subject to change after adoption (e.g., as a result of appeals), as directed by the Human Resources Director or the Civil Service Commission.

The duration of the eligible list resulting from this examination process will be of Six (6) months and may be extended with the approval of the Human Resources Director.

To find Departments which use this classification, please see the city’s Position Counts by Job Codes and Departments.

Terms of Announcement and Appeal Rights:

Applicants must be guided solely by the provisions of this announcement, including requirements, time periods and other particulars, except when superseded by federal, state or local laws, rules or regulations. [Note: The correction of clerical errors in an announcement may be posted on the Department of Human Resources website at https://careers.sf.gov/.]

The terms of this announcement may be appealed under Civil Service Rule 110.4. Such appeals must be submitted in writing to the Department of Human Resources, 1 S Van Ness Avenue, 4th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94103-5413 by close of business on the 5th business day following the issuance date of this examination announcement. Information concerning other Civil Service Commission Rules involving announcements, applications and examination policies, including applicant appeal rights, can be found on the Civil Service Commission website at https://sf.gov/departments/civil-service-commission

Additional information regarding Employment with the City and County of San Francisco:

• Information About the Hiring Process
• Conviction History
• Employee Benefits Overview  
• Equal Employment Opportunity
• Disaster Service Worker
• ADA Accommodation
• Veterans Preference
• Right to Work
• Copies of Application Documents
• Diversity Statement

Where to Apply 

All job applications for the City and County of San Francisco must be submitted through our online portal. Please visit https://careers.sf.gov/ to begin your application process.

Applicants may be contacted by email about this recruitment. Please consider using a personal email address that you check regularly rather than a work or school account.

Computers are available for the public (9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday) to file online applications in the lobby of the Dept. of Human Resources at 1 South Van Ness Avenue, 4th Floor and at the City Career Center at City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, Room 110.

Ensure your application information is accurate, as changes may not be possible after submission. Your first and last name must match your legal ID for verification, and preferred names can be included in parentheses. Use your personal email address, not a shared or work email, to avoid unfixable issues.

Applicants will receive a confirmation email from notification@smartrecruiters.com that their online application has been received in response to every announcement for which they file. Applicants should retain this confirmation email for their records. Failure to receive this email means that the online application was not submitted or received.

If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact the exam analyst, Katrina Navarro at Katrina.Navarro@sfdph.org or (628) 271-6717

We may use text messaging to communicate with you on the phone number provided in your application. The first message will ask you to opt in to text messaging.” 

The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.