Career Opportunity

Criminalist I, Chemical Analysis (8259) - San Francisco Police Department

Recruitment: RTF0166969-01114442

Published: August 21, 2026

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

About:

The San Francisco Police Department was established in 1849 and continues to evolve as an effective, inclusive, and modern police organization. We are focused on maintaining the trust of the people who live, work, and visit San Francisco by reviewing our initiatives, learning from best practices, and adapting to the changing needs of the City.

The San Francisco Police Department stands for safety with respect for all. We are committed to just, transparent, unbiased, and responsive policing carried out with dignity and in partnership with the community. We collaborate with community members and City partners to promote safety, fairness, and trust across San Francisco, with an emphasis on strong relationships and support for the well‑being of our neighborhoods.

The Department is dedicated to excellence in law enforcement and to the people, traditions, and diversity of San Francisco. Our mission is to keep the public safe by protecting life and property, preventing crime, and reducing the fear of crime. We provide service with understanding, respond with compassion, and perform with integrity as we continue to grow as a forward‑thinking organization serving one of the most dynamic cities in the country.

• Application Opening: August 21, 2026
• Application Deadline: Apply immediately, announcement may close anytime after 2 weeks from posting date.
• Class & Compensation: $104,338 - $126,802
• Appointment Type: Permanent Exempt - This position is excluded by the Charter from the competitive Civil Service examination process and shall serve at the discretion of the Appointing Officer. The duration of the appointment shall not exceed 36 months.
• Work Location:  1995 Evans Ave, San Francisco, CA 94124
• Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, Full-time. Up to one day a week Telecommuting work schedule available in line with CCSF policy based on available work/assigned duties. Some assignments may require working weekends and/or holidays.

Role description

Under general supervision, the Criminalist I in Chemical Analysis receives on‑the‑job training in the examination and identification of chemical substances and the performance of basic chemical analytical tests. The Criminalist I initially trains in foundational chemical analysis procedures, including evidence screening, reagent preparation, sample handling, and routine instrument operation and maintenance. As training progresses, the Criminalist I is assigned routine laboratory duties and, once fully trained, advances to increasingly complex chemical analysis tasks and participates in chemical analysis casework.

Essentials Duties & Responsibilities:

1. Retrieves evidence from crime scenes, property control and/or medical examiner's office or from other custodians following established chain of custody procedures.
2. Preserves evidence following established laboratory standards by inventorying, documenting, and safekeeping evidence.
3. Complies with established quality control procedures to ensure proper functioning and maintenance of laboratory equipment and reagents, trains lab staff and officers in its use.
4. Adheres to established safety standards in the preparation, storage and disposal of chemicals to ensure personal safety and validity of the scientific process.
5. Documents case observations and interpretations through detailed notes, photographs, sketches, charts, etc.
6. Prepares and participates in the review of technical reports on interpretation of case examinations.
7. Uses and maintains highly technical laboratory instruments and equipment.
8. Presents court testimony as an expert witness concerning conclusions drawn from laboratory examinations and analyses.
9. Identifies controlled substances such as cocaine, heroin, pharmaceuticals, and others.
10. Assists in the breath alcohol analysis and instrumental support.
11. Participates in proficiency testing to comply with national quality assurance standards.

The Criminalist I performs related duties as assigned.

How to qualify

How to qualify: To be considered, you must possess the following education and experience:

1. Education: Possession of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited four-year college or university with major course work in criminalistics, chemistry, biochemistry, molecular biology, or a closely related physical science field.

• Course work: Must include 8 semester units of chemistry with lab and 8 units of organic chemistry with lab.
  • Verification: To be considered, you must upload your transcript with completion of these courses.

AND

2. License: Possession of a valid driver’s license.

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

• Demonstrated interest in forensic chemistry or criminalistics through coursework, internships, workshops, or participation in professional development activities.
• Familiarity with chemical analysis principles such as chromatography, spectrophotometry, or other instrumental methods used in forensic testing.
• Experience documenting laboratory observations, maintaining notes, and preparing technical summaries with attention to accuracy and detail.

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

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.

All work experience, education, training and other information substantiating how you meet the minimum qualifications must be included on your application by the filing deadline. Information submitted after the filing deadline will not be considered in determining whether you meet the minimum qualifications.

Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of a completed City and County of San Francisco application.

Applications completed improperly may be cause for ineligibility or disqualification.

Background Investigation: Prior to employment with the San Francisco Police Department, a thorough background investigation will be conducted to determine the candidate’s suitability for employment. The investigation may include, but not be limited to: criminal history records, driving records, drug/alcohol screening, and other related employment and personal history records. Reasons for rejection may include use of controlled substances and alcohol, felony conviction, repeated or serious violations of the law, inability to work with co-workers, inability to accept supervision, inability to follow rules and regulations or other relevant factors. Candidates may be required to undergo drug/alcohol screening, and must clear Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation fingerprinting. Criminal records will be carefully reviewed; candidates who do not report their complete criminal records on their applications will be disqualified. Applicants will be fingerprinted.

What else should I know?

Applications for City and County of San Francisco jobs are only accepted through an online process.

Visit https://careers.smartrecruiters.com/CityAndCountyOfSanFrancisco1/ and begin the application process.

• Select the “I’m Interested” button and follow instructions on the screen

Applicants may be contacted by email about this recruitment and, therefore, it is their responsibility to ensure that their registered email address is accurate and kept up to date. Also, applicants must ensure that email from CCSF is not blocked on their computer by a spam filter. To prevent blocking, applicants should set up their email to accept CCSF mail from the following addresses (@sfgov.org, @sfdpw.org, @sfport.com, @flysfo.com, @sfwater.org, @sfdph.org, @asianart.org, @sfmta.com, @sfpl.org, @dcyf.org, @first5sf.org, @famsf.org, @ccsf.edu, @smartalerts.info, and @smartrecruiters.com).

Applicants will receive a confirmation email 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 Recruitment Analyst, Danny Wan, at danny.wan@sfgov.org

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
• Right to Work
• Copies of Application Documents
• Diversity Statement

SFPD Recruitment: https://www.joinsfpd.com/

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.