Career Opportunity

Associate Mechanical Engineer- Department of Building Inspection (5207 PEX)

Recruitment: RTF0156565-01129688

Published: April 29, 2025

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

About:

• Opening: April 29, 2025.
• Deadline: Announcement may close at any time before 12:00 am on May 3, 2025.
• Range: $146,510 and $178,100 annually.
• Recruitment ID:156566

Appointment Type: Permanent Exempt (PEX) position is excluded by the Charter from the competitive civil service examination pursuant to San Francisco Charter Section 10.104 and shall serve at the discretion of the Appointing Officer.

About Us:
The Department of Building Inspection (DBI) oversees the effective, efficient, fair and safe enforcement of City building, housing, plumbing, electrical, mechanical, and disability access codes for San Francisco’s more than 200,000 buildings. This Position is located at 49 South Van Ness.

Role description

Under general supervision, performs mechanical engineering work in the office reviewing plans for building permits to comply with the California Energy Code, San Francisco Green Building Code, San Francisco Mechanical Code, and the portion of San Francisco Building Code that governs building mechanical and life safety/smoke control systems.
Essential functions include: Assisting the public in obtaining their building permits expeditiously and informing them of related issue in an efficient and professional manner. Associate engineers are expected to perform counter duties, field inspections, assigning work to staff members, respond to public inquires regarding code applications, job status. Performs quality review checks of others and writes reports and correspondence. Responsible for mechanical system compliance of the codes for building construction of all types and sizes, including high and low rise commercial, residential buildings.
Once hired, must complete on-going professional training requirements to familiarize with latest code changes and California state requirements of AB 717 certification.

Examples of Important and Essential Duties:

According to Civil Service Commission Rule 9, the duties specified below are representative of the range of duties assigned to 5207 Associate Engineer and are not intended to be an inclusive list.

1. Prepares engineering designs, drawings and specifications to ensure compliance with codes, standards and project requirements.

2. Prepares cost and quantity estimates for necessary labor, materials and equipment associated with construction, contractors, suppliers, reconstruction, installation, repair, restoration and maintenance.

3. Provides engineering support to construction and operations; reviews existing conditions and establishes suitability for use; conducts studies of processes by identifying, obtaining and analyzing samples and data; performs and coordinates field work activities; analyzes and resolves problems to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements, standards, specifications and performance.

4. Supervises the preparation of detailed engineering drawings, specifications and calculations; assigns and reviews the work of assigned staff and consultants; determines resources necessary to complete assigned work.

5. Reviews engineering drawings, specifications, calculations and work products produced by staff, consultants and contractors to ensure accuracy, adequacy and conformance to standards. Verifies quantity, dimensions, safety requirements, and proper test and start-up procedures.

6. Prepares and supervises the preparation of a wide variety of technical engineering reports, regulatory reports, standard operating procedures manuals, emergency operations plans, minutes, public correspondence and other documentation.

7. Interviews, selects, trains, monitors, evaluates and counsels staff in accordance with appropriate MOUs, Civil Service Commission Rules, and departmental procedures.

8. Prepares a variety of bid documents, including advertisement for bids, instructions to bidders, detailed specifications and contract bonds; reviews and analyzes bids for conformance with specifications and for approval of final awarding of bids.

How to qualify

• Three (3) years verifiable professional mechanical engineering experience, which includes two (2) years experience equivalent to the City and County of San Francisco Class of 5203 Assistant Engineer or higher; AND
• Possession of a current Certificate of Registration as a Professional Mechanical Engineer in the State of California.

Desirable Qualifications:

• Experience in building HVAC/ energy conservation design and/or plan review;
• Familiar with California Building Code, Mechanical Code, Energy Code, and Green Building Code and have experience enforcing these codes;
• Experience in designing the smoke control system in high-rise residential and commercial buildings.

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. More information can be found at: https://sfdhr.org/information-about-hiring-process#verification. 

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.

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.

Selection Procedures

The selection process will include evaluation of applications in relation to minimum requirements. The Department will establish and implement additional screening mechanisms to comparatively evaluate qualifications of candidates including job-related knowledge, skills and abilities. Only those applicants whose qualifications most closely meet the needs of the Department will be invited to participate in the selection process. Applicants who meet the minimum qualifications are not guaranteed to advance through all of the steps in the selection process.

What else should I know?

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. Clerical errors may be corrected by the posting the correction on the Department of Human Resources website at https://careers.sf.gov/. 

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
• Seniority Credit in Promotional Exams 
• Right to Work
• Copies of Application Documents
• Diversity Statement

How To Apply
Applications for City and County of San Francisco jobs are only accepted through an online process. Visit https://careers.sf.gov/ and begin the application process.

Select the “Apply Now” 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.

Information about the Hiring Process: Click here

Human Resources Analyst Information: If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please send inquires to Yvonne Lin, at Yvonne.lin@sfgov.org.

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.