Career Opportunity

Morgue Attendant (2520) - San Francisco Department of Public Health - (EXEMPT)

Recruitment: REF61027Z

Published: September 18, 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, September 18, 2026
• Application Deadline: Application filing will close on or after Friday, September 25, 2026
• Salary: $44.0375- $53.5625/Hourly

https://careers.sf.gov/classifications/?classCode=2520&setId=COMMN

• Appointment Type: Temporary Exempt
• Recruitment ID: TEX-2520-REF61027Z
• Work Arrangement: Onsite

Becoming a City employee means being a part of a team that cares about making a difference. Your work will shape both the present and future of San Francisco. When you work for the City, you’re choosing a job with purpose.

The Mission of the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) is to protect and promote the health of all San Franciscans. Fulfilling this mission requires employees working across our hospitals, clinics, programs, and offices to deliver services and support the communities we serve. Individuals interested in joining SFDPH should expect to work in person across these settings.

The San Francisco Health Network, Population Health, Behavioral Health Services, and Administration are the core divisions of SFDPH. 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.

The applicant pool resulting from this recruitment may be utilized to fill future and current vacancies in this class at other locations within the DPH.

Role description

Under supervision, transfers remains of deceased persons and surgical specimens to autopsy room and prepares bodies for post-mortem examinations and assists with autopsy procedures; prepares and releases bodies to morticians; keeps morgue and autopsy room and equipment in clean and orderly condition; and performs related duties as required. Nature of work involves considerable physical effort and manual dexterity with considerable exposure to disagreeable working conditions. Based on department and operational needs, may need to work weekends, sick days, holidays and vacation.

The essential duties include, but are not limited to the following:  

1. Brings bodies of deceased persons from ward, and patient rooms to morgue and refrigerated compartments,
2. Wraps bodies in sheets and places in refrigerated compartment,
3. Checks storage box for proper temperature, anatomical position, and proper identification of body,
4. Prepares bodies for release to authorized parties after post-mortem examination by aspirating fluids and cleaning bodies according to facility procedures,
5. Receives animal specimens and prepares them for examination, performs specimen dissection, and prepares tissue for testing at a reference laboratory,
6. Cleans autopsy room,
7. Delivers soiled linen to laundry, returns clean linen to morgue and storage room, and performs disposal of chemical and biological waste,
8. Logs information of deceased patients into hospital morgue database,
9. Prepares deceased individuals for family viewing.

The 2520 Morgue Attendant may perform other duties as assigned/required.

Nature of Work: Involves considerable physical effort and manual dexterity with considerable exposure to disagreeable working conditions.

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/?classCode=2520&setId=COMMN

How to qualify

1. Education: Possession of an associate’s degree (AA) or equivalent courses with concentration in Biological Sciences and Anatomy from an accredited college or university; AND
2. Experience: Six (6) months of experience conducting autopsies or surgical grossing in a hospital or medical examiner setting.

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

One-year full-time employment is equivalent to 2,000 hours (2,000 hours of qualifying work experience is based on a 40-hour work week). 

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?

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

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 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. By applying, you accept the Trust and Privacy Policy and you may opt out of text messaging anytime.

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.