6138-Industrial Hygienist

San Francisco Planning; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 147,000 - 178,000; Full time

Job summary

The City and County of San Francisco’s San Francisco Department of Public Health is hiring an Industrial Hygienist through a citywide exam for a permanent civil service role. The position is full-time with a salary range of $146,796 to $178,412, and requires advanced degree and professional IH experience.

Applicants will be screened via a citywide exam and must meet education and licensing requirements. SFDPH emphasizes protecting health across hospitals, clinics, and public health programs,

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Industrial Hygiene, Occupational Safety and Health; Environmental Sciences, Health, or Management with 6 semesters of chemistry/biology/physics
• Two years of professional industrial experience at City class 6137 level or higher with hazardous materials management or health hazard control
• Valid driver’s license, or ability to obtain within 45 days of hire
• American Board of Industrial Hygiene certification may substitute for education/experience

Responsibilities

• Perform technically difficult industrial hygiene work with hazardous materials and health/environmental hazards
• Independently conducts routine industrial hygiene monitoring of chemical, biological, and physical agents
• Develops and maintains health and safety programs and policies
• Develops and conducts health and safety training for personnel
• Assist in administrative tasks related to ordinances, codes, and regulations
• Maintain Respiratory Protection Program and coordinate related examinations

Skills

Industrial hygiene

Hazardous materials management

Regulatory knowledge

Education

Master’s degree in Industrial Hygiene or related field

Job description

Department: Public Health
Job class: 6138-Industrial Hygienist
Salary range: $146,796.00 - $178,412.00
Role type: Permanent Civil Service What does this mean?
Hours: Full-time
Exam type:Class Based Test
Rule:Rule of 10
List type:Combined Promotive and Entrance

San Francisco Department of Public Health 252 subscribers

This is a Citywide Exam posting. Your application to this posting is an application to take a citywide exam.

• Application Deadline:Application filing will close on or after Friday June 12, 2026

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 theCity, 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 Servicesoperatesin conjunction with SFHN andprovidesa range of mental health and substance use treatment services.

Under direction, performs technically difficult industrial hygiene work in connection with hazardous materials and other health and environmental hazards in the City and County of San Francisco; Independently conducts routine industrial hygiene monitoring of chemical, biological, and physical agents. Serves as technical resource and advisor in the implementation of occupational safety and health regulations.

• Serves as a technical advisor to departmental management and other personnel in identifying, containing and regulating the use and storage of hazardous materials; in developing and implementing inspection practices and procedures; investigates and evaluates health and safety hazards and coordinates remedial action with representatives from various City and County departments, other agencies, businesses and the public; conducts surveys of potentially hazardous workplace operations, including monitoring for physical, biological, and chemical agents, evaluating results, recommending corrective actions and preparing reports.
• Anticipates, identifies, evaluates, and controls occupational safety and health and environmental hazards for personnel working in proximity to hazardous waste remediation or hazardous materials.
• Develops, modifies, and/or maintains health and safety programs for City and County of San Francisco personnel; develops policies and procedures for responding to hazardous materials incidents and implementation of environmental health and safety laws, codes and regulations.
• Develops and conducts health and safety training, and conducts programs concerning the proper use, storage and disposal of hazardous materials and the regulation of hazardous materials according to law.Advises program and departmental management on matters pertaining to public health and safety; the handling and containment of hazardous materials incidents and evaluation procedures; provides technical support in identifying, preventing and controlling health, environmental and safety hazards; and coordinates compliance with applicable laws, policies, procedures and regulations.
• Assists in administrative tasks related to implementation of ordinances, codes and other regulations; maintains technical reference materials and records; compiles data and prepares reports.
• Maintains Respiratory Protection Program, including recommending appropriate respiratory protection, fit-testing, and coordinating medical examinations and maintaining records.
• Conducts and participates in meetings with professional and business groups concerning industrial hygiene and hazardous materials matters.
• The 6138 Industrial Hygienist 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

1. Education:Possession of a Master’s degree in Industrial Hygiene, Occupational Safety and Health; Environmental Sciences, Health, or Management; or a closely related field from an accredited college or university. Applicant’s college level (undergraduate or masters) coursework must include a minimum of 6 semesters of any combination of chemistry, biology, and/or physics;AND

2. Experience:Two (2) years of professional industrial experience equivalent to the level of City and County of San Francisco classes 6137 Assistant Industrial Hygienist or higher, which must have included professional industrial hygiene activities including either hazardous materials management or identification, evaluation, and control of occupational health hazards, such as noise, radiation, asbestos, various chemicals, etc.;AND

3. License and Certification:Possession of a valid driver’s license; if not a California driver’s license ability to obtain a California Driver’s License within 45 days of hire.

Substitution:

1. Possession of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university in Industrial Hygiene, Environmental Sciences, Health, or Management; Occupational Safety & Health; or in a closely related major (examples include but are not limited to toxicology; chemistry, physics; biology; or mechanical, chemical, or environmental engineering) which includes a minimum of 6 semesters of any combination of chemistry, biology, and/or physics, if accompanied by three (3) years of professional industrial experience equivalent to the level of City and County of San Francisco classes 6137 Assistant Industrial Hygienist or higher, which must have included professional industrial hygiene activities including either hazardous materials management or identification, evaluation, and control of occupational health hazards, such as noise, radiation, asbestos, various chemicals, etc.;OR

2.Certification by the American Board of Industrial Hygiene as a Certified Industrial Hygienist in the comprehensive practice of Industrial Hygiene may substitute for the required education and experience.

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?

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

Assessment Component
Oral Examination (Weight: 100%):Candidates that meet the minimum qualifications will be invited to participate in the oral examination that is designed to measure the knowledge, skills, and abilities in job-related areas which may include but not be limited to:

• Knowledge of Industrial Hygiene and hazardous materials management; identification of chemicals, physical, and biological agents and assessment of chemical, physical, and biological hazards; knowledge of chemical, physical, and biological sampling and analysis theory and practice; and professional standards, procedures, and methods concerning the safe handling, storage
• Knowledge of federal, state, and local regulations relating to the environment, occupational health & safety, and hazardous materials.
• Ability to develop and conduct technical training.
• Ability to conduct ergonomic hazard assessments.
• Ability to work around and with hazardous materials, physical agents, and biological agents.
• Ability to lift, carry, and use standard industrial hygiene equipment and personal protective equipment, including respirators.
• Ability to enter and work in confined spaces such as tunnels, crawl spaces, or sewers, and ability to work in hot and cold environments and elevated heights.
• Ability to climb ladders, walk on scaffolding, and work on construction sites with uneven walking surfaces.
• Knowledge of common noise metrics, units of sound level measurements, and equations for noise exposure calculations
• Ability to estimate and calculate airflows and static pressure in relation to mechanical systems.
• Ability to make independent decisions on protective controls for workers exposed to hazardous stressors, such as noise, radiation, and hazardous biological and hazardous chemicals.
• Ability to communicate with individuals or groups in a clear, organized, and persuasive fashion; make persuasive oral presentations; listen to others; adapt communication to audience.
• Ability to prepare reports, memos, and correspondence that are clear and well written; accurately complete forms, logs, and other work documents.
• Ability to effectively interact, develop, and maintain cooperative working relations with supervisors, coworkers, subordinates, and the public.

Candidates must achieve a passing score on the exam in order 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 theRule of Ten Scores.

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 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 12 months and may be extended with the approval of the Human Resources Director.

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 http://sfgov.org/civilservice/rules .

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

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 [e-mail] 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, Juan Pablo Gonzalez at [e-mail] or [phone].

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.