Regulatory Specialist 5620

San Francisco Public Utilities Commission; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 131,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) Wastewater Enterprise seeks a Regulatory Specialist to ensure projects comply with federal, state and local laws. You will inspect facilities, review regulatory documents, and coordinate with various agencies to obtain necessary authorizations.

Essential duties include analyzing regulatory data, advising management, reviewing plans, coordinating with consultants, and maintaining regulatory files while supporting budgeted projects.

Qualifications

• A bachelor’s degree in natural sciences, engineering, environmental or resource planning or related field.
• Four years of verifiable work experience in environmental permitting and regulations; environmental investigations; or related regulatory compliance.
• Possession of a valid California driver’s license.
• Desirable: experience in municipal wastewater and stormwater systems; strong Excel skills; strong written and verbal communication.

Responsibilities

• Research and track all federal, state and local regulations that may affect the department.
• Advise management of pertinent regulations and recommend departmental actions; provide permit processing support.
• Review plans including planning, capital improvement and property management plans.
• Oversee environmental sample collection and analysis programs.
• Assist in presenting to regulatory and public agencies.
• Develop and maintain permit processing and inspection procedures for compliance.
• Establish and maintain relationships with diverse staff and agencies.
• Maintain permit files and records.
• Drive city vehicles to facilities and sites as needed.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Skills

Regulatory compliance knowledge

Environmental permitting

Communication skills

Regulatory reporting

Education

Bachelor’s degree in natural sciences, engineering, environmental or resource planning

Master’s degree substitute for one year of experience

Law degree substitute for one year of experience

PhD substitute for two years of experience

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Job description

San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC)

Regulatory Specialist

Wastewater Enterprise - SFPUC (5620)(166336)

Salary range: $131,300.00 - $159,562.00

About:

• Application Opening: September 15, 2026
• Application Filing Deadline: Application filing will be open at least through October 5, 2026, and will close any time thereafter.
• Recruitment ID: PBT-5620-166336 (RTF0166335-01117987)

WHO ARE WE?

Headquartered in San Francisco, we have 2,300 employees operating across eight counties serving more than 2.7 million customers in the San Francisco Bay Area – 24 hours per day, 365 days per year.

Our Mission: To provide our customers with high quality, efficient, and reliable water, power, and wastewater services in a manner that values environmental, and community interests and sustains the resources entrusted to our care.

Our Vision: We are an innovative utility leader, recognized for excellent results in service, safety, stewardship, and inclusiveness.

We are an award-winning and industry-leading utilities organization committed to our customers, community interests, and the environment. To learn more about our organization, please visit our website at https://www.sfpuc.gov/.

We are proud of our infrastructure and programs, but most importantly, we value our highly qualified and dedicated workforce which ensures that this vision becomes a reality.

To learn more about working at the SFPUC, visit our career site at Careers at the SFPUC.

Wastewater Enterprise

The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) Wastewater Enterprise (WWE) operates and maintains San Francisco's combined sewer system to protect public health and the environment. These services extend across eight urban watersheds, more than 1,000 miles of pipe, 24 miles of transport and storage facilities and benefit every resident and visitor of San Francisco. WWE operates three all-weather wastewater treatment plants, one wet-weather facility, 32 pump stations, eight transport/storage facilities, and 34 combined sewer discharge structures to treat an estimated 34.6 billion gallons of wastewater in a typical year. In addition to treating wastewater, WWE also produces biosolids, a nutrient-rich soil-like product used as a synthetic fertilizer-replacement and soil amendment across the Bay Area.

Role description

Under direction, the Regulatory Specialist assists in assuring that all San Francisco Public Utilities Commission operations, planning and development, property management, maintenance and maritime projects comply with federal, state and local laws and regulations and requirements. Essential functions of the position include: maintaining a working knowledge of the laws and regulations promulgated by various federal, state and local environmental and regulatory agencies; inspecting property, facilities, operations and construction activities to assure compliance with applicable laws and regulations; providing compliance assistance and/or enforcing environmental regulatory requirements; working well with others in multi-tasking situations; coordinating efforts among PUC staff, with other City departments and with regulatory and resources agencies to acquire the necessary authorizations to operate and to undertake new projects and maintenance activities; advising management of pertinent regulations affecting planned or in-progress projects and activities; collecting, reviewing and/or analyzing quantitative environmental data; reviewing and coordinating work of technical consultants; reviewing and/or preparing risk assessment, environmental compliance, environmental monitoring, and/or CEQA/NEPA reports; coordinating with other utilities, regulatory and planning agencies and the public; developing and administering project budgets and establishing and maintaining records and regulatory files. The nature of the job may require performing field investigations on foot in rough terrain and uneven surfaces; confined space entry; climbing and descending ladders and travel and work at distant facilities.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

1. Research and track all federal, state and local regulations that may affect the department.
2. Advise management of pertinent and timely regulations and make recommendations on the appropriate departmental actions. Provides regulatory expertise and permit processing support to managers and staff.
3. Reviews plans including planning and development plans, capital improvement project plans, property management & maintenance plans, and other related plans.
4. Performs or oversees consultants' performance of an environmental sample collection and analysis program.
5. Assists in making technical presentations to regulatory agencies and related public agencies.
6. Implements and assists in developing permit processing and inspection practices and procedures related to compliance with regulations affecting operations and facilities maintenance projects, property development and management and land-use programs to manage environmental liabilities.
7. Develops and maintains effective working relationships with a diverse staff.
8. Establishes and maintains permit files.
9. Drives city vehicles to various wastewater facilities and sites in the City and adjacent locations.
10. Performs all related duties as assigned.

How to qualify

Education:

A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university with major course work in natural sciences, engineering, environmental or resource planning or a related field; AND

Experience:

Four years of verifiable work experience in environmental permitting and regulations; environmental investigations; environmental or other regulatory compliance; or environmental project management; or utility regulatory analysis.

License and Certification:

Possession of a valid California driver's license.

Substitution:

• A Master's degree in natural sciences, engineering, environmental or resource planning, public policy, economics or a related field may substitute for one (1) year of work experience.
• A law degree may substitute for one (1) year of work experience.
• A PhD in natural sciences, engineering, environmental or resource planning, public policy, economics, or related field may substitute for two (2) years of work experience.

One year of full-time employment is equivalent to 2000 hours. (2000 hours of qualifying work experience is based on a 40-hour work week.) Any overtime hours that you work above forty (40) hours per week are not included in the calculation to determine full-time employment.

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

Desirable Qualifications:

• Experience in municipal wastewater and stormwater systems, infrastructure, design or related projects.
• Familiarity with and understanding of basic chemistry principles and nomenclature.
• Intermediate Microsoft Excel skills, including use of pivot tables, lookup functions, conditional formatting, and conditional logic.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Every application is reviewed to ensure that you meet the minimum qualifications as listed in the job ad. Please review our articles on Employment Application and Minimum Qualifications and Verification of Experience and/or Education for considerations taken when reviewing applications.

Verification

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 How to Verify Education Requirements

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.

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, disqualification or may lead to lower scores.

Selection Procedures:

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

In-Person Written Examination (Weight: 100%): Candidates who meet minimum qualifications will be invitedto complete the In-Person Written Examination. The purpose of the In-Person Written Examination is to evaluate the experience, knowledge, skills and abilities that candidates possess in job-related areas, which have been identified as critical for this position and include, but are not limited to:

• Knowledge of federal, state and local laws, regulations and ordinances.
• Knowledge of environmental regulatory processes.
• Knowledge of environmental field and laboratory procedures.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships.
• Ability to develop and implement strategies.
• Ability to communicate verbally and in written format.
• Ability to drive city vehicles while maintaining insurability.

A passing score must be achieved on the In-Person Written Examination in order to continue in the selection process and be placed on the eligible list.

Candidates will be placed on the eligible list in rank order according to their final score. Candidate scores on this examination may also be applied to other announcements involving other job titles, when directed by the Human Resources Director.

The department may administer additional position-specific selection procedures to make final hiring decisions.

What else should I know?

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

Certification

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

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

The terms of this announcement may be appealed under Civil Service Rule 111A.35.1. The standard for the review of such appeals is ‘abuse of discretion’ or ‘no rational basis’ for establishing the position description, the minimum qualifications and/or the certification rule. Appeals must include a written statement of the item(s) being contested and the specific reason(s) why the cited item(s) constitute(s) abuse of discretion by the Human Resources Director. Appeals must submit directly to the Executive Officer of the Civil Service Commission within five business days of the announcement issuance date.

Note

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.

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.