Utility Specialty Technician - Wastewater Collection Division

City of Phoenix; Phoenix (AZ); On-site; USD 33,000 - 49,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Trad"ional pension with employer and

401(a) and 457 plans

Generous medical plans (HMO, PPO, or H

Job summary

The City of Phoenix Water Services seeks a skilled Utility Specialty Technician for the Wastewater Collection team. You will operate a backhoe safely on remote sites to maintain and repair wastewater infrastructure, while supporting field operations and documenting work orders using mobile devices.

You will help set up traffic control, barricades, and support emergency responses, training new staff, and ensuring safety compliance across OSHA, AZ811, and MAG standards.

Qualifications

• 1 year of experience in installation, maintenance, repair, testing, monitoring or locating wastewater collection systems.

Responsibilities

• Operate the backhoe safely on construction sites in remote locations.
• Develop safe traffic control setups and barricade plans.
• Assist with emergency response operations and support other crews.
• Participate in 24-hour on-call rotations for system events.
• Maintain safety standards per OSHA/AZ811/MAG and communicate with team, contractors and residents.

Skills

Backhoe operation

Bluestake knowledge

Computer software experience

GIS / Water Net programs

Education

ADEQ Grade 1 Wastewater Collection Certification

ADEQ Grade 2 Wastewater Collection Certification

CDL Class A with Tank Vehicle endorsement

Tools

GIS software

WaterNet programs

Job description

About This Position

The City of Phoenix Water Services is seeking a skilled and motivated Utility Specialty Technician to join our Wastewater Collection team. This position works under general supervision of a Utility Crew Chief on a Wastewater Collection Construction Crew that performs time sensitive, specialized construction tasks within the wastewater collection system. Technician's primary role is to operate the backhoe safely in remote locations for the maintenance and repair of various Wastewater Collection infrastructure and around other existing underground utilities. The Utility Specialty technician will also utilize mobile devices and asset management systems to receive and document work orders while supporting field operations that are critical to the city's infrastructure.

The Role Also Includes

• Developing safe traffic control setups,
• Preparing barricade plans,
• Placing and removing barricades to protect both crews and the public,
• Supports emergency response operations,
• Assists other crews as needed,
• Participates in 24 hour on call rotations for system events.

Utility Specialty Technicians help train new employees, maintain regular attendance, and uphold strong standards of customer service and teamwork. Throughout all work, they follow City, state, and federal safety standards, including OSHA, AZ811, and MAG requirements, while maintaining open communication with coworkers, contractors, residents, and supervisors.

SALARY

Pay Range: $24.10 - $35.78 per hour.

Hiring Range: $24.10 - $32.46 per hour.

Pay Range Explanation

• Pay range is the entire compensation range for the position classification.
• Hiring range is an estimate of where you can receive an offer. The actual salary offer will carefully consider a wide range of factors, including your skills, qualifications, experience, education, licenses, training, and internal equity.

Your job classification can be found in eCHRIS > Personal Details under your name, located in the top left section of the page.

The pay grade and classification/unit of your current position may be found by looking up your job title on the job description page.

Benefits

• Traditional pension with employer and employee contributions, click here for more details: Pension Information.
• 401(a) and 457 plans with employer contributions.
• Choice of generous medical HMO, PPO, or HSA/HDHP plans.
• Medical enrollment includes a monthly $150 City contribution to a Post-Employment Health Plan.
• Wellness incentive of up to $720 annually.
• Dental, vision, and life insurance options.
• Employer paid long-term disability.
• Free Bus/light rail pass.
• Tuition reimbursement program up to $6,500 per year.
• Paid time off includes 13.5 paid holidays, 12 vacation days, and 15 sick days and personal leave days.
• Paid Parental Leave for eligible employees up to 480 hours (12 weeks) of paid leave for the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child during a 12-month period.
• Federal Student Loan Forgiveness offered through Savi.

For more details, visit: Unit 002 Benefits

Minimum Qualifications

Wastewater Collections requirements:

• One year of experience performing duties involving the installation, maintenance, repair, testing, monitoring, and/or blue stake locating activities for the wastewater collection system.
• This specialty/operational area of assignment and the complexity of the tasks also requires:
  • Two years of experience operating commercial equipment over two tons, six months of which must be operating a backhoe, front-end loader ranging from 3/4 cubic yards to 4 cubic yards, termite, or other related construction equipment.
• Incumbents are required to possess an ADEQ Grade 1 certification in Wastewater Collection at time of application and obtain an ADEQ Grade 2 certification by the end of probation.
• Appropriate licenses and/or certifications must be maintained as a condition of employment in this job classification.
• The City job description can be found here.

Driving Requirements

• This classification requires the use of personal or City vehicles on City business. Individuals must be physically capable of operating the vehicles safely, possess a valid driver's license and have an acceptable driving record.
• This specialty is required to pass an Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) medical examination and possess a class A Commercial Driver License (CDL) with a Tank Vehicle (N) endorsement at the time of application.
• Use of a personal vehicle for City business will be prohibited if the employee is not authorized to drive a City vehicle or if the employee does not have personal insurance coverage.
• This position is required to possess a CDL and therefore, will require the employee to pass an ADOT physical exam to obtain the appropriate CDL.
• Pre-employment drug testing is required, and employees will be subject to unannounced alcohol and drug testing as a condition of continued employment.
• For information regarding pre-screening and driving positions, click here.

Preferred Qualifications

The minimum qualifications listed above, plus:

• 6 Months of experience in/with Bluestake & Underground Utility knowledge.
• Grade 2 Wastewater Collection ADEQ Certification.
• Backhoe Training or Certification.
• Computer Software experience.
• GIS and/or Water Net programs.
• Working with AZ 811.

RECRUITMENT DATES

Recruitment closes November 15, 2026. All materials must be received by 11:59 p.m. on this date.

This is a position-based recruitment and will not result in any ongoing eligibility list. This recruitment and any selection processes resulting from this recruitment may be used to fill other related vacancies within the organization now or in the near future.

REFERENCE

Utility Specialty Technician, JC:53020, ID# 63311, 11/06/2026, USM, JG, Benefits:002

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City of Phoenix is an equal opportunity employer. AmeriCorps, Peace Corps, and other national service alumni who meet the required qualifications are encouraged to apply.