Water Treatment Pump & Mechanical Room Operator

American Water Works Association; Washington; On-site; USD 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

American Water Works Association is seeking a hands-on Pump Operator / Mechanical Room Operator / Filter Specialist to monitor, operate, and maintain mechanical-room equipment and water-treatment systems. Responsibilities include operating pumps and related equipment, inspecting for leaks and issues, monitoring system readings, and performing routine maintenance while ensuring safety procedures and proper reporting.

Collaboration with engineers and field teams is essential to handle escalations.

Qualifications

• Experience operating pumps, valves, filters, piping, and mechanical-room systems.
• Background in water treatment, wastewater, HVAC, plumbing, industrial facilities, utilities, or process operations.
• Knowledge of flow rates, pressure, hydraulics, filtration, and basic fluid mechanics.
• Ability to troubleshoot mechanical and electrical equipment.
• Experience reading P&IDs and technical specifications.
• Mechanical, water-treatment, HVAC, plumbing, or industrial-operations certification is preferred.
• OSHA or equivalent safety training is an advantage.
• Able to work independently and communicate clearly with a remote engineering or operations team.

Responsibilities

• Operate and monitor pumps, motors, valves, filters, tanks, and related mechanical equipment.
• Inspect equipment for leaks, abnormal noise, vibration, pressure, temperature, and performance issues.
• Monitor water flow, pressure, levels, filtration cycles, and system readings.
• Operate and maintain centrifugal, booster, circulation, and transfer pumps.
• Understand valve types, valve positioning, piping layouts, and flow-control systems.
• Operate, backwash, clean, and troubleshoot filtration equipment.
• Perform routine maintenance, lubrication, adjustments, and basic repairs.
• Identify and respond to pump failures, clogged filters, pressure changes, leaks, and hydraulic problems.
• Read and interpret P&IDs, mechanical drawings, equipment manuals, and operating procedures.
• Maintain accurate equipment logs, inspection reports, maintenance records, and incident reports.
• Follow safety procedures, lockout/tagout requirements, and environmental regulations.
• Coordinate with engineers, supervisors, vendors, and field teams when escalation is needed.

Skills

Pump operation

Valve operation

Filter systems

P&ID reading

Troubleshooting

Mechanical systems

Safety training

Independent work

Job description

American Water Works Association is seeking a hands-on Pump Operator / Mechanical Room Operator / Filter Specialist to monitor, operate, and maintain mechanical-room equipment and water-treatment systems. Responsibilities include operating pumps and related equipment, inspecting for leaks and issues, monitoring system readings, and performing routine maintenance while ensuring safety procedures and proper reporting.

Collaboration with engineers and field teams is essential to handle escalations.