Junior Engineer (Mechanical) [5201] - Citywide (C00450)

THIS IS A CITYWIDE EXAM POSTING. Your application to this posting is an application to take a citywide exam.

If you pass the exam, you will be emailed your score and ranking on the eligible candidate list. When a department has an open position with this job classification they will use this eligible list to hire for that position. Departments will contact candidates from this list to gauge interest in their specific roles. Learn more about the City’s hiring process here: https://careers.sf.gov/knowledge/process/

• Application Opening: April 21, 2026
• Application Filing Deadline: May 11, 2026 at 11:59 PM
• Annual Salary: $ 113,282 to 137,670

San Francisco is a vibrant and dynamic city, on the forefront of economic growth & innovation, urban development, arts & entertainment, as well as social issues & change. This rich tapestry of culture and ideas is sustained by our City's commitment to heighten the quality of life for the diverse population of San Franciscans and residents of the greater Bay Area. Our employees play an important role not only in making our City what it is today, but also in shaping the future of San Francisco. 
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Under supervision, performs beginning-level engineering work in the field and the office following established engineering methods and procedures; assists professional engineers in tasks requiring advanced engineering skill and/or judgment; makes contacts with the public, contractors, and others on engineering matters; gathers, prepares, and maintains engineering data, records, and reports; applies engineering principles and practices to civil, mechanical, electrical, environmental, or transportation engineering problems; performs related duties as required. The Junior Engineer may direct the work of technical and/or clerical staff.

Examples of Major and Essential Duties:

1. Prepares or assists in preparing studies, calculations, designs, drawings, sketches, and plans using AutoCAD and other software tools.

2. Makes field inspections of existing structures and sites to determine necessity for future construction, repair, or maintenance; conducts preliminary field studies and surveys and collects data relative to the preparation of designs and drawings.

3. Makes regular field inspections of construction and repair projects in progress to ensure conformance with plans, specifications, and codes; checks and records work progress at various construction sites.

4. Prepares or assists in the preparation of reports, contract specifications, lists of materials, cost estimates, schedules, and progress payments.

5. Prepares or assists in the preparation of departmental reports and reports concerning field conditions, the progress of projects, the results of studies, and other matters.

6. Provides written and oral responses to a variety of inquiries from other agencies, contractors, and the general public.

7. May direct the activities of technical and/or clerical staff.

8. Prepares correspondence and minutes.

9. Performs specialized duties in the areas of civil, mechanical, electrical, transportation and/or environmental engineering.

1. Possession of a baccalaureate degree or graduate degree that is accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) with a major in Aeronautical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Materials Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or Mechatronics Engineering.

OR

2. Possession of a baccalaureate degree or graduate degree from a non-ABET accredited program with a major in Aeronautical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Materials Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or Mechatronics Engineering AND possession of a valid Engineer-in-Training certificate issued by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES).

OR

3. Possession of a Professional Engineer (PE) license in Mechanical Engineering from the California Board of Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors and Geologists.

Notes:

A)      Candidates who are projected to graduate with one of the above degrees within six months of the filing deadline will be invited to take the examination, but will not be eligible to be hired until they have successfully met one of the above Minimum Qualifications. Candidates who are within six months of graduation from a non-ABET accredited program must already possess an EIT by the filing deadline in order to be invited to the examination.

Candidates who successfully pass the examination for this recruitment and are within six months of graduation will be placed on the eligible list under general waiver and will not be eligible to compete for positions until verification of graduation is received, reviewed and approved by the Department of Human Resources engineering analyst. Eligibles under general waiver are responsible for providing a diploma, transcript or notice from the school's Registrar verifying successful completion of the degree program. Once approved, the analyst will e-mail the candidate that their waiver has been removed and the candidate will be eligible to compete in future certifications for the remaining duration of the eligible list.

B)      Most positions also require a valid California driver license.

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 verification is required, information on how to verify education 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.

FLEXIBLE STAFFING - Promotional Opportunities under the Flexible Staffing Program:
Permanent incumbents in class 5201 Junior Engineer are eligible to advance to positions in the Assistant Engineer class after obtaining an Engineer-in-Training Certificate from the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying, completing one year of satisfactory service with a performance evaluation of competent and effective as a Junior Engineer within the same department, and with the approval of the Appointing Officer. Promotion to the Assistant Engineer class is not automatic.

Flexible Staffing lists will be established for class 5203 Assistant Engineer when the incumbent has met the following requirements:

• permanent civil service appointment as a 5201;
• completion of one year of satisfactory service as a permanent civil service 5201;
• certification as an Engineer-in-Training; and
• the department requests to flexibly promote an incumbent into an approved budgeted position.

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

Minimum Qualification Supplemental Questionnaire (MQSQ): Candidates may be required to complete a MQSQ as part of the employment application at a later time. This MQSQ is designed to obtain specific information regarding an applicant's experience in relation to the Minimum Qualifications (MQ) for this position. The MQSQ will be used to evaluate if the applicant possesses the required minimum qualifications.

Mechanical Engineering Written Examination (Weight 100%): Candidates will be administered a written multiple-choice exam to determine their relative knowledge, skill and ability level in one or more of the following job related areas as appropriate. These areas may include, but not be limited to: Knowledge of Computational Tools; Knowledge of Ethics and Professional Practice; Knowledge of Engineering Economics; Knowledge of Dynamics, Kinematics and Vibrations; Knowledge of Mechanics of Materials;. Knowledge of Material Properties and Processing; Knowledge of Fluid Mechanics; Knowledge of Thermodynamics; Knowledge of Heat Transfer; Knowledge of Measurements, Instrumentation and Controls; Knowledge of Mechanical Design and Analysis; and Ability to perform mathematical calculations.

This is a standardized written multiple-choice examination. In accordance with Civil Service Rule 111.11.4, inspection privileges do not apply to the questions and answers in this examination. This multiple-choice exam will be administered either on a computer or in a paper format. The type of format will depend on the size of the qualified applicant pool. Qualified candidates will be notified of the type of exam format in their exam appointment notification.

Your score will be valid and 'banked' for three years, starting from the date of the examination. This means that, during this three-year time period, you will not be required to re-take this test. If the selection process for a future announcement is held within one year of the date of this examination and it includes this exam your score will be automatically applied to that announcement. However, after one year, you have the option to either (a) apply your test score to the other announcement or (b) re-take the test. Re-testing is permitted no sooner than one year from the date of the examination and only in association with your eligibility for another announcement for which the test is used. Please note that, should you re-test, your re-test score would become your official score since it is the most recent.  

Note: A passing score must be achieved on all examination components in order to be placed on the Eligible List. The hiring department may administer additional position-specific procedures to make final hiring decisions.

Candidates scores on this examination may also be applied to other announcements involving other job titles, when directed by the Human Resources Director.  

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

To find Departments which use this classification, please see the city’s Position Counts by Job Codes and Departments.

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 https://sf.gov/departments/civil-service-commission.

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
• Veterans Preference
• Right to Work
• Copies of Application Documents
• Diversity Statement

HOW 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.  

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 [email protected] 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. 

Exam Analyst Information: If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact the exam analyst, Jaclyn Lerch, by email at [email protected].
Recruitment ID: REF60410B

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.