City of Palo Alto

  • STREET MAINTENANCE ASSISTANT

  • City of Palo Alto
  • Palo Alto, California United States View Map
Description

The City of Palo Alto Public Works Department is hiring two Street Maintenance Assistants to join our Street Maintenance Crew.

Every morning before businesses open and residents begin their day, our crew is already hard at work. From cleaning our downtown sidewalks and alleyways. Cleaning public parking garages throughout the city to supporting street sweeping operations.

If you enjoy working outdoors, take pride in a job well done, and want to make a visible difference in your community, we'd love to hear from you.

About Public Works
The Public Works Department provides essential services that keep Palo Alto running every day. Our crews maintain streets, sidewalks, public spaces, and other City infrastructure so residents, businesses, and visitors can enjoy a clean, safe, and vibrant community.

When you join Public Works, you'll be part of a hardworking team that values safety, teamwork, and quality service.

About the Position
This position is assigned to the Street Maintenance Crew. Most of your work will focus on cleaning and maintaining Downtown Palo Alto's sidewalks, streets, parking lots/garages, and other public spaces. Your work helps ensure residents, businesses, and visitors enjoy a clean, safe, and welcoming downtown every day.

Typical duties include, but not limited to:
  • Cleaning sidewalks, streets, plazas, around parklets, and other public spaces
  • Cleaning City parking lots and garages
  • Picking up litter, debris, and other materials
  • Cleaning biohazards using City-provided equipment, personal protective equipment (PPE), and established safety procedures
  • Assisting with the cleanup of unhoused sites following City procedures
  • Operating backpack blowers and other maintenance equipment
  • Supporting street sweeping operations
  • Using hand and power tools to complete maintenance work
  • Providing other maintenance services as needed

Two Available Assignments
We currently have two openings within the Street Maintenance Crew. Both positions are Street Maintenance Assistant classifications, but the daily duties and schedules vary slightly.

During the application process, you'll have the opportunity to indicate which assignment interests you most. Final assignment decisions will be based on operational needs, qualifications, relevant experience, and at the sole discretion of the City.
Assignment 1: Downtown Maintenance
Schedule: Tuesday through Saturday
Hours: 3:15 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.

In this assignment, you'll help prepare Downtown Palo Alto for the day by:
  • Primarily work independently
  • Operating a battery powered backpack blowers with a combined weight of 55 pounds. The battery itself weighs nearly 40 pounds.
  • Operating sidewalk sweepers
  • Cleaning and removing debris/litter from sidewalks, plazas, around parklets, alleyways, parking lots/garages, etc.
  • Perform other maintenance activities as needed

Backpack blower usage typically averages from 1 to 2 hours per day, during dry non-Leaf season, and 3 to 4 hours per day during the winter months (Leaf Season), with the remainder of the shift spent performing other downtown cleaning and maintenance duties.
Assignment 2: Street Sweeper Support
Schedule: Monday through Friday - 9/80 Schedule (3:15 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.)

In this assignment, you'll:
  • Primarily work alongside the City's Street Sweeper Operator (SSO)
  • Assist the SSO with cleaning areas the street sweeper cannot access by using a battery-powered backpack blower, brooms, etc.
  • Operate sidewalk sweeper, when needed
  • Provide support for the “Downtown Maintenance” worker, including performing all assigned duties, when needed.
  • Perform other maintenance activities as needed

Candidates with previous experience operating or supporting street sweepers or similar maintenance equipment are strongly encouraged to apply. This assignment will generally be offered to the candidate whose experience and qualifications best match the operational needs of the crew.

What We're Looking For
We're looking for dependable team members who:
  • Reliable
  • Enjoy working outdoors
  • Take pride in keeping public spaces clean
  • Can perform physical work throughout the day, including walking all day
  • Work safely and follow established procedures
  • Value teamwork and reliability
  • Want to make a positive impact in the community, but can also work independently

Experience in janitorial services, public works, facilities maintenance, landscaping, construction, sanitation, street maintenance, or other outdoor labor is highly desirable.
Why Join the City of Palo Alto?
  • Competitive salary and comprehensive benefits
  • CalPERS retirement
  • SEIU-represented position
  • Stable public sector employment
  • Opportunities to learn new equipment and develop new skills
  • Supportive team environment
  • Work that makes a visible difference every day

Ready to Apply?
If you're looking for steady, hands-on work where you can serve your community, build valuable skills, and finish each day knowing you've made a difference, we encourage you to apply.

Essential Duties

Essential and other important responsibilities and duties may include, but are not limited to, the following:

Essential and other important responsibilities and duties may include, but are not limited to, the following:

Essential Functions:
  • Performs a combination of duties as directed, either as part of construction crew or independently, such as:
  • Filling holes in streets and roadways with asphalt or other compounds, and raking, compacting, and smoothing surfaces.
  • Cleaning clogged storm drains or irrigation systems of debris.
  • Digging trenches, placing shoring, provide tools to other workers, breaking up surfaces to be worked on, and clearing area of brush or other related obstacles.
  • Placing barricades and safety cones around area to protect workers and public from injury.
  • Clearing litter and debris from roadside areas. In the performance of duties, may drive light vehicles and use power rollers, tampers, airhammers, and a variety of handtools.

Related Functions:
  • Perform related duties and responsibilities as required.


Minimum Qualifications

Sufficient education, training and/or work experience to demonstrate possession of the following knowledge, skills, and abilities which would typically be acquired through:
  • High school graduate or GED preferred.
  • Experience in outdoor work, general construction, or outside maintenance.


Special Requirements:
  • Possession of a valid California Driver's License.


Supplemental Information

The Selection Process:
  • Applicants will receive recruitment status notifications via email. Governmentjobs.com account also has notification status updates.
  • Applicants will be screened throughout the posting process and highly qualified candidates may be invited to interview at any time after the posting closes.
  • The screening process for this position typically may include a virtual recorded interview and/or panel interviews preceding final interviews with the hiring manager or their designee.


Our online application system is provided byNeoGov. If you have problems while applying online, please contactNeoGov'sLive Applicant Support at (855) 524-5627 between 6:00 AM and 5:00 PM Pacific Time, Monday - Friday.

This position is represented by Service Employee International Union (SEIU).

Compensation (SEIU) :Comprehensive compensation plan, to learn more clickHERE.

The City of Palo Alto is an Equal Opportunity Employer. In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the City will provide reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities and encourages both prospective and current employees to discuss potential accommodations with the employer.

See our Benefits at a Glance Bookletfor more details.
Learn more about our Memorandum of Agreements (MOAs) between the City and its bargaining units, by clicking HERE.

Closing Date/Time: 7/17/2026 11:59 PM Pacific
City of Palo Alto

City of Palo Alto

650-329-2376

The Community


The birthplace of Silicon Valley, Palo Alto, is a community of approximately 68,000 residents and nearly 100,000 jobs. Located on the mid-Peninsula between San Francisco and San Jose, Palo Alto is recognized worldwide as a leader in cutting-edge technology, medicine, and green innovation. The community's treelined streets and historic buildings reflect its California heritage, and, at the same time, many world-class businesses maintain or started offices here, such as Stanford Health Care and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, Amazon, Broadcom, Hewlett-Packard, Houzz, Rivian, SAP and SAP Ariba, Tesla, and Varian Medical Systems. Numerous start-ups are also at home in Palo Alto, arguably making it the start-up capital of the world. Stanford University is foundational to the history and prestige of Palo Alto, reflected in the community's dedication to lifelong learning. Stanford's cultural and educational offerings are integral to the vibrancy and charm of Palo Alto, while the City's exceptional K-12 school district ranks among the top public-school systems in the country. With more than 50% of adult residents holding a graduate degree or higher, Palo Alto is frequently listed as one of the most educated cities in the nation. Palo Alto boasts a genuine sense of community and an active citizenry with strong environmental values. Beautiful neighborhoods are complemented by vibrant commercial corridors and a bustling economy featuring premium shopping and dining options. Excellent healthcare facilities, performing arts, and diverse recreational opportunities are some of the community's incredibly desirable and cherished amenities. To learn more, visit https://www.paloalto.gov/Departments/City-Manager/Latest-News

City Government

Palo Alto is a full-service charter city with a council-manager form of government. The seven-member City Council is elected at large, and the City Council annually selects the Mayor and Vice Mayor from among its members. The Mayor and City Council appoint the City Manager, City Attorney, City Clerk, and City Auditor. The City Manager is responsible for the strategic direction and day-to-day operations of the City. Palo Alto is organized into 15 departments/offices with 1,093.10 authorized positions in FY 2025. There is also a FY 2025 capital budget of $316.2 million. Palo Alto owns and operates its own utilities, including electricity (carbon-neutral), gas, water, wastewater, and an expanding fiber network. This dynamic municipal environment ensures an ever-engaging platform for unique problem-solving and advances new initiatives, including sustainability, broadband, and effective service delivery. Community assets also include five libraries, 36 parks, five community centers, a museum and zoo, youth centers, a general aviation airport, an 18-hole golf course, a regional water treatment plant, and wildland open space preserves at the San Francisco Bay and in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains offering 41 miles of walking/biking trails in addition to its police, fire, and ambulance services. Palo Alto has long been a leader in sustainability, and the City's ambitious greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction goals are part of what sets it apart. Since the City's first Climate Protection Plan was passed in 2007, Palo Alto has set goals that exceed State and Federal targets. Today, the City's goal to reduce emissions 80% below 1990 levels by 2030 (the "80x30" goal) and achieve carbon neutrality by 2030 guides sustainability efforts. An award-winning City, Palo Alto is recognized nationally as innovative and well-managed. City services and performance also receive impressive marks from community members in the Palo Alto Community Survey.

Many of those ratings put City programs and services in the highest percentiles among the hundreds of benchmark cities. Palo Alto makes decisions through comprehensive processes and proactively seeks to involve its extremely informed, educated, and engaged residents. Projects are naturally a cooperative effort among the City Council, Boards, Commissions, Committees, engaged residents, neighborhoods, businesses, property owners, and staff.

Join an Award Winning Team 

Palo Alto is an award-winning City recognized nationwide as innovative and well-managed. Palo Alto is one of a small number of California cities with a AAA bond rating. Recently, Palo Alto became one of the most livable cities in the U.S. by Livability.com. It's the only city to receive the Platinum Beacon Award in sustainability best practices by California’s Institute for Local Government. We offer a variety of career paths that relate to building and improving communities. The City has fourteen departments employing 1,000 full-time staff. Police officers, fire fighters, paramedics, and building inspectors keep us safe. Engineers and public works staff build and re-build the physical infrastructure. City planners help envision and shape future community growth. Recreation, arts and library professionals enhance community life. Utilities provides electric, gas, water, sewer and other services. Internal services departments help manage, staff, and protect the City.

Want to learn more about our benefits? Learn more by reviewing our "Benefits at a Glance Booklet."

Contact Us

Phone: 650-329-2376   

Email: Recruit@paloalto.gov   

Location: City Hall, 1st Floor | 250 Hamilton Ave 94301 | View Map

 

Show more
Apply Now Employer Profile

MORE JOBS

Show More