Gardener

Overview

About Seattle Center Seattle Center is the region's premier civic, arts and family gathering place in the core of our city and region, home to more than 30 arts, cultural, and entertainment organizations, family attractions, and tourist amenities. Our mission is to create exceptional events, experiences, and environments that delight and inspire the human spirit to build stronger communities. To support this work, Seattle Center employs 220 full-time employees and hundreds of intermittent workers.

As a department of the City of Seattle, Seattle Center contributes to the quality of life for Seattle residents--and the region's economy and image as its top visitor destination.

In 2023, Seattle Center expanded its role to provide operations, maintenance and public safety services for Seattle’s new Waterfront Park, a series of new public spaces on Seattle’s downtown waterfront between Pioneer Square and Pier 62. Seattle Center has brought its deep experience successfully managing public space to the Waterfront in partnership with the non-profit Friends of Waterfront Seattle, which already offers a range of recreational and cultural programming to the community.

Our goal has been to grow Seattle Center’s team by 20% over the last two years to meet this new opportunity, and to build a unified team to support both Seattle Center and the new Waterfront Park.

We are seeking qualified candidates for full-time Gardener to join our small team of professional gardeners that care for Seattle’s Waterfront Park. Seattle Center’s Waterfront Park is 20-acres of new public spaces on Seattle’s downtown waterfront stretching north-south from Pier 62 to Pioneer Square. This is a park for Seattle locals and visitors alike, with lively gathering spaces and year-round educational and recreational park programs celebrating the diverse cultures that define the Pacific Northwest.

This new green waterfront will also add hundreds of new trees and native plants to support the near-shore ocean habitat.

This position works with a team of gardeners near the public, performing detail-oriented gardening that is impacted by a very busy summer tourist season across the central waterfront.

These positions are currently budgeted through July 2028.

• Perform skilled gardening and landscaping work in planting, cultivation, pruning and care of flowers, shrubs, trees, lawn and landscaped areas.
• Understand cultural needs of specific plants and implement the appropriate landscape maintenance needed for a given site.
• Understand irrigation system components and functions. Be an essential part of the monitoring and repair of the system.
• Work independently as well as a team member.
• Strong customer service, communication and teamwork skills while working with a diverse workforce and a multicultural public clientele.
• Operate equipment such as a small tractor, backpack blower, hedge trimmers and chainsaw.
• Utilize Integrated Pest Management, including pesticide applications for weed, insect and disease control.
• Review and follow traffic control plans for landscaping along street edges and medians.

Minimum Qualifications
Minimum of two years’ work experience in landscape construction or maintenance, or in the propagation and maintenance of flowers, plants, shrubs, and trees at a conservatory, greenhouse, or nursery (Combinations of education, training and experience will be evaluated on an individual basis for comparability).

• Washington Public Pesticide operator's license is required after appointment.
• Current Washington State driver's license.

• Two years’ experience as a journey-level landscaper or gardener.
• Knowledge of irrigation systems.
• Experience working with and knowledge of Pacific Northwest plants and landscapes.
• Strong interest in horticulture.
• Strong drive to create beautiful public spaces and experiences.
• The ability to organize work and solve problems.

• Ability to lift up to 50 pounds on a regular basis.
• Willing and able to work outside in all kinds of weather.
• Ability to stand, walk or bend for extended periods of time.
• Ability…