Utility Operator; Springtree Utility Complex

Position: Utility Operator (Springtree Utility Complex)
Description

ABOUT OUR CITY

The City of Sunrise is more than a workplace - it's a community built on our Three Pillars:
Customer Service, Collaboration, and Transparency. We're committed to creating an environment where innovation thrives, teamwork is celebrated, and every employee has the opportunity to grow and make a lasting impact.

As a full-service municipality and one of South Florida's premier cities, Sunrise offers competitive salaries, comprehensive benefits, professional development opportunities, and a strong culture of recognition. Whether you're helping residents, shaping policy, or improving city operations, you'll be part of a team that's passionate about service excellence and community pride.

We take pride in being home to the back-to-back NHL Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers, a vibrant arts and entertainment district, and a diverse community that truly embodies what it means to Live, Work, and Play in Sunrise.

Looking ahead, the City is exploring an Alternative Work Schedule designed to further support employee work-life balance - providing eligible staff with two three-day weekends per month through an every-other-Friday-off model. This initiative is expected to roll out in the early part of 2026, reflecting our continued focus on flexibility and employee well-being.

NATURE OF WORK

This is skilled technical work in operating a major portion of the water and/or wastewater treatment or pumping equipment on an assigned shift. An Operator is defined in Florida Administrative Code 62-699 as "any person who is in on-site charge of the actual operation, supervision, and maintenance of a domestic wastewater or water treatment plant or water distribution system and includes the person in on-site charge of a shift or period of operation during any part of the day.

Operator also means any person operating an electronic control system. Such persons shall be licensed in accordance with Chapter 62-602, F.A.C."

An employee in this class is responsible for performing a variety of semi-skilled assignments necessary to the operation of a municipal water or wastewater treatment plant or auxiliary facility under the supervision of a higher level employee. Responsibilities include but are not limited to: pumping systems; treatment operations; laboratory testing; quality control; sludge treatment, and storage, and preventive maintenance. Utility Operators are required to have basic knowledge in the relationships of microorganism predominance to sludge quality and more complex process like nitrification/denitrification.

An employee in this class may also direct and assist in the repair of equipment, housekeeping and cleaning of treatment units. Supervisors will check the work of employees in this classification on an assignment basis. Work is performed on a rotating shift which might include nights, weekends, and holidays. Tasks, learned through on-the-job training, are of average difficulty. Assignments are performed in accordance with established procedures;

however, the exercise of some initiative and independent judgment is required especially when completing emergency repairs to equipment. Under general supervision, the employee receives instructions orally and in writing; a higher level employee is available to provide technical advice and assistance when necessary. Work is reviewed while in progress and upon completion, through observation and results obtained.

Examples of Duties

ILLUSTRATIVE TASKS

* Conducts routine checks on a water or wastewater treatment plant; inspects each of the various treatment stages; takes samples as required for operational process control and/or regulatory agencies for compliance.

* Inspects area of responsibility to determine that all machinery is operating properly; takes samples of water or wastewater at various stages of the treatment process to determine effectiveness of treatment procedures; on the basis of sample result institutes alteration of processes to provide effective treatment.

* Inspects and adjusts treatment plant equipment such as chlorinators, lime slakers, flocculators, sludge collectors, mixed media filters, chemical feeders, vacuum filters, conveyor systems, screens and related equipment.

* Inspects recording charts and meters, and on the basis of such information adjusts treatment plant procedures in conformance with operating instructions.

* Measures and adjusts slurry feed; checks water pressure on spray nozzles of a slaker; assists in the overall maintenance of the plant.

* Inspects, starts, stops and operates pumps and auxiliary equipment; determines operating conditions and needed adjustments for repairs; assists in general repair of pumping equipment.

* Prepares records of shift operations; may supervise a small group of skilled and unskilled employees; checks the work of employees in the trainee classification for conformance to instructions given.

* Performs related work as required.

Requirements

EDUCATION

* Graduation from an accredited high school,…