Blower Operator Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Salary : $47,507.20 - $88,940.80 Annually
Location : 1400 Brander Street, Richmond, VA
Job Type: Full-Time
Job Number: 35M00000498
Department: Public Utilities
Opening Date: 07/09/2026
Closing Date: 7/23/2026 12:42 PM Eastern
Are you Richmond R.E.A.D.Y? Respect. Equity. Accountability. Diversity...YOU!!!
This is an EXCITING time to Join the City of Richmond! We are committed to nurturing talent, fostering growth opportunities, and building strong connections within our workforce. As we continue to make strides to becoming the employer of choice, we are thrilled about the below employee benefit enhancements:

• Virginia Retirement System (VRS)
• Language Incentive
• Referral Bonus
• Tuition Assistance Program

Description
The City of Richmond Department of Public Utilities is seeking qualified candidates to fill a Plant Operator position in the Wastewater Utility Plant. The Plant Operator will perform work of moderate to considerable difficulty in the operating of a wastewater treatment plant in accordance with applicable laws, ordinances, and regulations. The Plant Operator is a career broadband position.
Incumbents serve as an Essential employee, which means that the incumbent is required to work when the City is closed due to public emergencies, critical or hazardous conditions, or inclement weather.
Duties include but are not limited to

• Monitoring, documenting, and optimizing wastewater plant process controls to include adjusting wastewater flow rates, chemical dosage set points, air compressor discharge pressures, and blower output settings;
• Maintaining compliance with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality VPDES permit and the Environmental Protection Agency's federal regulations;
• Recognizing and correcting negative impacts to wastewater quality;
• Sampling, collecting, documenting chain of custody information, transporting, and performing laboratory testing and analysis on wastewater, sludge, and biosolids samples;
• Reading and interpreting gauges, meters, wastewater quality analyzers, and control panels to monitor plant equipment and adjust treatment processes to maintain compliance with the wastewater treatment plant permits;
• Observing and documenting variations in operating conditions and wastewater treatment techniques to determine proper process control adjustments;
• Recording operational data in wastewater control station log books, digital databases, daily log sheets, and supervisory control and data acquisition systems;
• Operating valves, gates, pumps, and plant equipment to control and adjust wastewater treatment processes;
• Adjusting, monitoring, and responding to normal and abnormal operational situations involving the wastewater collection system, combined sewer overflows, retention basin, diversion structure, remote collection stations, and wastewater treatment plant;
• Completing visual inspections of assigned duty stations and treatment facilities several times each shift;
• Perform regular preventative maintenance on plant equipment, structures, tanks, and grounds (groundskeeping and housekeeping);
• General housekeeping and cleaning in and around wastewater operator control stations;
• Ability to use and navigate applications and programs on desktop computers, laptop computers, smartphones, tablets, human machine interfaces, programmable logic controllers, and operator interface terminals;
• Perform complex mathematical calculations to determine areas, volumes, averages, means, geometric means, minimums, maximums, percentages, wastewater flow rates, sludge flow rates, return activated sludge flow rates, waste activated sludge flow rates, filter influent flow rates, pump speeds, blower speeds, chemical demands, chemical dosages, and chemical residuals;
• Active participation in the stormwater pollution prevention program which includes regular inspections and daily groundskeeping responsibilities;
• Walking for long periods of times indoors and outdoors, up and down several flights of stairs, during the day or at night, in all types of weather, wearing the appropriate level of personal protective equipment;
• Active participation in utility wide safety programs;
• Active participation in employee training programs;

Qualifications, Special Certifications and Licenses

• Knowledge of wastewater treatment processes;
• Knowledge of safety principles and safety practices;
• Knowledge of Scada programs used to monitor, control, and document wastewater plant operations and compliance;
• Strong mathematical background in Algebra and Geometry;
• Ability to safely use hand tools;
• Knowledge of wastewater laboratory equipment including spectrophotometers, p.H. probes and meters, dissolved oxygen probes and meters, incubators, ovens, and glassware;
• Knowledge of computerized maintenance management systems

MINIMUM TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE:

• High School Diploma or GED.
• Zone I requires a year of maintenance experience, preferably in the performance of utility tasks (Zones II through V will require additional experience and certifications as defined in the broad band program).
• An equivalent combination of training and experience (as approved by the department) may be used to meet the minimum qualifications of the classification.

PREFERRED TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE:

• Experience with utility plant maintenance;
• Valid Virginia driver's license;
• Microsoft Office Suite including Outlook, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Teams;
• Completion of Wastewater treatment training courses;
• Ability to properly use personal protective equipment.
• Knowledge of wastewater treatment techniques

LICENSING, CERTIFICATIONS, and OTHER SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:
The Plant Operator is a Broadbanded position.

• Incumbents assigned to Zone I require a high school diploma or G.E.D. Must obtain a Virginia Class 3 Wastewater Works Operator License within 18 months of initial hire date. If the license requirement is not met within the specified timeframe the candidate will be separated from employment;
• Incumbents assigned to Zone II require a Commonwealth of Virginia Class 4 Wastewater Works Operator License. Must obtain a Class 3 Virginia Wastewater Works Operator License within 18 months of initial hire date. If the license requirement is not met withing the specified timeframe the candidate will be separated from employment:
• Incumbents assigned to Zone III require a Commonwealth of Virginia Class 3 Wastewater Works Operator License;
• Incumbents assigned to Zone IV require a Commonwealth of Virginia Class 2 Wastewater Works Operator License;
• Incumbents assigned to Zone V require a Commonwealth of Virginia Class 1 Wastewater Works Operator License.

Americans with Disabilities Act Requirements
Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job. Prospective and current employees are invited to discuss accommodations.
ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS: Working conditions may include exposure to travel to other locations within the City of Richmond as well as outside of the City of Richmond; exposure to hazardous physical conditions such as mechanical parts, electrical currents, vibrations, etc.; atmospheric conditions such as fumes, odors, dusts, gases, and poor ventilation; inadequate lighting; intense noise; and environmental hazards such as disruptive people, imminent danger, and a threatening environment.
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS AND WORKING ENVIRONMENT: Due to the nature of work assignments, incumbents must be able to perform detailed work on multiple, concurrent tasks, with frequent interruptions and under time constraint. The essential duties of this classification may require the ability to balance, stoop, kneel, crouch, crawl, reach, stand, walk, push objects, pull objects, lift, use fingers and grasp objects. The working conditions may include exposure to noise, dust, grease, smoke, fumes, gases and potentially hazardous chemicals, working in or with wastewater. In terms of the physical strength to perform the essential duties, this classification is considered to be medium work, exerting up to 50 pounds of force occasionally, up to 20 pounds of force frequently, and up to 10 pounds of force constantly to move objects.
Equal Employment Opportunity Statement
The City of Richmond provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.
The City of Richmond is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, the City of Richmond will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided with reasonable accommodations. If you require reasonable accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to participate in the job application and/or the interview process, please contact Veronica Kenner, by email at HR-ADA@rva.gov.
This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruitment, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.
The City of Richmond Values Veterans. We are an official V3 Certified Company.
The City of Richmond is a proud partner with the US Army Partnership for Your Success PaYS Program.
With over 4,000 employees, the City of Richmond is an "Employer of Choice" among cities throughout the nation. The City strives to hire and retain employees who bring dedication and talent to the workforce. Offering a competitive, cost effective, and quality benefits package is one element of an "Employer of Choice".
The City offers a full range of benefit programs from initial hire through retirement. Please visit our Web site for details.
01
10-point compensable veteran. You must have an existing compensable service-connected disability of 10 percent or more. Other 10-point veteran include disabled veteran or a veteran who was awarded the Purple Heart for wound or injuries received in action, veteran's widow or widower who has not remarried, wife or husband of a veteran who has a service-connected disability, widowed, divorced or separated mother of an ex-service son or daughter who died in action, or who is totally and permanently disabled. Do any of these apply?

• Yes
• No

02
5-point veteran's must have been discharged under honorable conditions and had one of the following: Active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States, in a war, or during the period 4/28/52-7/1/55 or active duty for more than 180 consecutive days other than for training, any part of which occurred during the period beginning 2/1/55 and 10/14/76 or active duty during the Gulf War sometime between 8/2/90 - 1/2/92 or active duty in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized or active duty for which more than 180 consecutive days other than for training, any part of which occurred during the period beginning 9/11/2001 and ending on the date prescribed by the Presidential proclamation or by the law as the last date of operation Iraqi Freedom. Do any of these apply?

• Yes
• No

03
Employees in this job classification are designated ESSENTIAL PERSONNEL and must be available to report to work during disasters, inclement weather, and other declared emergencies. Are you available and willing to work under these conditions?

• Yes
• No

04
Are you available to work rotating shifts which will include nights, weekends and holidays?

• Yes
• No

05
Do you have a valid Commonwealth of Virginia Driver's License?

• Yes
• No

06
Which best describes your level of education?

• High School Diploma/GED
• Some College
• Associate's Degree
• Bachelor's Degree
• Master's/Advanced Degree
• None of the above

07
Which best describes your years of maintenance experience?

• Less than one (1) year of experience
• One (1) to four (4) years of experience
• Four (4) or more years of experience
• No experience

08
Which of the options below most accurately represents your years of experience in Wastewater Treatment Utility Operations?

• Less than one (1) year of experience
• One (1) to four (4) years of experience
• Four (4) or more years of experience
• No experience

09
Which of the following Valid Virginia Wastewater Works Operator Licenses do you have?

• Class I
• Class II
• Class III
• Class IV
• None of the above

10
Which option below most accurately reflects the years of experience you have working with computer systems to monitor plant operations?

• Less than one (1) year of experience
• One (1) to four (4) years of experience
• Four (4) years or more of experience
• No experience

Required Question