Utility Specialist (5602) - Federal Agreements & Expansion, Power Enterprise - SFPUC (164396)

Job Description

Job Description

Company Description

Amended June 26, 2026 to extend the filing deadline. Candidates who have already applied do not need to re-apply.

This is a Position-Based Test conducted in accordance with CSC Rule 111A.

•    Application Opening: June 17, 2026
•    Application Filing Deadline: July 7, 2026

WHO ARE WE?  
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC)
Headquartered in San Francisco, we have 2,300 employees operating across eight counties serving more than 2.7 million customers in the San Francisco Bay Area – 24 hours per day, 365 days per year.

Our Mission:  To provide our customers with high quality, efficient, and reliable water, power, and wastewater services in a manner that values environmental and community interests and sustains the resources entrusted to our care.

Our Vision:  We are an innovative utility leader, recognized for excellent results in service, safety, stewardship, and inclusiveness.

We are an award-winning and industry-leading utilities organization committed to our customers, community interests, and the environment. To learn more about our organization, please visit our website at

We are proud of our infrastructure and programs, but most importantly, we value our highly qualified and dedicated workforce which ensures that this vision becomes a reality. 

To learn more about working at the SFPUC, visit our career site at -us/careers-sfpuc

Job Description

Under direction of the Deputy AGM for Power in Federal Agreements and Expansion, the 5602 Utility Specialist provides analytical and policy support for issues pertaining to the City’s Federally regulated agreements for electric distribution and transmission services, and provides analytical support for litigation, negotiations and administration of these agreements and tariffs. This includes evaluating the risks and impacts of filings, proposals and disputes, as well as, providing support for the City’s on-going efforts to build out electric distribution and transmission assets, provide service to new customers and acquire the electric distribution grid in San Francisco. 

The 5602 Utility Specialist will be part of a team supporting the City’s valuation and analysis of electric distribution and transmission asset costs; evaluation of terms and conditions for service under Federally regulated tariffs; preparation of analysis, proposals and reports in support of litigation, negotiations and expanding business operations. This position may direct the work of junior analysts.

The essential duties of this position include, but are not limited to:

• Independently perform research, evaluation and analysis of regulations, legislation, regulatory filings, contracts and proposals in order to prepare well-reasoned recommendations for decision makers 
• Serve as Subject Matter Expert for the City’s Federally regulated agreements  
• Develop persuasive written and oral analyses and arguments    
• Supervise and train junior staff and other technical personnel   
• Directly negotiate and/or support negotiations of complex contracts    
• Provide analytical support related to the City's efforts to acquire the electric distribution grid in San Francisco
• Perform other job related duties as required

Qualifications

Education: Possession of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university preferably with major coursework in Law, Engineering, Environmental Studies, Natural Resources, Computer Science, Business Administration, Mathematics, Statistics, Economics or other field related to the utility business; AND

Experience:  Four years of verifiable journey-level work experience in one or more of the following areas: planning, scheduling, cost estimating and resource projecting for mid to large scale projects; water supply/infrastructure management and planning; power operations planning and scheduling; analysis, interpretation and application of utility contracts and regulations in either water, power (electric and/or natural gas), telecommunications, or a wastewater/clean water program; utility market and environmental analysis and planning; power supply and transmission rates and contracts; generation, transmission or distribution planning and design; or long-term utility systems planning.

Substitution: Additional qualifying experience may be substituted for the degree requirement on a year-for-year basis.

One year of full-time employment is equivalent to 2000 hours. (2000 hours of qualifying work experience is based on a 40-hour work week.) Any overtime hours that you work above forty (40) hours per week are not included in the calculation to determine full-time employment.

Applicants must meet the minimum qualification requirement by the final filing date unless otherwise noted.

Every application is reviewed to ensure that you meet the minimum qualifications as listed in the job ad. Please review our articles on Employment Application and Minimum Qualifications and Verification of Experience and/or Education for considerations taken when reviewing applications. 

Verification:  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 How to Verify Education Requirements

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.

All work experience, education, training and other information substantiating how you meet the minimum qualifications must be included on your application by the filing deadline. Information submitted after the filing deadline will not be considered in determining whether you meet the minimum qualifications. 

Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of a completed City and County of San Francisco application. 

Applications completed improperly may be cause for ineligibility, disqualification or may lead to lower scores.

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

Supplemental Questionnaire Examination (Weight: 100%): Candidates who meet minimum qualifications will be invited via a separate link to complete the Supplemental Questionnaire Examination. The purpose of the Supplemental Questionnaire Examination is to evaluate the experience, knowledge, skills and abilities that candidates possess in job-related areas, which have been identified as critical for this position and include, but are not limited to: 

• Knowledge of federal, state, and local laws and regulations related to electric utility operations        
• Knowledge of financial analysis, rate design, load forecasting, and cost-benefit analysis related to utility operations and project planning        
• Ability to conduct independent research and analysis of legislation, regulatory filings, contracts, and related material           
• Ability to negotiate and support negotiations of complex contracts, including ability to serve as technical reviewer on contracts       
• Ability to collect, synthesize, analyze, and interpret a wide variety of information and data and conduct extremely difficult analytical studies            
• Ability to supervise, train, and mentor staff              
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with departmental staff, representatives of other agencies and the public 
• Ability to communicate clearly, concisely and in a well-organized and effective manner, both orally and in writing, including the ability to develop persuasive analyses and arguments

A passing score must be achieved on the Supplemental Questionnaire Examination in order to continue in the selection process and be placed on the eligible list.

Candidates will be placed on the eligible list in rank order according to their final score. Candidate scores on this examination may also be applied to other announcements involving other job titles, when directed by the Human Resources Director.

The department may administer additional position-specific selection procedures to make final hiring decisions.

Additional Information

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

Certification: The certification rule for the eligible list resulting from this examination will be Rule of Ten Scores.

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. Clerical errors may be corrected by the posting the correction on the Department of Human Resources website at 

The terms of this announcement may be appealed under Civil Service Rule 111A.35.1. The standard for the review of such appeals is ‘abuse of discretion’ or ‘no rational basis’ for establishing the position description, the minimum qualifications and/or the certification rule. Appeals must include a written statement of the item(s) being contested and the specific reason(s) why the cited item(s) constitute(s) abuse of discretion by the Human Resources Director. Appeals must be submitted directly to the Executive Officer of the Civil Service Commission within five business days of the announcement issuance date.

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
• Seniority Credit in Promotional Exams
• Right to Work
• Copies of Application Documents
• Diversity Statement

HOW TO APPLY
Applications for City and County of San Francisco jobs are only accepted through an online process. Visit and begin the application process. 

•    Select the “Apply Now” button and follow instructions on the screen 

Applicants may be contacted by email about this recruitment and, therefore, it is their responsibility to ensure that their registered email address is accurate and kept up-to-date. Also, applicants must ensure that email from CCSF is not blocked on their computer by a spam filter. To prevent blocking, applicants should set up their email to accept CCSF mail from the following addresses (@sfgov.org, @sfdpw.org, @sfport.com, @flysfo.com, @sfwater.org, @sfdph.org, @asianart.org, @sfmta.com, @sfpl.org, @dcyf.org, @first5sf.org, @famsf.org, @ccsf.edu, @smartalerts.info, and @smartrecruiters.com).  

Applicants will receive a confirmation email 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, Stefanie Lim, at View email address on ziprecruiter.com or View phone number on ziprecruiter.com.

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.