HEAVY EQUIPMENT OPERATOR (STREETS)

Employee is responsible for the repair and maintenance of city streets using equipment such as backhoes, front-end loaders, excavators, dump trucks, street paving machines, motor graders, and street sweepers. Assists with drain ditch cleaning, maintenance, and a variety of department projects.

Responsibilities

• Maintain regular and prompt attendance; physically present to work.
• Operate equipment including backhoes, front-end loaders, excavators, dump trucks, and similar machinery for public works projects and ditch maintenance.
• Use hand tools such as shovels, weed eaters, and chainsaws to clear grass, sidewalks, right-of-way areas, and alleyways; perform tasks around trees, wires, cars, personal property, and fellow workers.
• Operate paving equipment (e.g., paving machines, motor graders, rollers, front-end loaders, dump trucks) for street overlay and reconstruction.
• Perform routine maintenance on assigned equipment and trucks.
• Carry out recurring assignments independently with minimal instruction; refer to supervisor for new or unusual tasks.
• Operate street sweepers to clean sand, litter, trash, and debris from public rights-of-way, streets, and highways within city limits; interpret maps to locate work sites.
• Respond to emergency situations as required.
• Interact courteously and tactfully with co-workers and the public.

Requirements

• High school diploma or equivalent.
• Valid Class B Commercial Driver’s License preferred but not required.
• 3–5 years of work-related experience.
• Must pass pre-employment background check and drug screen at the City’s expense.
• Must complete Emergency Management and Incident Command Training within the first three months of hire.

Skills

• Knowledge: Safe and effective operation of equipment and machinery; public works department operations; location of city streets.
• Abilities: Read and interpret construction project plans; pay attention to detail; work under extreme weather conditions for long periods; recognize unsafe working conditions.
• Skills: Operate equipment safely and efficiently.
• Accountability: Errors or poor judgment may result in excessive costs, service delays, or legal repercussions.
• Judgment: Follow well-defined rules, instructions, and procedures; apply appropriate practices or guidelines to each situation.
• Complexity: Work consists of simple, routine, or repetitive tasks with few variations in established procedures.

Working Conditions

• Moderate intermittent physical strength and effort required daily, including lifting, moving, or positioning heavy objects (up to 100 lbs.), pulling, pushing, and remaining stationary or moving for the full workday.
• Driving in adverse weather and troublesome road conditions may be required.
• Constant outdoor work on public works projects, exposed to equipment, noise, odors, chemical fumes, dust, smoke, heat, cold, oil, dirt, grease, and risk of personal injury.
• May require working beyond normal business hours, including nights and weekends, for emergency response.
• High degree of mental concentration, hand-eye coordination, and visual attention for long periods (e.g., operating Class A vehicles or Class C hydraulic equipment).
• Potential risk of injury from improper exposure; may require protective clothing (e.g., gloves, glasses, boots).
• Workday involves sitting, standing, driving, lifting/carrying, repetitive movement (including foot controls), and vision skills (20/20 acuity, color distinction, depth perception).
• Requires normal hearing, in-person and phone communication, and the ability to perform reading, simple math, and moderate stress tolerance.