Electric Division Manager in Santa Clara, California at City of Santa Clara

The City of Santa Clara’s Electric Utility Department, Silicon Valley Power (SVP) is recruiting for an Electric Division Manager in the Generation Division. This position is to lead the safe, reliable operation and maintenance of SVP’s power plants. This hands-on management role oversees technical teams, outages, contractors, budgets, and initiatives to sustain long-term asset performance.

The Department:
SVP currently provides over 746 Megawatts of power to residential and business customers within Santa Clara, of which 40 percent of comes from carbon-free renewable resources with a commitment to only procure new energy sources that are renewable and/or greenhouse gas-free (GHG) to the city. In addition to using green energy from large-scale wind, solar, geothermal and hydroelectric projects outside of the area, SVP employs innovative ways to locally produce electricity by operating Thermal Generation facilities utilizing Simple Cycle and Combined Cycle technologies. It is the mission of Silicon Valley Power to be a progressive, service-oriented utility, offering reliable, competitively priced services for the benefit of Santa Clara and its customers. Being competitive in the marketplace with a continuous focus on customer service, SVP can provide economic value to the City of Santa Clara and its customers while maintaining low residential rates and offering competitive rates for all customers. More information can be found Silicon Valley web site at https://www.siliconvalleypower.com.

The Position:
The current opening is in the Generation Division (Operations & Maintenance Manager). This position directly oversees the daily operations and maintenance activities required of the in-city power plants including the DVR Combined Cycle, Gianera Peaker, and three remote hydroelectric sites. The incumbent supervises a staff of up to 16 technicians on fixed and rotating shifts responsible for operating and maintaining the facilities. The Operations & Maintenance Manager works closely with other Division personnel including Plant Engineer, Compliance Manager, and administrative staff and reports directly to the Senior Division Manager.

Under general direction, the candidate will oversee the daily operations and maintenance activities of the power plants. Additional duties include, but are not limited to:

- Monitor for efficiency and safety ensuring that all applicable regulatory requirements are followed.

- Set the standard for safety & integrity by adhering to all applicable safety standards, environmental standards & treatment of employees.

- Responsible for O&M and major project spending as well as the plants' efforts to achieve reliability & performance metrics.

- Lead outage planning and execution to ensure the safety of the personnel and on-time completion of the work scope.

- Ensure that all department staff under your direction are compliant with all local, State and Federal safety regulations, including but not limited to OSHA and CALOSHA, in addition to conformance with all City safety policies & procedures.

- Direct day-to-day plant operations, preventive and corrective maintenance, equipment troubleshooting, and safe work execution.

- Plan and coordinate scheduled outages, major repairs, contractor activities, emergency response, and safe return-to-service decisions.

- Lead, coach, and develop technical staff; maintain strong operator qualifications, shift turnovers, work management, and succession planning.

- Manage operating and maintenance budgets, contracts, purchasing priorities, critical spare parts, and improvement projects.

- Partner with engineering and compliance staff to meet applicable safety, environmental, and reliability requirements, while improving plant availability, efficiency, and asset life.

As a member of the City's Unclassified Service, this is an "at-will" position and the incumbent serves at the discretion of the City Manager.

Additional Information:

Applications must be filled out completely (e.g. do not write “see resume, NA, or personnel file.”). Years of experience are considered on the basis of full-time-equivalent experience (2080 hours per year). To receive consideration for the screening process, candidates must submit a 1) Resume and 2) Respond to the Supplemental Questions 3) Provide a Cover Letter outlining relevant experience in operations and maintenance, including leadership and management experience, technical expertise, and approach to improving plant safety and reliability. The cover letter should also explain their interest in the position and how applicants’ qualifications align with the responsibilities of the Generation Division. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Application packets may be submitted online through the “Apply Now” feature on the job announcement at www.santaclaraca.gov. This position is open until filled: Applications will be reviewed on a monthly basis for consideration to the position. The first application review will occur on December 3, 2026. If you are interested in applying you are encouraged to apply as soon as possible, before the position is closed.

THIS RECRUITMENT MAY BE USED TO FILL MULTIPLE POSITIONS IN THIS, OR OTHER DIVISIONS OR DEPARTMENTS BESIDES THE POSITIONS LISTED ABOVE. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN EMPLOYMENT IN THIS CLASSIFICATION, YOU SHOULD APPLY TO ENSURE YOU ARE CONSIDERED FOR ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES THAT MAY UTILIZE THE APPLICANTS FROM THIS RECRUITMENT. MEETING THE MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS DOES NOT GUARANTEE ADMITTANCE INTO THE EXAMINATION PROCESS. ONLY THE MOST QUALIFIED CANDIDATES WHO DEMONSTRATE THE BEST COMBINATION OF QUALIFICATIONS IN RELATION TO THE REQUIREMENTS AND DUTIES OF THE POSITION WILL BE INVITED TO TEST OR INTERVIEW. APPLICANTS WILL BE CONSIDERED FOR POSITIONS ADHERING TO ALL APPLICABLE CITY POLICIES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO CMD 033- EMPLOYMENT OF RELATIVES.

The annual salary range for this position is $224,921.16 - $300,943.47. This position may be filled at or near the minimum of the salary range.

Follow this link to view the entire Class Specification, which includes more information on Typical Duties and Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

• Graduation from an accredited college or university with a bachelor's degree in engineering, business or closely related field; and
• Four (4) years experience at a responsible level in engineering, administration, marketing, rate setting, resource planning, power contracts, power trading, risk management, communications, information technology, power operations, or maintenance in the electric utility industry or related field are required.

Possible Substitutions:

• Eight (8) years of applicable electric utility experience may be substituted for the education requirement.
• An advanced engineering or business degree may be substituted for up to two (2) years of the experience requirement.

Federal law requires all employees to provide verification of their eligibility to work in this country. Please be informed that the City of Santa Clara will not sponsor, represent, or sign documents related to visa applications/transfers for H1B or any other type of visa which requires an employer application.

The City of Santa Clara is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants for all job openings will be considered without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, veteran status or any other consideration made unlawful under any federal, state or local laws. The City of Santa Clara is committed to offering reasonable accommodations to job applicants with disabilities. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please contact us at (408) 615-2080 or HumanResources@santaclaraca.gov.