Utility Plant Operator

Apply now Job no: 536784
Work type: Classified Staff
Location: Eugene, OR
Categories: Construction/Planning, Facilities/Grounds/Skilled Trades

August 6, 2026; open until filled

To be considered for this position, applicants must submit a complete application.

• A complete online application
• A resume that clearly outlines relevant work history, including dates of employment. These details are crucial in evaluating whether applicants meet the qualifications for the position.

We are interested in finding the best candidate for the position. We encourage you to use your application to let us know what is meaningful to you about the role and what transferable skills or other qualities you would bring.

If you have questions about the application process or the position, please reach out to fass

Campus Planning and Facilities Management (CPFM) is a vibrant unit within the Finance and Administration portfolio. CPFM is comprised of five departments, and approximately 270 employees:
Facilities Services, Utilities & Energy, Campus Planning, Office of Sustainability, and Design & Construction. CPFM is responsible for planning, building, maintaining, and operating the infrastructure that supports the University. As stewards of a physical legacy, CPFM enables the university community to achieve its potential by providing a campus that is safe, clean, beautiful, inspiring, and environmentally responsible.

CPFM values its commitment to collaboration, service excellence, diversity, problem-solving, and stewardship. CPFM takes pride in the campus’ ability to function seamlessly, while fostering an environment for educational excellence.

Utilities and Energy (U&E) provides steam, chilled water, electricity, and other district energy services to the University of Oregon’s main campus in Eugene, Oregon. Our team is comprised of approximately 25 diverse and specialized staff including utility electricians, co-generation engineers, maintenance technicians, and administrative staff. Our Central Power Station is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and 365 days a year.

Major assets that we operate, maintain, and repair include:

• 10MW combined heat and power (CHP) plant
• 2 industrial natural gas fired boilers
• 7,500 ton chilled water plant
• 3 million gallon thermal energy storage tank
• 6.5MW emergency power generation
• 4 miles of distribution tunnels with connections to more than 80 buildings
• Instrumentation and controls

We work closely with Design and Construction, Facilities Services, Safety and Risk Services, the Sustainability Office, Research and Innovation, Information Services, Housing, and our local utility providers to deliver safe, reliable, cost and energy efficient utilities to the University of Oregon.

This position serves as a Utilities and Energy campus wide operator/dispatcher for the University of Oregon, and acts as the point of contact for utility distribution issues at the University of Oregon. This position will safely operate the UO steam plant, which consists of two high-pressure saturated steam boilers with the combined capacity of 125,000 lbs per hour;
One Combined Cycle Co-Generation plant (CTG/HRSG) capable of generating 7.5 MW (Gas Turbine) and 65,000 lbs of 600-psi steam: 3.5 MW (Steam Turbine). It will also operate the UO chilled water plant that consists of five (5) electric centrifugal chillers with capacity of 7,500 tons of cooling with the additional 3 million gallon thermal tank, 18 cooling towers, pumps and associated equipment.

The operator is responsible for the distribution of the 12,470 Volt electrical load to the UO campus buildings, and will assist with configuring the plant to "Island Mode" if loss of power occurs from EWEB. The incumbent is responsible for regulating access, providing training, maintaining the operation, and monitoring all work performed in the UO utility distribution tunnel system. This position monitors BAS (building automation system) alarms, and controls within the UO steam plant, and chiller plant, and building HVAC system.

The incumbent in this role must maintain the skills…