Building Inspector II

THE AGENCY

The mission of Public Works is to enhance the quality of life for the people of Alameda County by providing a safe, well‑maintained, and lasting public works infrastructure through accessible, responsive and effective services. Public services provided by the Alameda County Public Works Agency include flood control planning and design, storm water pollution control, transportation planning and design, roadway and flood control maintenance and inspection, and construction and building inspections.

The goals of the Agency are to keep roads safe and well maintained, provide the highest level of flood protection, provide service levels that optimize infrastructure life cycles, minimize deferred maintenance, ensure that development and construction adhere to applicable State and County rules, optimize disaster preparedness, response and recovery, ensure that the Agency’s operations and services minimize negative impacts on the environment, and sustain and advance County and Agency programs through a vital business and administrative support system.

This series specification describes two Building Inspector classes which, under general supervision at the lower level and under direction at the higher level, examine dwellings and commercial buildings under construction or alteration for conformity to the Alameda County Building, Electrical, Plumbing, and Mechanical Codes, the Zoning Ordinance, the California Energy Conservation Regulations, Green Buildings, and Disabled Access, and the Alameda County Housing Code;

and to perform other related duties.

The class of Building Inspector II is responsible for the examination of all types of building construction, including commercial, high rise, apartments, condominiums and subdivision tracts. This class is distinguished from the next higher class of Supervising Building Inspector in that the latter class has supervisory authority over the Building Inspectors and program responsibility for the Building Regulations Section of the Building Inspection Department.

The most suitably qualified candidates will possess the following competencies:

• California Building Code, Plumbing, Mechanical and Electrical Code
• California Energy Conservation Regulations, Green Buildings, and Disabled Access
• County Zoning Ordinances
• Construction and installation practices and methods
• Materials and tools of the building trades
• Principles of supervision

• Read and interpret plans of complex design
• Estimate structural requirements without benefit of plans
• Develop training topics and talks
• Detect substandard materials and workmanship
• Maintain effective working relationships with the public and members of the building industry, sometimes under stressful conditions
• Perform mathematical calculations related to the building trades
• Write clearly and concisely

The examination will consist of the following steps:

• A review of applicants' application and supplemental questionnaire to verify possession of minimum requirements. Those candidates who possess the minimum requirements for the class will move on to the next step in the examination process.
• An oral examination which will be weighted as 100% of the candidates' final examination score. The oral examination may be administered virtually and may contain situational exercises.
• Candidates must attain a qualifying rating on each portion of this recruitment.

We reserve the right to make changes to the announced examination steps.

Applicants will be informed via email with reasonable notice in advance of any examination process which will require their attendance.

The following dates are tentative and subject to change based on the needs of the Agency:

• Deadline for Filing: 5:00 pm, Friday, July 31, 2026
• Review of Applications & Questionnaires for
  
  Minimum Qualifications:
  
  August 10, 2026
• Notification to applicants:
  August 18, 2026
• Civil Service Oral Examination:
  Week of September 21, 2026
• Notification of Exam Results: 1–2 weeks after exam

• Department Selection Process: TBD

* The combined oral examination/hiring…