Senior Building Inspector

Regular Full‑Time Employment Opportunity

Final Filing Date: Monday, March 23, 2026, at 5:00 PM

SENIOR BUILDING INSPECTOR

The City of Sunnyvale is hiring one full‑time Senior Building Inspector in the Department of Community Development. Sunnyvale is a dynamic city in the heart of Silicon Valley. Construction activities include tech manufacturing, hazardous occupancies, single‑family residential, and multistory mixed‑use, multifamily, and commercial buildings.

In this role you will share responsibility for supervising 9 experienced inspectors with another Senior Building Inspector. The Building Division is a cohesive and supportive unit that helps each other navigate code compliance and enforcement issues.

The list established from this recruitment may also be used to fill future vacancies in the Community Development Department.

Under general direction, you will oversee and perform a wide variety of skilled field inspections during various stages of construction, perform complex plan and specification reviews, issue building permits, respond to public inquiries, supervise and provide technical assistance to staff, and perform related work as required.

The Senior Building Inspector is the advanced journey level and supervisory classification in the professional building inspector series. This classification is distinguished from the lower classification of Building Inspector II by the level of complexity of tasks and duties assigned to positions within the Senior Building Inspector classification. Incumbents are expected to independently perform and coordinate the full range of building inspections, plan check review, supervise, and train assigned staff.

• Supervise, train, and assist with the evaluation of assigned professional and paraprofessional staff.
• Perform complex field inspections of building construction, plumbing, mechanical, and electrical installations in residential and commercial buildings; verify compliance with applicable codes and ordinances.
• Plan, schedule, and oversee the work of Building Inspectors and related One‑Stop Permit Center activities; monitor inspection activities and plan check reviews to assure high quality inspections, reviews and customer service.
• Communicate with property owners, contractors, and others in the process of field inspections, explain requirements, enforce compliance, and give final sign‑off approval.
• Perform code enforcement work, investigate code violations and complaints, write up the results, issue instructions, make recommendations, problem solve, research information, and issue stop‑work orders.
• Check plans and building permit applications for new construction, alterations, and remodelings; verify compliance and issue certificates of occupancy.
• Provide technical information and professional advice to City staff, officials and the public regarding city codes; assist architects, designers, engineers, contractors and property owners in interpreting and meeting code requirements; establish and maintain a customer service orientation.
• Read, correctly interpret, apply and use building codes, municipal codes, ordinances and other related laws, regulations and policies.
• Prepare clear, concise and comprehensive reports, correspondence and other required documents; maintain forms, records and field reports related to inspection activities.
• Maintain current knowledge of developments in building codes, inspection practices, new model codes and state law.
• Act as project coordinator for routing of plans, tracking status of plans while they are being checked by staff in other City divisions.
• Follow through on violations and may appear in court as a witness.
• Perform other related duties as required.

Position requires prolonged sitting, standing, walking on level and uneven surfaces, reaching, twisting, turning, kneeling, bending, squatting, stooping, grasping, repetitive hand movement and fine coordination using a computer. The position also requires near and far vision when performing tasks such as field inspections, reading and writing reports and working documents. Acute hearing is required…