Utility Person
Posted Date: Aug 21, 2025
Location: Saint Joseph, MO, US, 64503
Company: American Water Works Company Inc
Requisition ID: 108664
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People are the heart of our business. As an American Water employee, you will be offered a competitive salary and health benefits package, along with opportunities to develop, grow, and evolve your career. Our benefits packages focus on key areas such as health & wellness, emotional & well-being, and savings for current & future goals.
We are Beautifully Different. We strongly believe having diversity across our company makes us more successful and helps us provide essential services to our customers. We are stronger because we embrace different ideas, viewpoints, experiences, and backgrounds. American Water is the best choice for your next role! Click here for more information on our inclusion, diversity, and equity journey.
About American Water
American Water (NYSE: AWK) is the largest regulated water and wastewater utility company in the United States. With a history dating back to 1886, We Keep Life Flowing® by providing safe, clean, reliable and affordable drinking water and wastewater services to more than 14 million people across 14 regulated jurisdictions and 18 military installations. American Water’s 6,500 talented professionals leverage their significant expertise and the company’s national size and scale to achieve excellent outcomes for the benefit of customers, employees, investors and other stakeholders.
As one of the fastest growing utilities in the U.S., American Water expects to invest $40 to $42 billion in infrastructure repairs and replacement, system resiliency and regulated acquisitions over the next 10 years. The company has a long-standing history of executing its core operations, aligned with sustainable best practices, through its commitments to safety, affordability, customer service, protecting the environment, an inclusive workforce and strengthening communities.
American Water has been recognized on the 2023 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index for the fifth consecutive year, ranked 18th on Barron’s 100 Most Sustainable U.S. Companies 2023 List, earned the U.S. Department of Homeland Security SAFETY Act designation and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s WaterSense® Excellence Award, among additional state, local and national recognitions.
For more information, visit amwater.com and join American Water on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Missouri American Water is hiring a full-time Utility Person to help keep water flowing in St. Joseph, MO. This critical role will ensure that our assets are maintained and protected for our customers and the communities we serve. In this role, you will work within a crew and get to perform leak detection, replace and dig service mains, work with contractors and customers, do valve inspections and more. Our ideal candidate will have construction or utility experience, be a team player and a strong communicator.
* Please note that there are two (2) vacancies for this position.
Primary Role
- Operate and maintain all types and sizes of pipe or main and appurtenances thereto including, piping, fittings, valves and valve boxes, couplings, sleeves, stop cocks, stop boxes, meter boxes, vaults, fire hydrants, pumps, controls, air release valves, concrete or wood blocking, etc.
- Raise, lower, or adjust fire hydrants, valves, or mains. As part of many duties, excavate in streets, sidewalks, soils, and surfaces of all types; in materials such as concrete, tarvia, chat, gravel, and dirt.
- Repair leaks or breaks on mains, air vacuum release valves, service lines; make taps; fill and flush pipe lines, mains, and fire hydrants; inspect, flow test, paint, and repair fire hydrants, including manual digging and backfilling with hand tools such as shovels, picks, digging bars, pneumatic jack-hammers, clay spades and other such equipment as required.
- Investigate leaks, do leak surveys, test for turbidity and chlorine.
- Assist in the removal and setting water meters.
- Operate valves either manually or by power equipment
- Use various hand tools and other types of equipment necessary for the installation, operation, and maintenance of the T&D system such as, tunneling machines, tapping machines, pressure pumps, water pumps, compressors, jack hammers, drills, mechanical hand tampers, pneumatic or hand caulking tools, pipe saws or cutters, chain pulling hoists; leak locating equipment, portable turbidity and chlorine test kits, etc.
Primary Role (cont'd)
- Perform miscellaneous building care and routine maintenance at various Company building and properties as directed.
- Assist with material storage and storehouse duties. For example: assist with inventory counts; rearrange stocked materials; clean storage bins and shelving; uncrate and stock received materials; prepare materials for storage by coating or wrapping or other methods, etc.
- Fill out necessary job report forms as required.
- Operate mobile telephone and two-way radio communication equipment.
- Be capable of learning and applying new procedures or techniques, which may be developed for the installation or maintenance of piping and appurtenances that are part of the transmission, distribution
- facilities. This to include operation of new tools, equipment, or vehicles.
- All other duties as assigned by supervision.
Key Accountabilities
- Assigns and supervises the assignments of the distribution associates.
- Files related distribution system reports.
- Accounts for distribution system reports.
- Supervises all installation, maintenance, and repair work performed in the distribution system.
Knowledge/Skills
The primary function of the Utility Person I (laborer) is to participate in the maintenance of various types and sizes of water pipe and appurtenances that become a part of the transmission and distribution system, including, pipe, valves, fire hydrants, pumps, controls, fittings, etc. The Utility Person I will also participate in the general operation and maintenance of the distribution system. The list of duties below is not all-inclusive, but is intended to describe the types of duties required of the Utility Person I (laborer):
Experience/Education
- The duties of this classification require the person to have a minimum of a high school education or equivalent.
- Construction or Utility field experience desired.
- Three (3) years experience in the distribution department.
- Should be employed for one (1) consecutive year in the distribution department.
- Utility field experience a plus.
Other Requirements
- Required to obtain and maintain a CDL Class A or B license with tanker and air brakes.
- DOT physical required
- Flexible movement in all body parts, especially legs, back, and arms.
- Use of hands in repetitive action, such as pushing and pulling, simple and firm grasping, and fine manipulation of objects.
- Have good balance for being around moving machinery.
- Exposure to dust, fumes and gases, and marked changes in temperature and humidity.
- Be in good physical condition with no restriction on physical activity.
Work Schedule
- Full-time, on-site
- Monday-Friday, 7am-3:30pm
- Must be available for overtime on a rotating basis with the other foreman.
- On-call responsibility
Work Environment
- Work is performed under all weather conditions and the hazardous footing conditions that develop which requires even weight distribution.
- Exposure to dust, fumes and gases, and marked changes in temperature and humidity.
Competencies
Join American Water...We Keep Life Flowing™
American Water is firmly committed to Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and prohibits employment discrimination for employees and applicants based on his or her age, race, color, pregnancy, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, marital status, citizenship, or because they are an individual with a disability, protected veteran or other status protected by federal, state, and local laws.
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