Maintenance Technician (414 Petaluma)

Maintenance work at an affordable housing community asks something different of you than a typical apartment job. The residents here aren't just tenants. They're working families, seniors, and people with special needs who depend on their home being safe and functional in ways that go beyond inconvenience. That context shapes every work order, every turn, every time you pick up a call at 11pm.

The Skills This Role Runs On

This isn't a groundskeeper role with some light repairs mixed in. MidPen is looking for someone with genuine depth across electrical, plumbing, and carpentry. That means diagnosing a tripped circuit or a failing fixture, not just replacing a light bulb. It means handling plumbing repairs at the water and sewage system level, not just unclogging drains. Rough and finish carpentry both matter here, because a unit that's been turned needs to look right and hold up, not just pass a quick walk-through.

Landscaping and irrigation round out the technical picture. You'll maintain grounds and lighting to MidPen's standards, which at an affordable housing community also means keeping common areas clean, well-lit, and secure. That's not incidental. It's part of what makes the property feel like a home.

What the Day-to-Day Actually Looks Like

A lot of your time will be split between reactive work orders and scheduled preventive maintenance. Turns are part of the rhythm too: when a unit goes vacant, you're responsible for getting it make-ready within established timeframes, which covers painting, flooring, fixtures, and appliances. You'll coordinate with outside contractors on some jobs, helping with bid reviews, scheduling, and making sure the work actually gets done to standard.

You'll also carry a mentorship responsibility. The Maintenance Groundskeeper staff reports below this role, and MidPen expects you to coach and develop that team, not just supervise it. If you've never trained anyone before, that part of the job will take some adjustment.

The on-call rotation is real and worth understanding clearly. You'll cover a full seven-day rotating on-call stretch, including evenings, weekends, and holidays. Emergency calls during those windows aren't optional. That's the honest version of what "24/7 support" means in practice.

What Makes This Role at MidPen Different

MidPen has operated affordable housing across more than 130 properties in Northern California since 1970. They're not a startup figuring out property management. The structure here, the preventive maintenance schedules, the work order documentation requirements, the procurement processes, reflects an organization that's been doing this long enough to build real systems.

Pay runs $25.00 to $28.13 hourly depending on experience. Bilingual ability in English and Spanish is preferred, and at a Petaluma property serving a diverse resident population, that preference has practical weight in daily interactions.

• Three or more years of maintenance experience, with property management background preferred
• Strong plumbing and electrical knowledge at a systems level, not just surface repairs
• Rough and finish carpentry skills
• Basic OSHA awareness and landscape maintenance familiarity
• Ability to lift 50 pounds regularly and work in all weather and physical conditions
• Computer skills sufficient for work order systems and documentation
• High school diploma or GED required

Strong candidates here tend to be the ones who already think in terms of documentation and follow-through, not just fixing the problem in front of them. A work order that gets completed but not closed out, or a contractor job that gets scheduled but not followed up on, creates gaps that compound over time at a property this size. The technical skills get you in the door. The organizational habits are what make you effective here long-term.