Maintenance Technician (Homestead Park)

It's 11 PM on a Tuesday and a resident at Homestead Park calls in a plumbing emergency. You're on the rotating on-call schedule, so you're the one who shows up, assesses the situation, and makes it right before the night is over. That's the reality of this role, and for the right person, it's also the point.

The Work Itself

MidPen Housing has operated affordable communities across Northern California since 1970, and Homestead Park in Sunnyvale is part of a portfolio that houses working families, seniors, and residents with special needs. The Maintenance Technician here reports to the Community Manager and carries real technical responsibility across electrical, plumbing, and carpentry systems, not just basic repairs but the kind of work that keeps units habitable and safe.

Day-to-day tasks span a wide range:

• Electrical repairs to appliances, fixtures, switches, and circuits
• Plumbing repairs to water and sewage systems
• Rough and finish carpentry, including structural framing and cosmetic work
• Unit turns: painting, flooring, fixture installation, and appliance replacement within established timeframes
• Landscaping and irrigation system maintenance to MidPen standards
• Preventive maintenance scheduling and work order documentation
• Contractor coordination, including assisting with bids, scheduling, and monitoring completion
• Support for move-ins, move-outs, and annual inspections alongside the Community Manager

The on-call rotation here is a seven-consecutive-day commitment, including evenings, weekends, and holidays. That's a real ask, and candidates who thrive in this role tend to be people who plan around it rather than resist it.

What MidPen Is Looking For

The baseline is a high school diploma or GED with at least three years of hands-on maintenance experience, ideally in property management. Extensive plumbing knowledge is specifically called out, as is experience with electrical repairs. Carpentry ability at both the rough and finish level matters here given the mix of structural and cosmetic work that comes up in an affordable housing portfolio.

This role also carries a mentorship component. You'll coach and oversee Maintenance Groundskeeper staff, which means communication skills and a willingness to bring others along are part of the job description in a meaningful way, not just a line item. Candidates who've informally trained a junior tech or walked a newer employee through a repair process will feel comfortable here faster than those who've only worked solo.

Basic OSHA knowledge, physical ability to lift up to 50 pounds regularly, and comfort working across all weather conditions and confined spaces are all required. Computer skills for work order management round out the practical requirements.

Pay runs from $25.00 to $28.13 per hour based on experience, with a benefits package that includes health, dental, vision, life and disability insurance, a 403(b) retirement plan, paid parental leave, FSA options, an employee education reimbursement program, and paid time off including company holidays and wellness days.

One thing worth noting about this market: Sunnyvale sits in the heart of Silicon Valley, where the gap between market-rate and affordable housing has widened steadily. The residents MidPen serves here often have very few alternatives if something goes wrong with their unit. The maintenance team's consistency and responsiveness directly supports housing stability in a way that's harder to quantify at a luxury property but very easy to see on the ground.