Maintenance Assistant (Plumber and Steamfitter)

The Department of Facilities Management & Development at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University is seeking a full-time Maintenance Assistant, Plumber & Steamfitter. 

Maintenance Assistants (Plumber and Steamfitter) perform semiskilled work in the installation, alteration and repair of pipes, fittings, and fixtures of heating, ventilating, heating control, and water and drainage systems. 

Illustrative Tasks 

• Working from blueprints, drawings, and oral and written instructions, and using standard hand and power tools and shop equipment, performs a variety of semiskilled repair, alteration, and installation activities in the plumbing and steamfitting trade, including:  
  • Repairs and maintains piping systems by replacing defective pipe by cutting, bending, threading and assembling pipe, and by soldering and caulking leaks and broken pipes. 
  • Opens clogged drains with plumber’s snake or vacuum plunger. 
  • Replaces worn washers or other parts in leaky valves or taps. 
  • Cuts passage holes in walls and floors through which pipe is to pass. 
  • Covers steam lines with thermal insulation. 
  • Following specifications, repairs and regulates water mixers, thermostats and other fixtures, and repairs steam equipment such as steam tables, dishwashing machines, steam kettles, and laundry equipment. 
  • Installs pipes, fittings, and fixtures with layout and materials provided by the supervisor.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• Non-Competitive: Two years of full-time experience in plumbing and/or steamfitting work under the supervision of a skilled tradesperson; 
  • OR completion of an appropriate two-year technical school course in the plumbing and/or steamfitting trade at a school, institute, or branch of the Armed Services, such as the New York State Civil Service Employees Association-Partnership Applied Skilled Trades Certificate Program*;
  • OR an equivalent combination of experience and training gained by completion of appropriate technical courses in plumbing or steamfitting at a school, institute, or branch of the Armed Services.

• When required to operate motor vehicles, candidates must possess a valid New York State driver's license appropriate for the type of vehicle to be operated.

   

(*Successful completion of the NYS CSEA-P Applied Skilled Trades Certificate Program includes a total of 288 hours of trade-specific classroom instruction, 45 hours of technical math course work, 45 hours of technical communications course work, and 15 hours of blueprint/schematic reading course work. It does not include 4,000 hours of on-the-job training, as required for the NYS CSEA-P Applied Skilled Trades Traineeship.)