Position Summary

Help Keep SDSU Beautiful!

Are you hands-on, dedicated, and passionate about creating and maintaining vibrant outdoor environments? Join San Diego State University as a Groundsworker and be part of the team that keeps our campus safe, clean, and welcoming. In this essential role, you’ll support SDSU’s mission by ensuring our campus landscapes are healthy, attractive, and ready for each academic day.

Key Responsibilities:

As a Groundsworker, you will:

• Maintain Campus Landscapes: Deliver full-service landscape care across 5–20 acres of assigned campus area, including turf, landscape beds, hardscapes, and general grounds.
• Daily Exterior Readiness: Ensure outdoor spaces are clean, tidy, and inviting each day by removing litter, emptying trash receptacles, and maintaining clear, safe pathways.
• Landscape Care: Perform routine maintenance such as mowing, edging, pruning, and planting to keep campus plant life thriving year-round, free from pests, weeds, and debris.
• Equipment Use & Maintenance: Operate and maintain a variety of groundskeeping tools and machinery while ensuring safety and efficiency.
• Accountability & Reporting: Accurately report time, materials used, and project completion details to support efficient operations.
• Safety Leadership: Promote and model safe work practices, identify hazards, and take action to maintain a secure work environment.
• Team Collaboration: Support your colleagues and foster a respectful, professional, and inclusive work culture through clear communication and cooperation.

What We Offer:

• Visible Impact: Contribute directly to the look and feel of SDSU’s campus, helping create an environment where students and staff can thrive.
• Skill Development: Build and strengthen your mechanical, horticultural, and safety skills in a dynamic campus setting.
• Supportive Culture: Work in a team that values professionalism, mutual respect, and a shared commitment to excellence.
• Environmental Stewardship: Be a steward of SDSU’s landscape and a contributor to sustainable maintenance practices

Position Information

• This is a full-time (1.0 time-base), benefits eligible permanent/probationary position.
• This position is designated non-exempt under FLSA and is eligible for overtime compensation.
• Standard SDSU work hours are Monday – Friday, 6:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., but may vary based on operational needs.
• The individual hired into this role will work on campus at SDSU in San Diego.

Department Summary

The Division of Business and Financial Affairs is responsible for ensuring a safe, productive campus environment while providing the highest quality service in support of academic excellence through thoughtful stewardship of financial, technological, infrastructure and human resources at San Diego State University.

SDSU Facilities Services (FS) is a customer-service based organization providing facility maintenance activities through a transparent and deliberate process. It is responsible for the operation, maintenance, repair, renovation, remodel, and alteration activities in support of the academic and research mission of the university.  Facilities Services employs approximately 250 employees and supports approximately eight million square feet of buildings (including residence halls and parking structures) and 280 acres of improved and unimproved land.

For more information regarding Facilities Services, click here.

Education and Experience

One year of experience in the care and maintenance of landscaped areas or in general grounds maintenance work, or in related manual labor.

Key Qualifications

• Experience in the maintenance and repair of irrigation systems is preferred
• Relevant education or coursework in horticulture and/or plant identification is preferred.
• LEED Green Associate Credential is preferred.
• Thorough knowledge of general gardening and grounds maintenance methods.
• General knowledge of proper methods of planting, cultivating, and caring for hedges, ornamental trees, shrubs, lawns, and flowers, and the use and care of gardening materials, tools and equipment.
• Ability to recognize the more common species of ornamental shrubs, trees and flowers grown in California. 
• Ability to perform strenuous physical work; utilize mechanical aptitude and motor coordination; learn to skillfully operate small trucks and power-driven grounds equipment.

Compensation and Benefits

Starting salary upon appointment is not expected to exceed $3,722 per month. 

Salary placement is determined by the education, experience, and qualifications the candidate brings to the position, internal equity, and the hiring department’s fiscal resources. 

San Diego State University offers a rich benefits package that constitutes a major portion of total compensation. For more information regarding SDSU benefits, please click here.

CSU Classification Salary Range: $3,722- $5,840 per month. 

SDSU Values

At SDSU, our diversity gives us power and benefits every single member of our community.  Consistent with California law and federal civil rights laws, SDSU provides equal opportunity for all in education and employment.  We encourage all members of our community to purposefully learn from one another through open and respectful dialogue and responsible engagement. We strongly preserve the right to free expression and encourage difficult conversations that help lead to improved individual and community learning and cohesion.

Principles of Community

At San Diego State University, we are a community of diverse individuals who have and represent many perspectives, beliefs, and identities. This diversity lends our community strength, and we commit to creating and sustaining an inclusive and intellectually vibrant environment that benefits all members of our university. 

SDSU’s Principles of Community is an aspirational statement that is intended to evolve over time. The statement reflects the ideals we are encouraged to uphold in our interactions with one another. 

Equal Opportunity and Excellence in Education and Employment

All university programs and activities are open and available to all regardless of race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin. Consistent with California law and federal civil rights laws, San Diego State University (SDSU) provides equal opportunity in education and employment without unlawful discrimination or preferential treatment based on race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin. Our commitment to equal opportunity means ensuring that every student and employee has access to the resources and support they need to thrive and succeed in a university environment and in their communities. SDSU complies with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the California Equity in Higher Education Act, California’s Proposition 209 (Art. I, Section 31 of the California Constitution), other applicable state and federal anti-discrimination laws, and CSU’s Nondiscrimination Policy. We prohibit discriminatory preferential treatment, segregation based on race or any other protected status, and all forms of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation in all university programs, policies, and practices. 

SDSU is a diverse community of individuals who represent many perspectives, beliefs and identities, committed to fostering an inclusive, respectful, and intellectually vibrant environment. We cultivate a culture of open dialogue, mutual respect, and belonging to support educational excellence and student success. Through academic programs, student organizations and activities, faculty initiatives, and community partnerships, we encourage meaningful engagement with diverse perspectives. As a higher education institution, we are dedicated to advancing knowledge and empowering individuals to reach their full potential by prioritizing inclusive curriculum development, faculty and staff training, student mentorship, and comprehensive support programs. At SDSU, excellence is built on merit, talent, diversity, accessibility, and equal opportunity for all.

Supplemental Information

Apply by July 8, 2025, to ensure full consideration. Applications submitted after this date will be reviewed on an as-needed basis, and the position will remain open until filled.

The person holding this position is considered a ‘mandated reporter’ under the California Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act and is required to comply with the requirements set forth in CSU Executive Order 1083 as a condition of employment. 

San Diego State University is not a sponsoring agency for staff or management positions (e.g., H-1B visa). Applicants must currently be authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis. Offers of employment are contingent upon the presentation of documents that demonstrate a person's identity and authorization to work in the United States, which are consistent with the provisions of the Immigration Reform and Control Act. 

A background check (including a criminal records check) must be completed satisfactorily and is required for employment. SDSU will make a conditional offer of employment, which may be rescinded if the background check reveals disqualifying information, and/or it is discovered that the candidate knowingly withheld or falsified information. Failure to satisfactorily complete the background check may affect the continued employment of a current SDSU employee who was conditionally offered the position.

SDSU is a smoke-free campus. For more information, please click here.

Reasonable accommodations will be provided for qualified applicants with disabilities who request an accommodation by contacting Michelle Puentes at mpuentes2@sdsu.edu