Careers

A construction worker wearing PPE pushes on a piece of machenery with their boot

A Lab Technician using a pipette to fill a vial with a water sample

Workers learning how to check a gauge on a water transportation system

A Diver surfaces from the Copper Basin resivoir

Career Pathways:

Join our Team

Metropolitan values both fresh voices and the different perspectives that experience brings. We seek out the best, those who bring unique and varied qualities to an organization whose employees reflect the diverse communities we serve across Southern California. And we want colleagues who embrace innovation, equity and a shared greater purpose to the region. We are a public agency and the people who work with us are devoted to public service.

We were built to last and to lead. We are an agency deep in history and experience. We are part of the very fabric of Southern California, having been formed in 1928 by the state Legislature to design, build and operate the Colorado River Aqueduct to bring water to a growing population. Today, our role is much greater than the infrastructure we built and maintain. We are here to ensure reliable and safe water supplies for 19 million people across six Southland counties, operating in an environmentally and economically sound manner.

If you’re already in the workforce and considering Metropolitan as a work option, begin your journey here to learn more. For those still in school or just entering the workforce, scroll down to the section Creating the Next Generation of Workers for the Water Industry to learn about our internship and apprenticeship programs as well as other educational resources to help prepare you for a career in the water industry.

Read our Careers at Metropolitan fact sheet.

View Current Job Openings

Applying Tips

A worker painting the inside of a tunnel

Meaningful Work

A career with Metropolitan offers the chance to be part of an agency that is tied to the well-being of Southern California’s people, businesses and economy. We are a recognized leader in the industry. We build big and pay attention to even the smallest details. We are planners, innovators and negotiators building on a legacy of foresight and regional cooperation. Once you enter our doors, you are part of our team, with the added opportunity to build your career too.

Looking up at the Hinds Pumping Plant's water transportation pipes

What We Offer

When you come to work at Metropolitan, you don’t come just for a job; you come for a career.  We want to support your career pathway along with your well-being.  One way to do that is to offer very competitive salaries and excellent benefits. We also provide top-notch health and insurance options, as well as retirement benefits.

Our benefits package is above industry standards. Metropolitan contracts with CalPERS, the California Public Employee Retirement System, to provide a wide choice of medical coverages to both active employees and qualified retirees. 

As a regular full-time; regular part-time union represented employee will be eligible for excellent benefits.

Also available to Metropolitan employees through CalPERS are pension and survivor benefits as well as deferred compensation benefits that include our 401(k) and 457(b) savings plans. Metropolitan matches 401(k) contributions to increase the amount of your annual savings toward retirement.

Dental coverage, through Delta Dental, is offered at no cost to regular full-time; regular part-time employees pay a pro-rated fee.  Qualified dependents can be added to the dental plan at no extra cost.  Metropolitan contracts with Vision Service Provider, or VSP, for vision coverage and covers the cost for regular full-time employees.  Costs are prorated for regular part-time employees. Qualified dependents can be added for a flat monthly fee.

We have insurance programs covering life, long-term disability and accidental death and dismemberment. There are also some voluntary benefits to choose from.  These include Flexible Spending Accounts for health and dependent care, long-term care and cancer coverage. You and your family members will also have access to our Employee Assistance Plan for confidential professional counseling and referral services at no cost.  A Wellness Program offers certain reimbursements to employees based on work location and bargaining unit.

Welders working on creating a structure for a Metropolitan project

Who We Want

We appreciate employees from diverse cultural and work experience backgrounds. We value all skills – from the trades to engineering to administrative organization and even the arts. We are a place for many talents and believe that a diverse workforce is key to our continued success. Different perspectives at the table allow us to produce more creative approaches and solutions. We work at many different locations. In addition to our downtown Los Angeles headquarters, adjacent to the historic transportation hub Union Station, we also operate a network of facilities across Southern California and the desert, along with offices in Sacramento and Washington, DC. Metropolitan maintains a strong history of recruiting and employing military personnel into successful careers with us.

How We Work: EEO is the Law

Metropolitan is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, and pregnancy), national origin, ancestry, age (40 and over), marital status, medical condition genetic information, disability, veteran/military status, or any other protected characteristic(s).

Applicants and employees are protected under federal and state law from discrimination on the basis of protected characteristics. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any protected characteristics.

Metropolitan provides reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities in the job application and selection process or to enable otherwise qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of a job. If you require an accommodation to participate in the application or selection process, you can call (213) 217-7738 or email.

Employment decisions are based on a person’s knowledge, skills, abilities, job performance and any other parameters considered legitimate and non-discriminatory.

An illustration of a women made of water as she represents water as the mother of life. This illustration was used in our Student Art calendar by a local student.

Career Pathways:

Creating the Next Generation of Workers for the Water Industry

The water industry offers so many different career pathways — into the highly technical arena of engineering to the very creative writers, videographers and graphic designers — with dozens of disciplines in between. Many of these opportunities are not well known. So Metropolitan, in partnership with many other water, educational, business, trade and community agencies, supports workforce development to prepare Southern California’s young people for career and college pathways into the water industry.

Our Challenge & Response

The water industry faces a huge challenge in creating a qualified workforce for the future. Our business is dependent on a range of skills, work experience and backgrounds. We need to know that there will be a new generation of employees in place who will be able to meet our critical needs, which in the end, mean delivering safe and reliable water supplies to Southern California. For that to happen, we must take action ourselves.

We have a succession plan. Planning is an on-going, dynamic effort to remain responsive to shifting resource needs.

Listed below are different Metropolitan programs that encourage interest in the water industry and support a career pipeline to water through education.

A Metropolitan staff member from our education team demonstrating the water cycle.

S.T.E.A.M.

We offer engaging and free curriculum for grades K- 12 that teaches students transferable industry skills focused on science, technology, engineering, arts and math.

View Educational Resources

Co-Op Program with Engineering & Water Quality

We have two specialized co-op programs in our engineering and water quality sections. Internships are available at various times throughout the year and offer hands-on learning opportunities. To ensure school credit is provided, Metropolitan partners with Cal Poly Pomona to administer this internship.

Learn More

A lab technician reviewing a monitor for a machine analyzing water samples

Internships

Metropolitan offers internship opportunities to train, educate and prepare young people to jumpstart their careers. College undergraduates and graduate students gain practical work experience through a paid temporary job assignment related to their academic/educational field of study. Interns also learn about the water industry while applying theories and concepts to "real-world" work.

Learn More

Apprentice & Training Programs

Metropolitan offers an apprentice program for both mechanical and electrical operations technicians. Training programs provide entry to journey-level skills training in technical, vocational and trades occupations using a combination of on-the-job training , classroom instruction and related home study . There is a six-month pre-apprentice probationary period, which if successfully completed, is followed by a four-year program. Program graduates receive college credit, certification and an offer for full-time employment at Metropolitan.

Learn More

A trade school class working on creating electrical systems

In our climate, water is too precious to use just once. That’s why Metropolitan is partnering with the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts on Pure Water Southern California, a regional water recycling program that would purify and reuse cleaned wastewater that currently flows into the ocean. At full scale, Pure Water Southern California would produce 150 million gallons of purified water each day.

By delivering a new, climate-resilient supply of locally available water, Pure Water Southern California would benefit the 19 million people living within Metropolitan’s service area. It also would become one of the world’s largest water recycling programs.

Other Resources

The California Department of Water Resources also offers a paid apprenticeship program that can lead to a fulfilling and rewarding career in the hydroelectric industry. The program combines hands-on-learning, classroom study, and home study with supervised on-the-job training.

DWR Apprenticeship Program