Job Description

This is a Position-Based Test conducted in accordance with CSC Rule 111A. Learn more about the City’s hiring process here: 

Specific information regarding this recruitment process is listed below:

• Application Opening: Thursday, October 30, 2025
• Application Deadline: Thursday, November 13, 2025 (11:59 PM, PST) 

About the Office of the City Administrator
The Office of the City Administrator and its 25+ divisions and departments operate core internal and public-facing services in San Francisco. 

The Office of the City Administrator’s Mission and Vision
Our vision is to lead the nation in public administration and to enable City departments to effectively deliver critical public services. We aim to help the city run better, to connect San Francisco residents and constituents to the vital public services they seek, and to create a meaningful and diverse work culture that is the place of choice for people who are invested in a career in public service.

We are committed to ensuring that the City's services are inclusive, efficient, equitable, and culturally competent for San Franciscans of all races, ethnic backgrounds, religions, and sexual orientations. This commitment requires comprehensive review and thorough analysis of existing practices and policies to remove barriers to real inclusion. 

We are also committed to ensuring that the Department is a safe, equitable, and inclusive workplace for individuals of all races. This includes creating opportunities for hiring, promotion, retention, training, and development, particularly for Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC).

To learn more about our departments, divisions, and programs, visit: .

About the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) is responsible for the medicolegal investigation and the certification of the cause of death and the manner of death for only those deaths under our jurisdiction (sudden, unexpected, or violent deaths); such as deaths outside a hospital or the care of a physician, accidental drug overdose, or suspected suicides or homicides.

We are driven by a deep sense of purpose to:

• Uphold the highest standards of ethics, excellence, and empathy in conducting forensic investigations to determine the cause and manner of death within our jurisdiction;
• Deliver impartial forensic services that benefit both the community and the justice system; and
• Provide data to inform public health initiatives.

Ultimately, we seek to bring closure to decedent families and their loved ones.

Job Description

The Forensic Autopsy Technician plays a vital role in the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner by assisting board-certified forensic pathologists with performing forensic autopsies under the jurisdiction of the Medical Examiner. This includes collecting, processing, and preserving legal evidence, clothing, toxicology and biologic samples for forensic testing while maintaining chain of custody. This position also ensures autopsy facilities and equipment are clean and decontaminated, assists with decedent identification, and is responsible for inventorying, storing, and releasing correctly identified cases and other related duties as required. This is a unique opportunity to contribute to essential forensic work and gain hands-on experience in a specialized field alongside other forensic professionals.

Examples of Important and Essential Duties :

• Assists the forensic pathologist with forensic examination, including but not limited to the evidence collection, labeling, X-rays, photography, specimen collection and provides additional assistance during prosection of deceased persons during autopsy; and other forensic examinations such as dental or anthropology examinations;
• Assists in the collection and preservation of clothing, physical and biologic evidence for forensic analysis, which includes, but is not limited to, gunshot residue collection, fingernail clippings, sexual assault specimen collection, collection of bodily fluids for forensic toxicology, clinical chemistry, serology and microbiologic testing; package and prepare evidence and specimens for storage or transport within a legal chain of custody; ensure proper biohazard waste disposal according to protocol;
• Assist in the identification of decedents, including readable fingerprints of decomposed decedents, radiological images, rehydration of tissues;
• Registers the storage position of all deceased persons, and inventories those cases stored; confirms the identity and legal release of decedents in accordance with departmental policies, and completes related paperwork;
• Assist in cleaning and maintaining autopsy suite, scale room, hallway, and related specimen storage rooms; order and stock necessary supplies and equipment for proper function of the facility and vehicles in a manner that ensures a safe worksite, free of biohazards; and
• Performs other related duties as required.

Special requirements: Nature of duties may require sustained physical effort involving manual skill, dexterity, hand/eye coordination, standing for long periods of time and ability to lift and carry equipment and supplies. Work environments entail exposure to deceased persons with severe traumatic injury, decomposed bodies and infectious cases, biohazards such as AIDS, tuberculosis, meningitis, hepatitis or any other human infectious agent; exposure to potentially toxic chemicals, live steam and frequent use of personal protective equipment and respirators. This work requires strict compliance with the department policies pertaining to blood-borne pathogen exposure prevention, biohazard exposure prevention, toxic chemical exposure prevention, evidence handling policy and security requirements on evidence, standards and information. Because of the special and privileged information available about potentially sensitive matters, confidentiality is required. Inappropriate release of information could lead to a criminal charge of impeding an investigation.

Qualifications

Minimum

Qualifications

Experience:
One [1] year of experience or formal training in a hospital or mortuary facility (e.g. medical examiner’s office, coroner’s office) including medical examiner’s or a coroner’s office assisting in the care and handling of bodies as an autopsy assistant or technician.

Note(s):

• One-year full-time employment is considered equivalent to 2000 hours (2000 hours of qualifying work experience is based on a 40 hour work week). Any overtime hours that you work above forty (40) hours per week are not included in the calculation to determine full-time employment.
• Applicants must meet minimum qualification requirements by the final filing date unless otherwise noted.

Desirable

Qualifications

:
The stated desirable

qualifications

may be used to identify job finalists at the end of the selection process when candidates are referred for hiring:

• One (1) year of experience in a medical examiner or coroner’s office assisting multiple forensic pathologists and performing autopsy-related procedures

Verification:
Please make sure it is clear in your application exactly how you meet the minimum

qualifications

. Every application is reviewed to ensure that you meet the minimum

qualifications

as listed in the job ad. Please review our articles on Employment Application and Minimum

Qualifications

and Verification of Experience and/or Education for considerations taken when reviewing applications.

Note: Applications completed improperly may be cause for ineligibility, disqualification or may lead to lower scores. Falsifying one’s education, training, or work experience or attempted deception on the application may result in disqualification for this and future job opportunities with the City and County of San Francisco. Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of a completed City and County of San Francisco application.

Additional Information

Selection Procedure/Examination Requirements
After application submission, candidates must complete all subsequent steps to advance in this selection process, which includes the following:

Supplemental Questionnaire (Weight 100%):
Candidates deemed to meet the minimum

qualifications

will be invited to participate in a Supplemental Questionnaire designed to measure their relative knowledge, skills and abilities in job-related areas, which may include, but not be limited to: knowledge of procedures and protocols for assisting a physician in autopsies; general microbiology theory and human anatomy; universal biohazard standards and bloodborne biohazard precautions; proper use, care and maintenance of surgical and autopsy equipment, including equipment for cleaning and sterilization; techniques for aseptic and antiseptic cleaning and disinfecting; procedures and precautions for using potentially toxic disinfectants and chemical preservatives; and ability to effectively assist in autopsies; to learn and apply procedures for handling and preparing evidence for chain of custody control; work reliably and effectively as a member of a multi-faceted professional team; understand work-related verbal instructions from departmental staff; listen effectively and ask appropriate clarifying questions; to deal courteously and effectively with staff, co-workers, funeral directors and members of the public; speak clearly and effectively in order to communicate work-related information; Read and fully understand department procedures, protocols, detailed sequential instructions, labels, identification, and other work-related materials, including Material Safety Data Sheets; and Write clearly and maintain accurate records according to department policies and procedures.

A passing score must be achieved on the Supplemental Questionnaire in order to be ranked on the eligible list.

Eligible List/Score Report:
A confidential eligible list of applicant names that have passed the civil service examination process will be created and used for certification purposes only. An examination score report will be established, so applicants can view the ranks, final scores and number of eligible candidates. Applicant information, including names of applicants on the eligible list, shall not be made public unless required by law. However, an eligible list shall be made available for public inspection, upon request, once the eligible list is exhausted or expired and referrals resolved. The eligible list/score report resulting from this civil service examination process is subject to change after adoption (e.g., as a result of appeals), as directed by the Human Resources Director or the Civil Service Commission.

The duration of the eligible list resulting from this examination process will be 6 months and may be extended with the approval of the Human Resources Director.

To find Departments which use this classification, please see: Position-Counts-by-Job-Codes-and-Department-FY-2023-24.pdf

Terms of Announcement and Appeal Rights:
Applicants must be guided solely by the provisions of this announcement, including requirements, time periods and other particulars, except when superseded by federal, state or local laws, rules or regulations. Clerical errors may be corrected by the posting the correction on the Department of Human Resources website at .

The terms of this announcement may be appealed under Civil Service Rule 111A.35.1. The standard for the review of such appeals is ‘abuse of discretion’ or ‘no rational basis’ for establishing the position description, the minimum

qualifications

and/or the certification rule. Appeals must include a written statement of the item(s) being contested and the specific reason(s) why the cited item(s) constitute(s) abuse of discretion by the Human Resources Director. Appeals must be submitted directly to the Executive Officer of the Civil Service Commission within five business days of the announcement issuance date.

Additional Information

Regarding Employment with the City and County of San Francisco:

Applicants will receive a confirmation email from notification@careers.sf.gov that their online application has been received in response to every announcement for which they file. Applicants should retain this confirmation email for their records. Failure to receive this email means that the online application was not submitted or received.

Applicants may be contacted by email about this recruitment and, therefore, it is their responsibility to ensure that their registered email address is accurate and kept up-to-date. Also, applicants must ensure that email from CCSF is not blocked on their computer by a spam filter. To prevent blocking, applicants should set up their email to accept CCSF mail from the following addresses (@sfgov.org, @sfdpw.org, @sfport.com, @flysfo.com, @sfwater.org, @sfdph.org, @asianart.org, @sfmta.com, @sfpl.org, @dcyf.org, @first5sf.org, @famsf.org, @ccsf.edu, @smartalerts.info, and @smartrecruiters.com).

Exam Analyst Information:  If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact the exam analyst at rosalie.platzer@sfgov.org .

The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.

Job Tags

Full time, Work experience placement, Work at office, Local area,

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