Refinery operators run the units that turn crude oil into fuel, around the clock, every day of the year. Contra Costa County has refineries in Richmond and Martinez, and operator jobs there do not need a four-year degree.
The best known way in is the Operator Trainee program at Chevron’s Richmond refinery. This guide covers what it has asked for, what other refinery jobs ask for, and how to train for them locally.
What an operator does
Los Medanos College, which trains operators for Bay Area refineries, describes the work as running complex manufacturing facilities, troubleshooting machinery and operations, and managing automated computer control systems. Plants run 24 hours a day, so expect shift work.
Chevron Richmond: the Operator Trainee program
Chevron opens Operator Trainee hiring at Richmond from time to time rather than all year. No Richmond Operator Trainee posting was open on careers.chevron.com when we checked on October 2, 2026. Recent postings asked for:
- A high school diploma or equivalent and a valid driver’s license.
- At least two years of work experience of any kind. Military service counts.
- A TWIC card, or the ability to get one within six months of starting.
- Passing an online pre-employment test.
The postings named the physical side plainly: working at heights with fall protection, climbing, crawling, working in confined spaces and in loud areas, working outdoors in heat, cold and rain, and lifting up to 50 pounds now and then. After an offer, candidates went through drug and alcohol screening, a background check, a physical and a functional capacity exam.
Chevron listed what makes a candidate stronger, too:
- An associate or technical degree from a process technology program.
- A Regional Occupational Program (ROP) certificate in Process Plant Operator or Industrial Maintenance Mechanic, completed in the last two years.
- Work experience in a refinery or petrochemical plant, or as a process operator.
- Military work experience.
An earlier posting said applicants needed the ROP Process Plant Operator certificate, two years of relevant work experience or an associate or technical degree to be considered for the test. So training before you apply can be what gets you to the test at all.
Other refinery jobs
Operators are not the only way in. Chevron Richmond has also posted entry-level electrician and metals trades jobs (pipefitter, boilermaker, welder). The PBF Energy refinery in Martinez has posted mechanic jobs such as electrician, millwright and welder or pipefitter. Those PBF postings asked for a high school diploma or GED, a driver’s license, a TWIC card or the ability to get one, pre-employment tests, a physical agility test, a physical, a background check and drug and alcohol screening.
What a TWIC card is
TWIC stands for Transportation Worker Identification Credential. The federal Transportation Security Administration issues it, and it is needed for unescorted access to secure areas of maritime facilities, which include refineries with their own marine terminals. Getting one takes an in-person enrollment appointment and a background check, so start early if a posting asks for it.
Train for it locally
Los Medanos College’s Process Technology program in Pittsburg trains people for exactly this work. The college lists Chevron, Marathon and ConocoPhillips among the refineries it works with, and says graduates can earn over $100,000 a year.
- Certificate of Achievement: 33 units, in as few as three semesters.
- Associate of Science degree: 60 units, in about two to two and a half years.
- Courses include process instrumentation, equipment, systems and operations, troubleshooting, a simulation lab, safety, and algebra, chemistry and physics.
The college runs information sessions for the program. Its Pittsburg campus is at (925) 439-2181.
Get ready now
- Brush up on algebra and basic physics. Both are in the college program and help on aptitude tests.
- Set a job alert on careers.chevron.com for Richmond so you hear the moment Operator Trainee hiring opens.
- Not sure whether a trade or a degree suits you? Take our Trades or Degree? quiz.
- See what else is hiring nearby on jobs in Richmond, jobs in Martinez and jobs in Pittsburg, or set up a job alert.