Deputy Sheriff Trainee

Position Information

Be an active part of safety and engagement in our community.
Become a Deputy Sheriff Trainee at the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office!

Starting salary up to $56.36/hour ($117,630/year) and a competitive total compensation package!*

What We Offer

Working at the County of Sonoma offers expansive opportunities for growth and development, the ability to be a part of a challenging and rewarding work environment, and the satisfaction of knowing you're working to better our communities. You can also look forward to excellent benefits* including:

• Salary Advancement - A salary increase after 1,040 hours (6 months when working full-time) for good work performance; eligibility for a salary increase for good performance every year thereafter, until reaching the top of the salary range
• Career Advancement - With time and good performance, the opportunity for advancement to Deputy Sheriff I ($48.88 - $59.41/hour) followed by Deputy Sheriff II ($53.85 - $65.46/hour)
• Paid Time Off - Competitive vacation and sick leave accruals, 12 paid holidays, and an additional 8 floating holiday hours per year
• Bilingual Premium Pay* - An additional $0.45/0.90 an hour on top of the hourly pay rate for basic/fluent bilingual positions
• County Paid Health Premium Contributions - 100% premium contribution for the majority of employee-only and employee + family health plan options
• Staff Development/Wellness - Annual benefit allowances of up to $750 and ongoing education/training opportunities
• Post-Retirement Health Reimbursement Arrangement - County contributions to help fund post-retirement health insurance/benefits
• Retirement - A pension fully integrated with Social Security
• Paid Parental Leave - May be eligible for up to 8 weeks (320 hours) after 12 months of County employment
• Additional Benefits: Excellent dental, vision, disability, life insurance, employee assistance program, professional development, and more
• Student Loan Debt Relief - County employees may be eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness through the U.S. Department of Education

Join Our Team

When you join the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office, you become part of a strong work family that makes a difference in our community.

In partnership with our community, the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office is committed to providing professional, firm, fair, and compassionate public safety services with integrity and respect. Serving the community since 1850, we employ over 650 employees in more than 30 different highly trained and specialized units, and our job is to protect the half-million residents within the 1,768 square miles of Sonoma County.

When you join our team as a Deputy Sheriff Trainee, you will attend a basic law enforcement academy and take courses such as criminal law, search and seizure, evidence, investigative techniques, patrol procedures, firearms, driver training, defensive tactics, and more. After being hired, passing the academy, and completing field training, you will work in 12-hour shift rotations in the Patrol Division as part of the Sheriff's Office Law Enforcement team. The Patrol Division operates out of the main office of the Sheriff's Office in Santa Rosa, with two substations located in Guerneville and the Sonoma Valley to cover the east and west sides of our expansive county. If you prefer a small town or city police department work environment, we have two contracted police stations in the Town of Windsor , Windsor Police Department, and the City of Sonoma, Sonoma Police Department .

The Sheriff's Office is eager to recruit and develop Deputy Sheriffs who have exceptional interpersonal and problem-solving skills in order to effectively interact with our diverse community, work independently, and make appropriate decisions during times of emergencies and in the midst of stressful situations.

In order to ensure its workforce can protect and engage the communities of Sonoma County, the Sheriff's Office has numerous training opportunities, tools and equipment, and specialty assignments available after completing basic training and shift rotations in the Patrol Division. Assignments such as explosive ordinance detail, SWAT team, tactical response team, hostage negotiator, field training officer, dog handler, helicopter observer, internal affairs investigator, background investigator, and detective assignments within a variety of investigative units are open for you to explore.

Note ,Deputy Sheriff Trainee is not intended for individuals who have already completed the California POST-certified Basic Peace Officer Academy within the last three years. If you are an experienced Peace Officer, please review and apply to our separate Deputy Sheriff II recruitment .

This list is being established to sponsor applicants through the Santa Rosa Junior College Basic Police Academy - Intensive. For more information about the academy, please visit their website . It is expected, though not guaranteed, that applicants hired through this process will attend the July 2026 academy.

We Want to Hear From You!

Would you like to learn more about joining the Sheriff's Office? Visit our Personnel Bureau website or contact us and speak to the Sheriff's recruiting team at 707-565-2779 or email Sheriff-Recruitment@sonoma-county.org .

*Salary is negotiable within the established range. Benefits described herein do not represent a contract and may be changed without notice. Future bilingual positions require English and Spanish skills at either the basic (conversational) or fluent (reading, writing, and conversational) level. An examination is conducted before employment in a bilingual position to confirm the level of skill in this area. Bilingual premium pay is $0.45/hour for basic and $0.90/hour for fluent skill sets. Additional information can be found in the Deputy Sheriff’s Association Memorandum of Understanding (DSA MOU) and our Employee Benefits Directory .

This recruitment is being conducted to fill multiple Deputy Sheriff Trainee positions in the Sheriff's Office. This employment list may also be used to fill future full-time positions as they occur during the active status of the list. Qualified County employees who wish to be considered for future positions should consider applying to this recruitment.

Application submissions require the Supplemental Questionnaire to be completed.

Minimum Qualifications

Experience: None

Education: Graduation from high school or possession of an acceptable General Education Development Certificate.

License: Possession of a valid California Driver's License and a good driving record.

Background Requirement: Incumbents shall not have been convicted of a felony in this state or any other state or in any federal jurisdiction, or of any offense in any other state or in any federal jurisdiction, which would have been a felony if committed in this state, nor be under current formal probation supervision.

Citizenship Requirement: Permanent resident aliens who wish to be employed as peace officers must apply for citizenship prior to application for such employment. Permanent resident aliens must cooperate with the U.S. Department of immigration in meeting all requirements for U.S. citizenship, or he or she shall be disqualified for peace officer status.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

Ability to: understand and follow oral and written directions, and to speak and write effectively; read, learn,, and understand various laws, policies, rules, procedures, law enforcement techniques and first aid; analyze situations and/or problems and to rationally and calmly take quick, effective action in emergency and stress situations; undergo strenuous physical training; successfully complete a structured academic training program as required to successfully complete law enforcement recruit academy.

Selection Procedure & Some Helpful Tips When Applying

• Your application information and your responses to the supplemental questions are evaluated and taken into consideration throughout the entire selection process.
• You should list all employers and positions held within the last ten years in the work history section of your application and should be as thorough as possible when responding to the supplemental questions.
• You may include history beyond ten years if related to the position for which you are applying. If you held multiple positions with one employer, list out each position separately.
• Failure to follow these instructions may impact your competitiveness in this process or may result in disqualification.

Please visit Getting a Job with the County of Sonoma to review more detailed information about the hiring process, including the application process, examination steps, and department selection process.

Supplemental Questionnaire Responses Are Required

The selection procedure will consist of the following examination:
Application and Supplemental Questionnaire Appraisal Examination (pass/not pass) will be conducted to evaluate each applicant's combination of educational coursework, training, experience, knowledge, and abilities, which relate to this position to ensure satisfaction of the minimum qualifications for this position.The POST Entry-level Law Enforcement Test Battery (PELLETB) multiple-choice, written examination (weight 100%) will be conducted to further evaluate each candidate's qualifications as they relate to the position. The written examination will measure the core knowledge, skills, and abilities for this position, such as:
Applicants must attain a minimum passing score of at least 70% on the written examination to be placed on the employment list. The minimum passing score may be an adjusted score based on such factors as the difficulty of the examination for this group of candidates, natural breaks in the scores achieved by this group of candidates, the number of candidates, anticipated vacancies, and past practice.

In-person written examinations are tentatively scheduled for:

Wednesday, January 7, and/or Thursday, January 8, 2026

To aid you in preparing for the written examination, please review the CA POST Applicant Preparation Guide and FAQs .

If you have taken the CA POST PELLETB no more than twelve (12) months before the date of the exam session you are invited to attend, the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office will allow candidates to submit their T score instead of re-taking the test. If you wish to use a previously obtained score, please email a PDF to Vanessa.Hernandez@sonomacounty.gov or mail a paper copy of your "T score letter" to:

County of Sonoma Human Resources Department
Attention: Vanessa Hernandez
575 Administration Drive 116B
Santa Rosa, CA 95403

The letter must be on the testing agency's letterhead, including electronic/digital versions, and include the:

• Name of the exam
• Date you took the exam
• T-score
• Name of the agency that administered the exam

Should you have any questions, please contact Vanessa Hernandez at 707-565-1751 .

Additional Information

Being part of the Sheriff's Office and being expected to keep the public safe requires a thorough background investigation process. This process includes an assessment of prior work history, verifying educational experiences, court reports, public records searches, and understanding past patterns relating to drug usage, financial patterns, etc. This entails gathering a significant amount of information from job candidates and speaking to former employers, friends, family members, etc. Polygraphs, drug tests, and medical and physical examinations are also part of this process. Candidates must be honest and forthcoming about information that may arise during the background process. Deception during any portion of this process is grounds for disqualification, even after employment. This process can take anywhere from 3-5 months. Many factors are taken into consideration and one should not assume a credit issue or prior drug use is automatically disqualifying. Candidates will be given the opportunity to present mitigating information they feel should be considered. You are encouraged to be as responsive as possible while this process is taking place to help expedite the timeline, and we encourage you to stay patient and interested in this great career opportunity while this process is taking place.

You may also review the Job Classification Screening Schedule to determine the requirements for this position.

Please read the Sheriff's Office Pre-Employment Drug Use Guidelines for further information.

How to Apply

Applications are accepted online at www.yourpath2sonomacounty.org . Paper applications may be submitted by person, fax (707-565-3770), email, or through the mail. All applications and appropriate supplemental information as outlined in the job bulletin must be received by the time and date specified on the first page of this job announcement. Applications received after the recruitment closes will not be accepted.

The County of Sonoma values diversity and is dedicated to creating a workplace environment that provides individuals with a sense of belonging. We are committed to having a diverse workforce that is representative of the communities we serve. The County is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer where all aspects of employment are based on merit, competence, performance, and business need.

HR Analyst: KK

HR Technician: VH

Important Note: Benefits described herein do not apply to Extra Help positions.

County of Sonoma Benefits:*

These are some of the excellent benefits the County offers:

Paid Time Off: Competitive vacation accrual and sick leave accruals; additional management leave annually; 12 paid holidays, and an additional 8 floating holiday hours per year; and may be eligible for up to 8 weeks (320 hours) of Paid Parental Leave after 12 months of County employment.

Health Plan: Choose from nine health plans (three HMOs, three deductible HMOs, and three HSA-qualifying plans) with a generous County contribution to the premium (the contribution amount varies by bargaining unit). For more information, please see the appropriate MOU.

Retirement: Fully integrated with Social Security. For more information regarding eligibility, retirement contributions, and reciprocity with prior public service, please visit https://scretire.org/active-/-deferred/when-you-are-hired .

IRS 457 Plan: Pre-tax employee contribution up to the IRS annual maximum.

Retiree Medical: County contribution to a Health Reimbursement Arrangement to help fund post-retirement employee health insurance/benefits.

Student Loan Debt Relief: County employees may be eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness through the U.S. Department of Education.

Plus, excellent dental, vision, disability, life insurance, professional development, and more.

For answers to specific questions regarding the employment process and more details about benefits or retirement, please contact Human Resources at (707) 565-2331. Additional details about benefit and compensation packages can be found in the MOUs located at Labor Agreements & Salary Resolution . For specific information about health and welfare benefits, including plan options, coverage, and premium amounts, go to Human Resources or contact the Human Resources' Risk Management-Benefits Office at benefits@sonomacounty.gov or (707) 565-2900.
*Important Notes: Benefits described herein do not represent a contract and may be changed without notice.

Closing Date/Time: 12/8/2025 11:59 PM Pacific

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• County of Sonoma

• 707-565-8059

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