Crews responded to the 12-story building at 1 Almaden Blvd. around 8:10 a.m. after being notified the workers were stuck.
Just after 10 a.m., members of the fire department's search and rescue team managed to haul one of the window washers to the building's roof. The second man was pulled onto the roof about 10 minutes later, fire Capt. Steve Alvarado said.
The fire department's search and rescue members are trained in various rescue methods, including "high-angle" rescue, he said.
A Cal Fire helicopter was waiting on the roof of a nearby parking garage as part of a contingency plan, but in the end was not needed, Alvarado said.
The platform became stuck after some kind of equipment malfunction. Both men were wearing harnesses and were secure.
The workers will undergo a medical evaluation but neither appeared to be injured.
In addition to the San Jose Fire Department and Cal Fire, the California Highway Patrol, San Jose police and the Santa Clara County Fire Department responded.
