Technical Project Lead (#9976)

City and County of San Francisco • San Francisco, CA

14h • $156,000 - $196 • Onsite

About The Position

This recruitment is to fill one (1) Technical Project Lead position. Application Opening: 04/16/2026 Application Filing Deadline: 4/30/2026, 11:59PM PST Recruitment ID: PEX-9976-163353 (RTF0163352-01134797) Salary: $156,000 - $196.300 / Annually Analyst: Zoey Feng Appointment Type: Permanent Exempt This position is exempt from Civil Service Commission rules pursuant to the City and County of San Francisco, Charter Section 10.104 , and incumbents serve at the discretion of the Appointing Officer. About San Francisco is a vibrant and dynamic city at the forefront of economic growth and innovation, urban development, arts & entertainment, as well as social issues and change. This rich tapestry of culture and ideas is sustained by our City's commitment to enhancing the quality of life for the diverse population of San Franciscans and residents of the greater Bay Area. Our employees play an important role not only in making our City what it is today, but also in shaping the future of San Francisco. The City is currently undertaking a major permitting reform initiative through PermitSF, a citywide effort to modernize and streamline permitting processes across multiple departments. This initiative includes the implementation of a new enterprise permitting software platform and the redesign of business processes to improve transparency, efficiency, and customer experience. We are seeking a skilled and collaborative Technical Project Lead to support this critical transformation. This role is ideal for someone who thrives in cross-functional environments, understands the complexities of government operations, and is passionate about improving public services. Role Description: As a Technical Product & Platform Lead for PermitSF, you will serve as the primary technical authority guiding the implementation of a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) permitting platform within a complex, multi-system government environment. This role sits at the intersection of product, architecture, and delivery. You will be responsible for defining and governing system architecture, data models, and integration patterns across legacy systems, cloud platforms, and departmental applications. You will translate business and operational needs into scalable technical solutions, ensuring the permitting platform interoperates effectively within the City’s broader technology ecosystem. This role requires strong systems thinking, fluency in modern cloud and integration architectures, and the ability to make pragmatic trade-offs in a COTS-driven environment.

Requirements

• An associate degree in computer science, computer engineering, information systems, or a closely related field from an accredited college or university OR its equivalent in terms of total course credits/units [i.e., at least sixty (60) semester or ninety (90) quarter credits/units with a minimum of twenty (20) semester or thirty (30) quarter credits/units in one of the fields above or a closely-related field].
• Three (3) years of experience analyzing, installing, configuring, enhancing, and/or maintaining the components of an enterprise network.
• This experience must include at least one (1) year of experience in technical project management, product management, or the launching of enterprise software products.
• Substitution: Additional experience as described above may be substituted for the required degree on a year-for-year basis (up to a maximum of two (2) years). One (1) year is equivalent to thirty (30) semester units / forty-five (45) quarter units with a minimum of 10 semester / 15 quarter units
• Technical & Architectural Strengths Strong understanding of system architecture, including distributed systems, APIs, and integration patterns Experience working with both legacy enterprise systems and modern cloud-based platforms Familiarity with data architecture concepts, including data modeling, data governance, and system of record design Experience with integration technologies (REST APIs, webhooks, middleware, ETL processes) Understanding of identity and access management, security considerations, and enterprise architecture standards
• Product & Delivery Orientation Ability to operate as a technical product manager, balancing user needs, technical constraints, and platform capabilities Experience translating ambiguous business problems into structured technical solutions Strong prioritization skills across competing technical and operational demands
• Systems Thinking & Problem Solving Ability to reason across multiple interconnected systems and anticipate downstream impacts of design decisions Strong troubleshooting skills in complex, integrated environments Comfort navigating ambiguity and making decisions with incomplete information
• Communication & Collaboration Ability to communicate effectively with engineers, vendors, and non-technical stakeholders Strong facilitation skills to drive alignment on technical decisions and trade-offs Experience working across multiple agencies or teams with differing priorities and systems

Nice To Haves

• Experience implementing or integrating COTS enterprise platforms (e.g., permitting, ERP, CRM)
• Experience with cloud platforms
• Familiarity with government systems, permitting workflows, or regulatory environments
• Experience working in Agile or hybrid delivery models
• Exposure to data platforms, analytics pipelines, or open data initiatives

Responsibilities

• Technical Architecture & Platform Design Define and maintain the target-state architecture for PermitSF, including system boundaries, integration patterns, and data flows across platforms.
• Evaluate and design how the COTS permitting solution integrates with existing City systems (e.g., permitting, asset management, GIS, identity, and data platforms).
• Establish architectural principles and guardrails to balance scalability, maintainability, and vendor constraints.
• Data Architecture & Governance Design and oversee data models, data flows, and data ownership across systems Ensure consistent handling of core entities (e.g., permits, addresses, contractors, inspections) across disparate systems Partner with data teams to enable downstream analytics, reporting, and data sharing (e.g., data warehouses, DataSF)
• Systems Integration & Interoperability Lead the design and implementation of integrations across legacy systems, cloud services, and third-party platforms (APIs, webhooks, middleware) Define integration patterns (real-time vs. batch, system of record, synchronization logic) and ensure reliability and performance Troubleshoot and resolve complex cross-system issues related to data consistency, latency, and system behavior Guide decisions related to cloud architecture, environments, and deployment models across Evaluate performance, scalability, and cost implications of design decisions, especially in integration-heavy workflows
• Technical Product Management Translate business requirements into technical specifications, including workflows, data schemas, and system interactions Partner with vendor teams (e.g., OpenGov) to shape configuration, extensions, and feature development within platform constraints Prioritize technical features, integrations, and enhancements based on impact, feasibility, and long-term maintainability
• Technical Delivery Leadership Lead technical workstreams across multiple concurrent implementations, managing dependencies across systems and teams Identify and mitigate technical risks, including integration complexity, data quality issues, and platform limitations Establish and enforce best practices for technical documentation, configuration management, and release processes
• Stakeholder Engagement & Technical Translation Act as the bridge between business stakeholders, engineering teams, and vendors Communicate complex technical concepts clearly to non-technical audiences and support informed decision-making Build strong relationships with departmental technical teams to align on standards, constraints, and integration approaches

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: Associate degree
• Number of Employees: 1,001-5,000 employees