Job Description

The Enterprise Architect is a senior technical leader within the Department of Technology (DT), reporting to the Director of Enterprise Applications. This role is responsible for defining, governing, and advancing the City’s application and integration architecture. The Architect ensures that technology solutions are secure, scalable, cost-effective, and aligned with Citywide business objectives and compliance requirements.

Balancing strategic vision with hands-on technical execution, the Enterprise Architect establishes architectural standards, designs enterprise-grade solutions, and contributes to development activities when needed. The ideal candidate has deep full-stack engineering experience—from modern UI frameworks through backend services, data design, and DevOps automation—and actively promotes the responsible adoption of AI-assisted development tools to improve quality, security, and operational efficiency.

The Enterprise Architect serves as the principal authority on application architecture within the DT’s Enterprise Applications division. While primarily focused on setting strategic direction and architectural standards, this role maintains a hands-on approach—leading by example through prototyping, designing, and mentoring development/product teams.

This position requires deep technical knowledge across the full development stack, including front-end frameworks, server-side logic, database optimization, and cloud-based DevOps practices. The Architect also plays a critical role in promoting responsible AI adoption by integrating AI-powered tools and establishing standards for their ethical use.

Essential duties include, but are not limited to, the following:

Architecture & Standards

• Define and maintain enterprise architecture standards for applications, integrations, data, cloud, and security.
• Lead architecture reviews to ensure technical solutions align with enterprise guidelines and industry best practices.
• Develop and maintain long-term roadmaps for application modernization and digital transformation.
• Evaluate and recommend SaaS, PaaS, and custom-built solutions based on functionality, scalability, security, and fiscal responsibility.

Solution Design & Delivery

• Architect and oversee complex, multi-system integrations (e.g., CRM, ERP, Power Platform, case management solutions, analytic platforms etc.).
• Provide architectural oversight on high-impact enterprise and cross-departmental initiatives.
• Design and develop prototypes or proofs-of-concept to validate new technologies, platforms, architectures, or design patterns.
• Translate business requirements into scalable, maintainable, and resilient technical architectures in partnership with stakeholders.

AI-Assisted Solution Design

• Champion the use of AI tools (e.g., GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT, Platform AI capabilities) to accelerate secure, high-quality development.
• Establish and model best practices for secure, ethical, and effective AI use in solution design and development.
• Foster a culture of responsible AI adoption across the development organization.
• Support a culture of innovation by enabling development teams to adopt AI safely and effectively.

DevOps Leadership

• Promote cloud-native design principles and DevOps best practices, including infrastructure as code and automated monitoring.
• Guide the adoption of CI/CD pipelines, containerization strategies, and scalable deployment frameworks.
• Ensure applications are resilient, secure, and compliant across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.
• Lead automation initiatives in testing, deployment, and monitoring.

Collaboration, Communication & Mentorship

• Collaborate with IT leadership, cybersecurity, infrastructure, and data governance teams to ensure cohesive, secure solution delivery.
• Partner with City departments to understand business requirements and design technical solutions that deliver long-term measurable value.
• Communicate complex technical concepts clearly and effectively to both technical and non-technical stakeholders, ensuring shared understanding and alignment throughout the solution lifecycle.
• Mentor technical teams in architecture principles, standards, and best practices.

Qualifications

Education : Possession of an associate’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering or 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 Computer Science, Engineering or a closely-related field].

Experience :

Five (5) years of experience in enterprise architecture, solution design, or technical leadership roles

and

Two (2) years of full-stack software development experience.

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 or forty-five (45) quarter units with a minimum of 10 semester / 15 quarter units in one of the fields above or a closely related field.

Note : Applicants must meet the minimum qualification requirement by the final filing date unless otherwise noted.

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.

Desirable Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field.
• Proven experience operating in large-scale, complex enterprise environments.
• Strong background in architecture reviews, solutions design and development of technical standards.
• Demonstrated expertise in designing and implementing complex system integrations across diverse platforms and technologies.
• Proficiency with analytics platforms such as Snowflake and Power BI.
• Strong proficiency in data modeling, SQL, and major cloud platforms such as Azure, AWS, or GCP
• Hands-on experience with, or leadership in the adoption of, AI-assisted tools (e.g., GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT).
• Advanced DevOps expertise, including cloud-native design and automated monitoring solutions.
• Relevant certifications, such as TOGAF and cloud architecture credentials (e.g., Azure, AWS, or GCP), or similar credentials.
• In-depth knowledge of DevOps practices, including CI/CD, containerization, and infrastructure as code.
• Demonstrated ability to mentor technical teams and influence architectural and strategic direction.

Additional Information

Appointment Type: Permanent Exempt (PEX), Full Time position is excluded by the Charter from the competitive civil service examination process and shall serve at the discretion of the appointment officer.

Work Location: Incumbent will conduct most of the work at the Department of Technology, 1 South Van Ness, as well as 49 South Van Ness in San Francisco, CA 94103. However, there may be situations where the incumbent will be required to work at other sites throughout the City and County of San Francisco as necessary.

Nature of Work: Incumbent must be willing to work a 40-hour week as determined by the department. **** This is a hybrid role requiring on-site work at our San Francisco office as needed.

To find Departments which use this classification, please see: https://sfdhr.org/sites/default/files/documents/Forms-Documents/Position-Counts-by-Job-Codes-and-Department-FY-2022-23.pdf.

Additional Information Regarding Employment with the City and County of San Francisco:

• Information About The Hiring Process
• Conviction History
• Employee Benefits Overview
• Equal Employment Opportunity
• Disaster Service Worker
• ADA Accommodation
• Veterans Preference
• Right to Work
• Copies of Application Documents
• Diversity Statement

How to Apply

Applicants are encouraged to apply immediately as this recruitment may close at any time, but not before January 31, 2026.

1. Your application MUST include a resume. To upload, please attach using the "additional attachments" function.

2. Complete the Supplemental Questionnaire: https://forms.office.com/g/60bQEPzk39

3. You may contact Lawlun Leung via email at lawlun.leung@sfgov.org with questions regarding this opportunity.

4. Late or incomplete submissions will not be considered. Mailed, hand delivered or faxed documents/applications will not be accepted.

For best practices on the application process, please visit Apply for Jobs in the City and County of San Francisco Best Practices Guide. Applicants may be contacted by email about this announcement 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).

Applicants will receive a confirmation email 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.

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 we have a safe, equitable, and inclusive workplace for individuals of all races. This includes creating opportunities for hiring, promotion, training, and development, for all employees, including but not limited to Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC).

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.