Job Description

PermitSF is leading the City’s effort to modernize and unify San Francisco’s permitting system, making it faster, more predictable, and truly customer-centric. The team is streamlining processes, strengthening accountability, and replacing more than 30 legacy systems with a single, citywide permitting platform launching in 2026.

The Department of Technology seeks a PermitSF Solution Architect , a senior technical leader responsible for guiding the City’s technical strategy, integration architecture, and system interoperability for the unified permitting platform built on the OpenGov Permitting & Licensing solution.

This role focuses on ensuring that data flows consistently across all permitting systems , establishing an integration architecture that enables OpenGov to work seamlessly with critical City systems such as Accela, Oracle Forms, and Clariti. The Architect will define enterprise standards, lead architectural decision-making, and work closely with PermitSF, DataSF, Digital Services, the Mayor’s Office of Innovation (MOI), and DT to ensure citywide alignment on data governance, API standards, and system modernization roadmaps.

The Architect will also develop the long-term plan for replacing legacy permitting systems and will guide technical decisions that ensure scalability, resilience, and sustainability for the City’s new permitting ecosystem.

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

• Provide strategic leadership for PermitSF’s integration and system architecture, ensuring consistent data exchange and interoperability across departments.
• Lead architectural decision-making for connecting OpenGov with City systems, including legacy platforms (Accela, Oracle Forms, Clariti) and City infrastructure (API gateway, cloud, and data platforms).
• Establish and maintain enterprise architecture standards covering integrations, data exchange, GIS/addressing, identity, document management, and API design.
• Define the integration layer that decouples City systems and user interfaces from OpenGov logic, ensuring long-term flexibility.
• Ensure alignment with citywide strategies for cloud, cybersecurity, privacy, and digital transformation.
• Architect the system landscape supporting PermitSF, including data synchronization, workflow coordination, data pipelines, GIS services, document management, and API/event-driven integrations.
• Occasionally perform light technical prototyping, configuration, or proof-of-concept work to validate integration approaches or architectural assumptions.
• Guide implementation partners and vendors to ensure architecture compliance and long-term sustainability.
• Advise on configuration tradeoffs to minimize customizations and technical debt.
• Develop the roadmap for transitioning from legacy systems to OpenGov, including coexistence and phased replacement strategies.
• Define operational standards for integrations, including monitoring, performance, security, and lifecycle management.
• Collaborate with DT engineering and operations to ensure long-term platform readiness and support.
• Partner with PermitSF leadership, business owners, DataSF, MOI, and Digital Services to ensure solutions align with redesigned workflows and data governance needs.
• Act as a liaison across City departments — Planning, DBI, Public Works, Fire, Public Health, DataSF, and DT — to ensure technical consistency and alignment.

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

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 40hour 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

• Strong background in integration architecture, API strategy, and systems interoperability.
• Experience with SaaS case management systems (e.g. OpenGov, Accela, Clariti) or similar technology platforms.
• Familiarity with cloud platforms (Azure, AWS, or GCP) and modern integration approaches.
• Experience with enterprise data platforms (Snowflake, Power BI) and data governance frameworks.
• Knowledge of San Francisco’s permitting landscape or municipal operations is a plus.
• Certifications such as TOGAF or cloud architecture credentials preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to guide technical decision-making and influence diverse stakeholder groups.
• Experience working in complex, large-scale enterprise or government environments.

Additional Information

Appointment Type: Temporary Exempt (TEX), 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/FQmFNTFKLc

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.