Job Description

THIS IS A CITYWIDE RECRUITMENT FOR CURRENT CITY EMPLOYEES ONLY

This is an Exempt to Permanent recruitment in accordance with Class-Based Test (CBT) Civil Service Rules. This recruitment is only open to current exempt employees of the City and County of San Francisco, San Francisco Unified School District, or San Francisco City College, working within the 5211 Engineer / Architect / Landscape Architect Senior classification

San Francisco is a vibrant and dynamic city, on the forefront of economic growth & innovation, urban development, arts & entertainment, as well as social issues & change. This rich tapestry of culture and ideas is sustained by our City's commitment to heighten 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.

• Application Opening: Tuesday, June 9, 2026
• Application Deadline: Tuesday, June 16, 2026 at 11:59 PM (PDT)
• Recruitment ID: ETP-5211-165679 / RTF0165678-01120095

Under general administrative direction, manages and directs the activities of professional and technical engineering, architecture and/or landscape architecture personnel performing highly technical and administrative functions in connection with the design, construction, operation and maintenance of projects and systems; supervises and/or directs subordinates in the preparation of designs, drawings, specifications and cost estimates for a variety of engineering, architectural and/or landscape architectural design and construction projects and/or construction inspection or personnel engaged in the most difficult and responsible professional engineering, architectural and/or landscape architectural work in the field and office.

For the Engineering specialty, the focus is on highly technical and administrative functions in connection with the engineering design, construction, operation and maintenance of projects and systems.

For the Architecture specialty, the focus is on architectural design and related activities necessary for the construction, inspection, and maintenance of public buildings.

For the Landscape Architecture specialty the focus is on large-scale landscape architectural design and construction of major landscape projects in connection with City streets, parks, benches, and historical monuments.

Supervision Exercised: Supervises professional and sub-professional engineers/architects/landscape architects, technicians, inspectors, surveyors, and other related personnel by assigning, monitoring, and evaluating work assignments. This senior level classification may manage the personnel of an entire engineering, architecture, and/or landscape architecture unit or work group.

Examples of important and essential dutiesinclude but are not limited to the following:

1. Directs, supervises and coordinates the design of complex engineering/architecture/landscape architecture projects, ensuring that codes, standards, and project requirements are met; plans and develops projects, budgets and staff for a wide variety of design activities.
2. Interviews, selects, trains, monitors, and evaluates departmental staff and consultants to ensure that work methods and work flow are effective; assures that written performance goals and objectives are prepared for employees; monitors the work of and evaluates, counsels and disciplines subordinate staff as necessary; and reviews and approves technical training programs for staff.
3. Plans, organizes and directs the administration and management of contracts; reviews, evaluates and makes recommendations for and/or approves contracts, contract modifications, specifications, related documents, and the settlement of claims.
4. Directs, supervises and reviews the preparation of complex construction contract and construction documents by establishing priorities, assigning tasks, allocating resources and monitoring progress to assure quality and cost effective performance of design work. Prepares and supervises the preparation of difficult and complex design drawings, specifications, and quantity and cost estimates.
5. Establishes and implements departmental policies, procedures and administrative directives in accordance with applicable laws, ordinances, codes, standards, rules, regulations, and legislative policies and procedures by interpreting, explaining, monitoring, and evaluating the functional activities of the organization.
6. Manages projects through planning, scheduling and monitoring critical milestones to ensure projects are completed on time and within budget.
7. Directs, reviews and supervises the review of shop drawings by contractors and other work of professional consulting firms employed to design various projects. Checks and reviews specifications, estimates and computations prepared by consultants and subordinate staff members.
8. Supervises field inspection staff working on projects under construction and proposed projects to assure conformance with plans and specifications and initiates new projects. May participate in field inspections when necessary.
9. Coordinates all activities between a unit and other sections, bureaus, departments, outside agencies, and consultants and/or contractors.
10. Consults with technical staff, public officials, and others to resolve differences among professional personnel; identifies problems, develops and compares alternatives and makes decisions or recommendations for effective problem resolution.
11. Conducts meetings and makes presentations to Boards, Commissions, committees, approval agencies, staff and the general public for the purpose of providing accurate information, explaining policies, and providing recommendations and/or solutions.
12. Represents the City and consults with government officials, business and civic organizations in connection with specific departmental issues.
13. Writes, and/or reviews and approves letters, reports, memos, recommendations, routine correspondence and other documents.
14. Performs other related duties as assigned.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications:

Applicants must meet the minimum qualifications requirement by the final filing date unless otherwise noted.

1. Current Category 16, 17, or 18 Exempt Employee in Class 5211 who has worked at least 2,080 hours in class 5211 with no break in service; AND
2. Education: Possession of a baccalaureate degree with major course work in engineering, architecture and/or landscape architecture; AND
3. License or Certificate Possession of a Certificate of Registration as a Professional Engineer, Architect or Landscape Architect in the State of California; AND
4. Experience: Verifiable professional work experience depending on the following specialty you are applying for:

Engineering Specialty: Experience: Seven (7) years of verifiable professional engineering (e.g. civil, mechanical, electrical, sanitary/chemical/environmental, or transportation /traffic) work experience of which four (4) years of that experience must be as a licensed professional engineer. Two (2) of the seven (7) years must be equivalent to the City and County of San Francisco class 5241 Engineer

Architecture Specialty: Experience: Eight (8) years of verifiable professional architecture work experience of which four (4) years of that experience must be as a licensed professional architect. Two (2) of the eight (8) years must be equivalent to the City and County of San Francisco class 5268 Architect

Landscape Architecture Specialty: Experience: Eight (8) years of verifiable professional landscape architecture work experience of which four (4) years of that experience must be as a licensed professional landscape architect. Two (2) of the eight (8) years must be equivalent to the City and County of San Francisco class 5274 Landscape Architect

License: Most positions require a current valid California driver's license.

Substitution: A Master's Degree in Engineering, Architecture or Landscape Architecture may substitute for one-year work experience. A Ph. D. in Engineering, Architecture or Landscape Architecture may substitute for two years work experience.

Additional Notes:

Engineering Specialty: Engineering certification must be in one of the following disciplines: Civil, Chemical, Mechanical, Electrical, Environmental, or Transportation (Traffic). A Grade Four Certificate in Water/Wastewater Treatment Operation (CA) may substitute for one year of non-licensed work experience in the Sanitary specialty. Some engineering positions may require possession of a certificate issued by the International Conference of Building Officials (ICBO), International Code Council (ICC) or an equivalent certifying body.

Some positions may require additional special engineering licensing and/or work experience in areas such as Construction Management, Structural Design, Corrosion, Fire Protection, Geo-technical Engineering, Environmental, or Instrumentation and Control Systems. Additional specialty areas may be determined at a later time.

Verification of Experience and/or Education:

Every application is reviewed to ensure that you meet the minimum qualifications as listed in the job ad. Please review Employment Application and Minimum Qualifications and Verification of Experience and/or Education for considerations taken when reviewing applications.

Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process.

Failure to provide the required verification may result in rejection of the application and/or removal from eligibility for referral and appointment in this class.

Note: Falsifying one’s education, training, or work experience or attempted deception on the application may result in disqualification for this and future job opportunities with the City and County of San Francisco.

Special Requirements: Special Qualifications including specialized knowledge, abilities, education, experience, or license may be established for individual positions.

Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of a completed City and County of San Francisco application. Applications completed improperly may be cause for ineligibility, disqualification or may lead to a lower score.

What else should I know?

SELECTION PROCEDURES:

1. Job Application - Applicants must fully complete the job application for this recruitment on the City and County of San Francisco's website. Information from resumes does not substitute for the information on the job application or preliminary questionnaire.
2. Preliminary Questionnaire – Training and Experience Assessment (Weight: 100%) During the application process, candidates will be prompted to complete a Preliminary Questionnaire as part of the online employment process. Please answer the Preliminary Questionnaire carefully and thoroughly. It will serve as the Training and Experience Assessment for this recruitment and will be used to determine your eligibility for this recruitment as well as your score and rank on the eligible list. Qualified applicants will be ranked on the eligible list based on the length of their exempt City service (in Category 16, 17, and/or 18) in the 5211 Engineer / Architect / Landscape Architect – Senior class, along with any additional qualifying points (e.g., promotive status), as outlined in Civil Service Commission (CSC) rules. All work history will be verified using official City records, which will serve as the final authority in determining qualifying service.

Additional Information

Eligible List/Score Report: A confidential eligible list of qualifying candidates will be created and used for certification purposes only. A score report will be established, so applicants can view the ranks, final scores and number of eligible candidates. Applicant information, including names of applicants on the eligible list, shall not be made public unless required by law. However, an eligible list shall be made available for public inspection upon request once the eligible list is exhausted or expired and referrals resolved. The eligible list/score report resulting from this selection process is subject to change after adoption (e.g., because of appeals), as directed by the Human Resources Director or the Civil Service Commission.

The duration of the eligible list resulting from this examination process will be 6 months and may be extended with the approval of the Human Resources Director.

Certification Rule: The certification rule for this selection process will be Rule of the List.

HOW TO APPLY

Applications for City and County of San Francisco jobs are only accepted through an online process. Visit https://careers.smartrecruiters.com/CityAndCountyOfSanFrancisco1/ and begin the application process.

• Select the “I’m Interested” button and follow instructions on the screen

Note:

1. Please ensure the information on your application is accurate. It may not be possible to change after you’ve applied.

2. Your first and last name should match your legal ID for verification purposes. A preferred first name may be included in parentheses. Here is an example: Joseph (Joe) Smith.

3. Your email address should be consistent across all jobs applied to on our website.

4. Use a personal and not a shared email address. Doing so may prevent your application from submitting properly.

Upon successful submission, applicants will receive a confirmation email from notification@careers.sf.gov Keep this email for your records. If you do not receive it, your application was not submitted successfully.

Important Email Contact Information: Applicants may be contacted by email about this recruitment and, therefore, it is your responsibility to ensure that your registered email address is accurate and kept up-to-date. Also, applicants must ensure that emails from CCSF is not blocked on your 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).

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
• Seniority Credit in Promotional Exams
• Right to Work
• Copies of Application Documents
• Diversity Statement

Terms of Announcement and Appeal Rights: Applicants must be guided solely by the provisions of this announcement, including requirements, time periods and other particulars, except when superseded by federal, state or local laws, rules or regulations. [Note: The correction of clerical errors in an announcement may be posted on the Department of Human Resources website at https://careers.smartrecruiters.com/CityAndCountyOfSanFrancisco1/ .] The terms of this announcement may be appealed under Civil Service Rule 110.4. Such appeals must be submitted in writing to the Department of Human Resources, 1 S Van Ness Avenue, 4th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94103-5413 by close of business on the 5th business day following the issuance date of this examination announcement. Information concerning other Civil Service Commission Rules involving announcements, applications and examination policies, including applicant appeal rights, can be found on the Civil Service Commission website at http://sfgov.org/civilservice/rules

If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact the exam analyst, Vivian Yeung at VYeung@sfwater.org

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.