Architect Principal - Citywide (5212) - (C00487)

City and County of San Francisco; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 160,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

City and County of San Francisco is seeking a Principal Engineer/Architect to manage and direct multi-unit design and construction projects. You will plan, coordinate, and oversee professional architectural teams, contractors, and agencies to achieve complex objectives.

The role requires extensive licensed experience, strong leadership, and a proven ability to develop and enforce standards, budgets, and policies across departments.

Qualifications

• Nine (9) years verifiable professional architecture work experience, six (6) years of that experience must be as a licensed professional architect.
• Two (2) of the nine (9) years must be equivalent to the City and County of San Francisco class 5211 Senior Architect.

Responsibilities

• Planning, directing and coordinating the design activities of a number of major sections engaged in complex engineering and/or architectural projects.
• Establishing, preparing, managing, reviewing and monitoring organizational budgets.
• Establishing and evaluating organizational goals and objectives; planning, coordinating and directing the activities of professional engineering and/or architectural personnel with those of contractors, subcontractors, state and local agencies, and inspection and construction personnel.
• Supervising subordinate personnel, completing performance appraisals, and participating in the disciplinary process when necessary.
• Establishing design and construction standards; reviewing and approving correspondence, reports, estimates and other materials.
• Writing policies, procedures, correspondence and evaluations.
• Conducting important negotiations with representatives of government and architectural and engineering agencies.
• Coordinating, interpreting, and enforcing policies; conferring and coordinating with operating division managers, other departments, and state and local agencies.
• Making presentations to boards, organizations, and the public.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Job description

Company Description

This is a Citywide Exam posting. Your application to this posting is an application to take a citywide exam.

If you pass the exam, you will be emailed your score and ranking on the eligible candidate list. When a department has an open position with this job classification they will use this eligible list to hire for that position. Departments will contact candidates from this list to gauge interest in their specific roles. Learn more about the City’s hiring process here: https://careers.sf.gov/knowledge/process/

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.

Important Information & Application Steps

Application Opens: November 13, 2026

Application Filing Deadline: 5:00 PM PST on November 30, 2026

Job Description

Under general administrative direction, the Principal Engineer/Architect manages, plans, assigns and directs the activities of several units or a group of professional and sub-professional engineering/architectural personnel engaged in a wide variety of design and/or construction projects.

The essential functions of the class may vary depending upon assignment and may include:

• Planning, directing and coordinating the design activities of a number of major sections engaged in complex engineering and/or architectural projects.
• Establishing, preparing, managing, reviewing and monitoring organizational budgets.
• Establishing and evaluating organizational goals and objectives; planning, coordinating and directing the activities of professional engineering and/or architectural personnel with those of contractors, subcontractors, state and local agencies, and inspection and construction personnel.
• Supervising subordinate personnel, completing performance appraisals, and participating in the disciplinary process when necessary.
• Establishing design and construction standards; reviewing and approving correspondence, reports, estimates and other materials.
• Writing policies, procedures, correspondence and evaluations.
• Conducting important negotiations with representatives of government and architectural and engineering agencies.
• Coordinating, interpreting, and enforcing policies; conferring and coordinating with operating division managers, other departments, and state and local agencies.
• Making presentations to boards, organizations, and the public.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Nine (9) years verifiable professional architecture work experience of which six (6) years of that experience must be as a licensed professional architect. Two (2) of the nine (9) years must be equivalent to the City and County of San Francisco class 5211 Senior Architect;

AND

• Possession of a valid California License as a Registered Architect.

Substitutions for Architecture Specialty

• A Master's Degree in Architecture may substitute for 1 (one) year of work experience.
• A PhD in Architecture may substitute for 2 (two) years of work experience.

This note applies to all candidates who are applying from out of the state of California for all specialties:

• Candidates licensed in other states who otherwise meet the minimum requirements of this announcement, but do not possess the required California license, may file for this examination, and if successful, will be placed under waiver on the resulting eligible list until the required California license is presented.

License or Certificate

Some positions may require a valid driver license.

Working Conditions

Some positions may require specific lifting up to 50 pounds; climbing ladders; working in high places and confined spaces; exposure to various weather conditions and outdoors; bending, sitting, and walking for extended periods of time and over uneven surfaces. Positions in this class may also be required to work specific schedules which may include weekends, holidays, part time, nights, and/or overtime.

Verification

Every application is reviewed to ensure that you meet the minimum qualifications as listed in the job ad. Review SF Careers Employment Applications 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. If education verification is required, information on how to verify education requirements, including verifying foreign education credits or degree equivalency, can be found at https://careers.sf.gov/knowledge/experience-education/.

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.

All work experience, education, training and other information substantiating how you meet the minimum qualifications must be included on your application by the filing deadline. Information submitted after the filing deadline will not be considered in determining whether you meet the minimum qualifications.

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 lower scores.

One year of full-time employment is equivalent to 2000 hours, (2000 hours of qualifying work experience is based on a 40 hours 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.

SELECTION PROCEDURES

After application submission, candidates deemed qualified must complete all subsequent steps to advance in this selection process, which includes the following.

Minimum Qualification Supplemental Questionnaire with Training and Experience Evaluation (100%)

Candidates will be prompted to complete a Supplemental Questionnaire with Training and Experience Evaluation as part of the online employment application. This Minimum Qualification Supplemental Questionnaire is designed to obtain specific information regarding an applicant's experience in relation to the Minimum Qualifications for this position. Applicants must also complete the official application. It is essential that applicants provide complete information in identifying their education, experience and training.

The Minimum Qualification Supplemental Questionnaire will be used to evaluate if the applicant possesses the required minimum qualifications and if so, it will also be used to determine the final score and rank on the eligible list/score report.

Additional Information

Eligible List/Score Report

A confidential eligible list of applicant names that have passed the civil service examination process will be created and used for certification purposes only. An examination 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 civil service examination process is subject to change after adoption (e.g., as a result 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 of 6 months and may be extended with the approval of the Human Resources Director.

Additional selection processes may be conducted by the hiring department prior to making final hiring decisions.

Please note: This Citywide recruitment and its resulting eligible list score report may be used to fill positions in various City departments.

Terms of Announcement and Appeal Rights

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 https://sf.gov/departments/civil-service-commission

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

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.