Chief Technology Officer (E043)

SEPTA; Philadelphia (Philadelphia County); On-site; USD 210,000 - 320,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare Coverage

Retirement Plan

Work-Life Balance

Wellness programs

Tuition reimbursement

Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)

Free SEPTA Transportation Pass

Job summary

SEPTA in Philadelphia seeks a seasoned Chief Technology Officer to lead a multi-year modernization of technology across operations, finance, and safety. You will own the technology strategy, build durable partnerships with operations, engineering, and external stakeholders, and drive data availability and security across the organization.

The role demands strategic vision, executive presence, and a track record of delivering large-scale public-sector IT programs.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of technology leadership in a large, multi-stakeholder organization.
• Proven success leading an enterprise cloud modernization program.
• Deep experience across ERP, EAM, data & analytics platforms, and customer-facing digital products.
• Strong cybersecurity leadership, including OT risk and regulated payments.
• Ability to influence without authority across departments, boards, and external bodies.
• Experience managing large tech budgets in the public sector.

Responsibilities

• Own multi-year modernization roadmap aligned with business value and funding cycles.
• Lead migration and rationalization of legacy workloads including ERP and asset management.
• Establish a governed data platform and expose it via analytics, dashboards, and APIs.
• Oversee cybersecurity program and regulatory compliance initiatives.
• Ensure accessibility and cross-department partnership with governance structures.
• Present strategy and risk to SEPTA Board and external stakeholders.

Skills

Technology leadership

Cloud modernization

Cybersecurity leadership

Data analytics

Stakeholder influence

Budget management

Education

Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, information systems, or related field

Tools

ERP systems

Job description

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Secure Your Future with SEPTA – A Leader in Transportation!

TheSoutheastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA)is thesixth-largesttransportation system in the U.S., connecting communities across a2,200-square-mile service region. SEPTA isat the forefront of innovationin the transit industry, ensuring reliable and efficient services while driving economic growth in thePhiladelphia region.

Only candidates who are authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship, will be accepted at this time.

We are proud to be recognized as

2023 FORBES Best in State Employer

Philadelphia Employer of Choice for 2024

We are seeking to hire candidates for ourChief Technology Officer (E043).

Opening Date: 10/30/2026

Job Grade: SAM 46

OVERALL DESCRIPTION

SEPTA’s vision is to move from a “back to basics” philosophy to industry “best in class” within the next five years. The Chief Technology Officer is SEPTA’s accountable owner for technological enablement towards this vision. Reporting to the Treasurer/Chief Financial Officer, the CTO sets and executes a multi-year modernization roadmap that (among other objectives) retires technical debt, consolidates fragmented systems, strengthens cybersecurity and operational resilience, and makes trustworthy data available to every business area.

This is as much a stakeholder leadership role as a technical one. The CTO must build durable working relationships across Operations, Engineering, Maintenance & Construction (EM&C), System Safety, Transit Police, Legal, Human Resources, Customer Experience, and the rest of the Finance Division — and externally with the SEPTA Board, Commonwealth stakeholders such as PennDOT, Federal stakeholders such as FTA, and local stakeholders such as the City of Philadelphia and the four suburban counties, DVRPC, and technology and systems-integration partners.

SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES

Cloud Modernization Strategy

• Enterprise roadmap. Own a multi-year application modernization roadmap sequenced by business value, risk, safety impact, and capital funding cycles.
• Migration and rationalization. Lead assessment, disposition, and migration of legacy on-premises workloads — ERP/financials, asset and maintenance management (EAM), scheduling and workforce systems, CAD/AVL and operations data, and reporting platforms — using the appropriate rehost, replatform, refactor, or replace path for each.
• Data as an asset. Establish a governed enterprise data platform that unifies operations, asset, ridership, revenue, safety, and customer data, and expose it through analytics, real-time dashboards, GTFS/GTFS-RT and open-data feeds, and APIs.
• Cost discipline. Institute practices so spend is forecastable, attributable to business areas, and defensible to the Board, and to funding partners.
• Standardization. Favor proven and configurable platforms over bespoke builds; reserve custom development for genuine differentiators in rider experience and operations.

Technology Operations, Safety & Security

• Cybersecurity. Own the Authority's cybersecurity program; align to NIST CSF, TSA surface transportation security directives, and PCI-DSS for fare and payment environments.
• Resilience and continuity. Deliver measurable improvements in availability, disaster recovery, and incident response for systems that transit operations and public safety depend on around the clock.
• Service management. Mature ITSM, change management, vendor SLAs, and 24/7 support so technology reliability matches the expectations of a system that never stops running.
• Accessibility and compliance. Ensure digital products meet ADA and WCAG standards, Pennsylvania Right-to-Know obligations, and FTA and state reporting requirements.
• Cross-department partnership. Translate business outcomes into a shared technology agenda rather than an IT project list.
• Governance. Stand up an executive technology governance and investment-review process with transparent prioritization, benefits tracking, and stage-gated funding.
• Board and public engagement. Present strategy, progress, risk, and spend to the SEPTA Board, elected officials, and the public in clear, non-technical terms.
• Procurement and partners. Work with contracts team to structure competitive, performance-based contracts and hold systems integrators accountable to delivery commitments.
• Talent. Build, retain, and modernize a technology organization — reskilling existing staff for cloud, data, and security roles while competing for scarce external talent within public-sector.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

• 15+ years of progressive technology leadership in a large, complex, multi-stakeholder organization.
• Demonstrated success leading an enterprise cloud migration or modernization program of comparable scale — owning strategy, business case, execution, and measured outcomes.
• Deep experience across at least several of: ERP, enterprise asset management, workforce/scheduling, data and analytics platforms, and customer-facing digital products.
• Strong cybersecurity leadership, including operational technology risk and regulated payment environments.
• Proven ability to influence without authority across operating departments, executive peers, boards, labor, and external oversight bodies.
• Experience managing large capital and operating technology budgets with public accountability.
• Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, information systems, or a related field.

Why Join Our Team? Enjoy Outstanding Benefits!

• Comprehensive Healthcare Coverage – Medical, prescription, dental, and vision plans with little to no employee premiums.
• Retirement Security – Participate in a Defined Benefit Pension Plan and a 457B Deferred Compensation Plan to build your financial future.
• Work-Life Balance – Enjoy paid parental leave, generous vacation time, and paid holidays to recharge and spend time with loved ones.
• Employee Wellness– Access wellness programs and resources to support your physical, mental, and emotional well-being.
• Invest in Your Growth – We offer tuition reimbursement to support your education and career advancement.
• Student Loan Assistance – Our positions qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, helping you manage and reduce student debt.
• Free Travel Perks – Receive a FREE SEPTA Transportation Pass, giving you unlimited access to all SEPTA services!

SEPTA is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.