Lead IT Project Manager (Lead Systems Engineer)

About the Information Service and Technology (IST) Department: Connecting people and government through innovative, accessible technology solutions.

• Customers: Enable departments through partnerships, responsiveness, and innovation; prioritizing their needs and fulfilling their expectations.
• Solutions: Be Innovative Business Leaders who identify opportunities early and apply technology to drive better, faster public services.

Culture: Cultivate leadership at all levels to drive IST’s success while advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion. In addition to a full benefits package that includes Medical, Dental, Vision, Pension/Retirement, deferred compensation, and flexible spending accounts, we offer our employees:

• Hybrid (telework/onsite) work schedules 
• Options for Alternative Work Schedules (such as 4-5/9’s) 
• A culture of public service collaboration and work/life balance
• Training and career development opportunities
• County benefits such as Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and Tuition Assistance Program (TAP)

About the Project Management Office Team: Our team provides centralized IT project management for technology projects across all County departments. We use standard project management principles, processes, tools, and software to ensure project delivery and success.

There is currently one (1) full-time vacancy for a Lead IT Project Engineer (Lead Systems Engineer) in the Project Management Office (PMO) of the Information Services and Technology Department (IST). 

This is an opportunity to help shape how technology projects are delivered across Marin County, while supporting innovation, collaboration, and improved public outcomes.

Reporting to the IT Manager of PMO, the Lead IT Project Manager serves as the Team Lead for the PMO Team. They will manage complex projects independently and work closely with the PMO Manager to define and implement standards and policies for project and portfolio management across all technology projects. They will mentor a team of IT Project Managers, participate in the selection of new employees, and lead the work of the PMO on a day-to-day or project basis that enables strategic delivery, organizational agility, transparency and continuous improvements across County technology initiatives. 

Remote Work Options: Some duties for this position may be performed remotely and options for a hybrid (telework/onsite) work schedule are available. However, the successful candidate must be able to report to County facilities for various meetings and work assignments upon short notice, as needed, and when deemed appropriate. During the initial probationary period, the successful candidate may be required to work primarily onsite before establishing a hybrid work schedule. The ideal candidate has lead project management experience and has previously served in a project management office. This individual has led the implementation of complex IT projects throughout the project life cycle, across all project methodologies, with a proven track record of successful implementations. They possess expert knowledge of project management tools and best practices, combined with strong analytical mindset and deep hands-on knowledge of modern systems engineering practices. They should have experienced mentoring team members, leading customer interactions, engaging with diverse groups of stakeholders and presenting to leadership. Excellent interpersonal skills are expected for cross functional collaboration with stakeholders across the organization and external parties.

Specifically, they are significantly experienced in the following:

• All aspects of technology project management life cycle across project methodologies (waterfall, hybrid and agile) while adhering to departmental policies and standards.
• Proficient and proven track record in delivering projects on time and on budget.
• Leading and mentoring project management professionals in a team environment.
• Building collaborative partnerships across business and technical teams.
• Strong understanding and experience of technology (including system design, integration, testing, deployment, lifecycle management, compliance and vendor management).
• Analyzing client needs and managing project plan and stakeholder alignment.
• Adaptable with strong problem-solving mind set to maintain project critical path, with escalations as appropriate.
• Engagement and negotiation with external vendors/consultants to meet business requirements (including contract construction and budget tracking).
• Providing reports and conducting presentations for senior leadership and project stakeholders.
• Using data, metrics, and dashboards to support project decision-making.
• Promoting innovation and modern service delivery practice to support collaboration and productivity in project management practices.
• Staying current and updated with Project Management Institute (PMI) best practices and making recommendations regarding advancements and changes.

Certifications such as Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified ScrumMaster (CSM), or related credentials are highly desirable, along with prior experience of working in PMO environment.

QUALIFICATIONS

Knowledge of:

• Business processes, operating practices and the organizational structure of a public-sector agency.
• Computer hardware platforms, operating systems, and middleware systems.
• Database design, management, and recovery; and data access.
• Design of multi-tier environments.
• Distributed application development.
• Principles of networking, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) accessibility, and Information Security.
• Office automation products.
• Principles and practices of project management, including teambuilding, goal setting, assisting with budget, and contractor supervision; project estimation, design and analysis, work planning and status reporting.
• Principles and practices of technical problem solving; techniques of application and systems analysis and design; and testing standards and procedures.
• Principles of customer support and service.
• Relational data base theory and design.
• Technical fields relevant to the business unit.
• Application architecture and associated communication protocols.

Ability to:

• Create, modify, test, and implement applications using programming languages, database services, middleware services, web services and office automation services.
• Evaluate and select hardware and software; analyze and resolve problems in applications, complex software and hardware integration problems.
• Develop solutions; apply and recommend technology to provide target business outcomes.
• Communicate effectively both orally and in writing.
• Design systems that meet defined requirements, and document system designs for development, implementation, testing and client use.
• Estimate resources, equipment, software, costs and staff time required for specified projects.
• Maintain and direct the maintenance of accurate records, documentation and files.
• Program in multiple languages.
• Understand the business strategy of a particular function/area and work effectively with clients, peers and support teams to define project goals and business requirements, provide support for software, hardware, and applications, and ensure that tasks are completed accurately and in a timely manner.

The Minimum Qualifications are:
Any seven-year combination of recent professional experience and relevant coursework that demonstrates the necessary knowledge and abilities. A typical way of achieving these requirements would be graduation with a bachelor's degree from an accredited program with major coursework in computer science or related field and four years of work experience related to the assignment.

• Twelve (12) semester units of coursework from an accredited program and in a discipline relevant to the assignment is equivalent to a full year of related professional experience.
• Required education may be substituted with related professional experience on a year for year basis.
• Internships completed in conjunction with coursework are excluded from being credited towards work experience, if they are counted towards educational requirements.
• Recent professional experience is defined as experience gained, in part, in the last five years or longer, if technically relevant.

For any questions concerning this position announcement, please contact Colleen Beck at colleen.beck@marincounty.gov.

All applicants will receive email notifications regarding their status in the recruitment process. Please be sure to check your spam settings to allow our emails to reach you. You may also log into your governemntjobs.com account to view these emails.

Testing and Eligible List: Depending on the number of qualified applications received, the examination may consist of a highly qualified review, application screening, online assessment, written examination, oral examination, performance examination, or any combination to determine which candidates' names will be placed on the eligible list. The eligible list established from this recruitment will be used to fill the current vacancy and any future vacancies for open, fixed-term, full-time or part-time positions which may occur while the list remains active.

First Round Interviews will be held via Zoom Wednesday, August 19th and/or Thursday, August 20th, 2026.

TENTATIVE Second Round Interviews will be held be in person Wednesday, September 2nd and/or Thursday, September 3rd, 2026 (1600 Los Gamos Drive, Suite 370, San Rafael, CA 94903).
 

Disaster Service Workers: All County of Marin employees are designated Disaster Service Workers through state and local law (California Government Code Section 3100-3109). Employment with the County requires the affirmation of a loyalty oath to this effect. Employees are required to complete all Disaster Service Worker-related training as assigned, and to return to work as ordered in the event of an emergency.

Equal Employment Opportunity Employer:If you have questions regarding equal employment opportunities, please contact Roger Crawford, Equal Employment Opportunity Director, at 415-473-2095.