| Location | Sacramento, CA |
| Salary | $113,477.25–$159,673.88 Per Year |
Principal Systems Engineer (IT Operations/VOIP)
Salary
$113,477.25 - $159,673.88 Annually
Location
Sacramento, CA
Job Type
Full-Time Career
Job Number
001796-26-IT
Department
Information Technology
Division
IT Operations
Opening Date
10/15/2026
Closing Date
10/29/2026 11:59 PM Pacific
THE POSITION
Please Note: a candidate may be required to successfully pass a thorough background investigation, including a criminal history check for job-related convictions, fingerprinting, polygraph test, and a drug use history to be considered for this position.
With supervisor approval, incumbents may be eligible for intermittent remote work; however, they must physically reside within the Sacramento region or have the ability to regularly report to a City of Sacramento physical worksite with little notice.
This position, based in the Information Technology (IT) Department, serves as the technical expert and lead VoIP engineer. This position oversees complex projects and delegates tasks to senior and systems engineers. As a highly technical lead, the incumbent is responsible for designing, configuring, and maintaining the Citys VoIP infrastructure/environment and applications. Operating with discretion across Citywide call centers and voice applications including VoIP PBX, voice mail and E911- the position provides leadership, training, mentoring, and direction to lower-level staff. Additionally, this position acts as the Subject Matter Expert (SME) and final escalation point for operating, maintaining, troubleshooting the VoIP environment.
IDEAL CANDIDATE STATEMENT
The ideal candidate will be an effective, articulate, and persuasive leader, capable of communicating technical concepts to both technical and non-technical staff. The ideal candidate will also possess the technical acumen to manage multiple projects in various stages, technologies and environments. Strong written and verbal communication skills are essential for collaborating with stakeholders and making critical decisions regarding system implementation and integration. The ideal candidate will have project management experience, strategic planning and execution, and the ability to optimize operating systems while leading multi-functional teams are also desirable.
Under general direction, the Principal Systems Engineer performs a variety of professional, technical, and systems programming and/or network administration duties involving the design, development, testing, implementation and maintenance of the software and hardware infrastructure and connectivity capability between different platforms that manage information technology resources and/or support the execution of automated applications. The scope of systems includes all computing platforms from PCs to mainframes and associated networks. Incumbents may be assigned to duties in any one or a combination of platforms, operating systems and associated products.
DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS
This is an expert-professional-level classification and may be populated with multiple incumbents. The Principal Systems Engineer provides the highest level of technical expertise and knowledge in performing network design, administration and tuning, mainframe operating systems programming, and cross-platform system security. Incumbents provide technical leadership, training and informal work direction to lower-level staff and serve as technical experts who exercise discretion and have latitude in resolving complex technical issues. This classification is distinguished from the lower-level classification of Senior Systems Engineer by the highly complex nature of the duties performed including multi-platform system design, design and implementation of sophisticated security measures, complex technical specification development, technical project management and by the advanced level of knowledge and experience required.
Principal Systems Engineer is distinguished from Information Technology Supervisor in that the latter is the first full-supervisory level while the former, who may supervise as an incidental assignment, is the highest-level technical expert.
SUPERVISION RECEIVED AND EXERCISED
General direction is provided by an Information Technology Supervisor, an Information Technology Manager or higher-level management staff. Responsibilities may include supervision of technical and/or administrative staff
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The following duties are typical for this classification. Incumbents may not perform all the listed duties and/or may be required to perform related duties as needed.
QUALIFICATIONS
Knowledge of:
Skill in:
Ability to:
EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION
Any combination of education and experience that would provide the required knowledge and abilities would be qualifying. A typical way to obtain the knowledge and abilities would be:
Experience:
Six years progressively responsible operating systems programming experience in an IT environment consisting of multiple platforms, large-scale applications with multiple operating systems with a minimum of two years of supervisory or project leader experience.
Education:
A Bachelors degree from an accredited college or university in Computer Science or a related degree.
Substitution:
Additional experience may substitute for education on a year-for-year basis.
PROOF OF EDUCATION
Should education be used to qualify for this position, then proof of education such as, but not limited to, university/college transcripts and degrees should be submitted with your application and will be required at the time of appointment. Unofficial documents and/or copies are acceptable.
An applicant with a college degree obtained outside the United States must have education records evaluated by a credentials evaluation service. Evaluation of education records will be due at time of appointment.
THE SELECTION PROCEDURE
Please note, the City of Sacramentos preferred method of communication with applicants is via e-mail. As such, please ensure you verify the e-mail address on your application, and check your e-mail frequently, including your spam and junk folders. All e-mail notifications can also be accessed through the governmentjobs.com applicant inbox.
Employment applications must be submitted online; paper applications will not be accepted.
Employment applications will be considered incomplete and will be disqualified:
If applicants do not list current and past job-related experience in the duties area of the "Work Experience" section. Note: Qualifying experience is based on full-time experience (40 hours per week). Qualifying experience is calculated to the full-time equivalent (pro-rated if less than 40 hours/week).
If "see resume" is noted in the "Work Experience" section; a resume will not substitute for the information required in the "Work Experience" section.
Position/job titles will not be considered in determining eligibility for meeting the minimum qualifications for this position.
Proof of education such as, but not limited to, university/college transcripts and degrees should be submitted online with your application. Proof of education will be required at time of appointment.
Responses to the supplemental questionnaire must be submitted online; paper questionnaire will not be accepted.
Incomplete supplemental questionnaire will not pass the review process; omitted information cannot be considered or assumed.
A resume will not substitute for the information required in the supplemental questionnaire.
Possession of the minimum qualifications is not necessarily a guarantee for further advancement in the selection process.
Screening Committee: (Pass/Fail) -All applications received by the final filing deadline will be forwarded to the hiring department for review. The hiring department will select the most competitive applications for further consideration. Human Resources will only evaluate employment applications for the minimum qualifications, as stated on the job announcement, for applications selected by the hiring department.
Interview Process: Human Resources will forward applications to the hiring department. Those determined to be the most qualified candidates will be invited to participate in an interview process.
Background Process: If considered for appointment, candidates may be required to pass a background investigation, which includes a criminal history check, fingerprinting, polygraph test, and drug use history.
Conditional Hire: Upon receipt of a conditional offer, the selected candidate must complete and pass Live Scan/fingerprinting. If applicable, candidates may also need to pass a pre-employment medical exam, controlled substance and/or alcohol test, and possess any required licensure or certification prior to receiving a start date from the Department. Failure to meet these prerequisites will be grounds for withdrawal of your conditional offer of employment.
QUESTIONS:
For questions concerning this job announcement and the application process:
Please visit https://www.governmentjobs.com/Home/ApplicationGuide for a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to the application process.
For technical support between 6 AM - 5 PM PT, contact Live Application Support at 855-524-5627.
Visit the City of Sacramento Human Resources Department website at https://www.cityofsacramento.gov/HR/employment;
Send an email to employment@cityofsacramento.org; or
Call the Human Resources Department at (916) 808-5726
Bilingual Pay
Did you know that the City offers bilingual pay? Thats right, most labor agreements offer the option of providing employees with bilingual pay if the department deems it to be operationally necessary.
Pension Reform Act
The City of Sacramento is covered by the California Public Employees Retirement System, and as such, must adhere to the California Public Employees Pension Reform Act (PEPRA) of 2013. Please note that the provisions within this act may affect or impact an applicants eligibility and/or selection for open vacancies at the City of Sacramento.
Equal Opportunity Employer
The City of Sacramento is an equal opportunity employer to all, regardless of age, ancestry, color, disability (mental and physical), exercising the right to family care and medical leave, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, military or veteran status, national origin, political affiliation, race, religious creed, sex (includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and related medical conditions), and sexual orientation.
Additional Information
Civil Service Rules: https://www.cityofsacramento.gov/content/dam/portal/hr/documentlibrary/CivilServiceBoardRules62012.pdf
Union Contracts: https://www.cityofsacramento.gov/HR/labor-agreements.html
Salary Schedule: https://www.cityofsacramento.gov/content/dam/portal/hr/documentlibrary/SalarySchedule.pdf
01
APPLICATION: I understand my application must meet the minimum qualifications for consideration of employment with the City of Sacramento. The experience I list in the duties area of the "Work Experience" section of the employment application will be used to determine if I meet the minimum qualifications as stated on the job announcement. A resume, responses to the supplemental questions requiring a narrative response, employment history listed elsewhere in the application or attachments will not substitute for the information required in the "Work Experience" section of the employment application. Position/job titles will not be considered in determining eligibility for meeting the minimum qualifications for this position. Note: Qualifying experience is based on full-time experience (40 hours per week). Qualifying experience is calculated to the full-time equivalent (pro-rated if less than 40 hours/week). Please refer to the City of Sacramentos Applicant Resources Page for Screening Instructions: https://www.cityofsacramento.gov/HR/employment
02
PROOF OF EDUCATION: To qualify for this classification you may use any combination of education and/or experience as listed to provide required knowledge, skills, and abilities. I understand proof of education such as, but not limited to, university/college transcripts and degrees should be submitted with my application and will be required at the time of appointment if I am using education to qualify for this position. Please refer to the City of Sacramentos Proof of Education Requirements (https://www.cityofsacramento.gov/HR/employment) for information on accepted documentation.
03
EDUCATION CONFIRMATION: If I am using education to qualify for this position, I attest I possess or will possess the following level of education by time of appointment if I am selected for this position.
04
I understand I may be required to pass a thorough background investigation, including a criminal history check for job-related convictions, fingerprinting, polygraph test, and a drug use history to be considered for this position
05
SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONNAIRE: The answers to the questions below will be reviewed by the hiring department along with the information provided in your employment application. Therefore, your answers must be consistent with your employment application information (especially in the "Education" and "Work Experience" sections), must be unambiguous, and must contain sufficient but concise detail and organization. A resume will not be accepted in lieu of completing this Supplemental Questionnaire. Lack of clarity, incomplete or inconsistent information, and/or disorganized presentation may negatively affect the hiring departments review of your Supplemental Questionnaire. I understand and agree to the above instructions.
06
Describe projects that you have worked on involving VoIP and the role you played.
07
Describe your experience working with back-end contact centers. In your response, include any use of AI, if applicable.
08
Describe a project that you have led and the project management style you used.
Required Question
Employer City of Sacramento
Address 915 I Street
Historic City Hall
Sacramento, California, 95814-2604
Phone (916) 808-5726