Director, Systems & Engineering
Job Location:
Los Angeles, CA - USA
Yearly Salary:
Posted:
Application Deadline:
Vacancies:
Job Summary
- Job Summary
LAHSA manages critical technology solutions that track people experiencing homelessness their utilization of homelessness services across the Los Angeles Continuum of Care (CoC) and the funding and performance of the organizations that provide homelessness services to the City of Los Angeles. The technology solutions supporting this mission include but are not limited to the Homelessness Management Information System (HMIS) the Enterprise Grants Management System (EGMS) the Universal Housing Application (UHA) Tableau LAHOP and the Resource Management System (RMS). While several of these are SaaS platforms managed by external vendors LAHSAs Systems & Engineering department is responsible for the underlying infrastructure integrations security and data architecture that support this ecosystem as well as the custom-built applications and databases developed in-house.
As the Continuum of Cares technology ecosystem becomes increasingly interconnected across partner agencies there is a critical need for strategic leadership to design build and implement a modern interoperable systems and data architecture one that unifies LAHSAs own data environment while enabling secure standards-based integration with CoC partner systems.
The Director of Systems & Engineering is responsible for establishing and driving the strategic vision for LAHSAs technology infrastructure and enterprise system architecture. Positioned within the Data Analytics Department and reporting directly to the Deputy Chief Analytics Officer the Director leads a newly established Systems & Engineering department that unifies enterprise systems architecture application development and IT operations under a single technical function aligned to LAHSAs programmatic and analytic mission ensuring the delivery of reliable secure and scalable technology capabilities that support LAHSAs mission and operations.
The Director leads the modernization of LAHSAs IT infrastructure and is the agencys principal architect for enterprise systems leading the design and implementation of a modern system architecture including the development of LAHSAs first enterprise data warehouse. This position bridges traditional IT operations with forward-looking systems and data engineering requiring a leader who can manage day-to-day technology operations while also architecting and executing a multi-year technical modernization roadmap.
The Director manages IT Operations through the Associate Director of IT and directly manages the Application Engineering team and the Database Administrator (DBA) ensuring application database and infrastructure decisions align with a coherent unified enterprise architecture. This is a senior management position requiring substantial independent judgment technical depth architectural vision and the ability to collaborate across departments and with executive leadership.- Essential Job Functions
Strategic Vision & Enterprise Architecture
- Serve as LAHSAs principal architect for enterprise systems establishing a long-term technical vision and roadmap for modernizing IT infrastructure application platforms and data systems.
- Design and lead the implementation of a modern system architecture for LAHSA including compute storage network cloud and integration layers that support scalability security and reliability.
- Lead the design development and implementation of LAHSAs first enterprise data warehouse establishing data modeling standards ETL/integration pipelines and governance practices that unify data across HMIS EGMS UHA RMS and other agency systems into a coherent well-documented and portable data architecture that supports enterprise reporting and CoC-wide interoperability.
- Develop and execute a multi-year Systems & Engineering strategic plan aligned with LAHSAs mission and Continuum of Care priorities in collaboration with the Deputy Chief Analytics Officer and executive leadership.
- Evaluate recommend and architect emerging technologies cloud platforms and architectural patternsincluding AI retrieval-based knowledge systems and advanced analytics toolingto extend service capacity and advance LAHSAs long-term technology vision.
- Partner with the Analytics team and other departments to ensure system and data architecture decisions support enterprise reporting analytics and data-driven decision-making across LAHSA.
IT Infrastructure & Operations Oversight
- Direct IT Operations through the Associate Director of IT providing strategic guidance over systems administration network infrastructure desktop support and end-user computing environments.
- Ensure enterprise systems on-premise and cloud infrastructure and network operations are performant resilient secure and supported by appropriate disaster recovery and business continuity plans.
- Identify and prioritize automation opportunities across IT operations and application support that reduce manual effort and redirect staff capacity toward higher-value work.
- Establish and enforce standards for systems architecture infrastructure documentation configuration management and asset inventories in partnership with the Associate Director of IT.
- Lead IT governance across the full technology lifecycleevaluation acquisition implementation and ongoing supportfor enterprise hardware software and cloud platforms; manage vendor and consultant relationships.
- Define and enforce standards for architecture process and operations; maintain system documentation configuration management software licensing and asset inventories.
Application Engineering & Database Management
- Directly oversee the Application Engineering team (currently three App Developers) and the Database Administrator (DBA) providing technical direction architectural guidance and code/design review for custom-built applications and the agency website.
- Directly manage the DBAs work on database architecture normalization practices performance monitoring capacity planning and data integrity across LAHSAs application databases ensuring alignment with the enterprise data warehouse strategy.
- Ensure application architecture and database design align with LAHSAs broader enterprise and data warehouse architecture avoiding fragmented or siloed technical decisions.
- Guide the Application Engineering teams practices around software development lifecycle code quality release management and technical documentation.
- Ensure LAHSAs public-facing web properties and custom applications meet accessibility standards including ADA and WCAG 2.1 Level AA in alignment with DOJ Title II requirements.
- Partner with business stakeholders to translate operational and reporting needs into scalable technical solutions.
AI & Intelligent Automation
- Architect and implement LAHSAs AI infrastructure including cloud-hosted compute vector/document storage and retrieval layers that ground large language models against LAHSAs own documentation and knowledge base within a secure access-controlled environment.
- Lead development of in-house conversational AI capabilities that assist staff providers and the public in navigating LAHSAs website and applications and that resolve common technical issues without staff interventionextending service capacity for a lean technical team.
- Establish governance for AI systems including data handling and PII protection retrieval scoping output validation human escalation paths and acceptable use standards.
- Design AI and integration architecture to support secure standards-based knowledge sharing with CoC partner agencies enabling cross-agency troubleshooting and service navigation where the use case warrants.
Cybersecurity & Information Protection
- Develop and maintain a comprehensive cybersecurity programencompassing governance frameworks policies vulnerability management threat detection incident response and business continuity and disaster recovery planning.
- Oversee outsourced or in-house cybersecurity controls across identity and access management endpoint protection network security encryption and monitoring; coordinate internal and external audits risk assessments and remediation activities.
- Ensure compliance with applicable federal state and local laws regulations and standards including HIPAA privacy requirements data retention regulations and cybersecurity mandates.
- In collaboration with Human Resources and through the Associate Director of IT ensure onboarding and offboarding processes provision and revoke equipment and system access appropriately with auditable records.
- Promote a culture of cybersecurity awareness through training communication and organizational best practices.
People Budget & Vendor Management
- Directly manage mentor and evaluate the Associate Director of IT the Application Engineering team and the Database Administrator (DBA); oversee workforce planning recruitment and performance management across all functions.
- Foster a collaborative service-oriented culture across the Systems & Engineering organization and build the case for future organizational investments including a Lead/Senior Developer role to support the Application Engineering team.
- Develop and administer the Systems & Engineering department budget including technology investment infrastructure and staffing plans.
- Identify funding opportunities and support grant-related technology requirements in collaboration with the Deputy Chief Analytics Officer and other executive leadership.
- Represent Systems & Engineering in cross-departmental meetings planning sessions and as needed external technical forums.
- Knowledge Skills & Abilities
- Deep technical expertise across systems architecture cloud infrastructure application development and database/data warehouse design.
- Strategic and architectural thinking with the ability to design cohesive scalable technical solutions across previously siloed systems and teams.
- Strong leadership skills with the ability to manage mentor and grow both infrastructure/operations staff and software development staff.
- Excellent communication skills with the ability to translate complex technical concepts for non-technical executive stakeholders.
- Strong project and program management skills including the ability to manage a multi-year modernization roadmap alongside day-to-day operational demands.
- Change management skills with experience leading organizations through technology and process transformation.
Working Conditions
- Hybrid work environment.
- Availability to support occasional evening weekend or emergency response needs related to critical system operations.
- Occasional travel throughout Los Angeles County for meetings and site visits.
- Training & Experience
- Minimum seven (7) years of progressively responsible experience in information technology systems engineering or software/application development including at least three (3) years in a management or supervisory role overseeing technical staff.
- Demonstrated experience designing and implementing enterprise system architecture including infrastructure cloud and integration components.
- Direct experience designing building or implementing a data warehouse or modern enterprise data architecture including data modeling ETL/ELT pipelines and data governance.
- Experience managing both IT operations (systems network infrastructure) and application development/database teams or a strong working knowledge of both domains.
- Proven ability to lead technical teams mentor engineers and developers and translate strategic vision into an executable technical roadmap.
- Experience working with hybrid (onsite and remote) teams; public sector nonprofit healthcare or Continuum of Care experience is highly desirable.
Preferred Certifications
One or more of the following certifications is desirable: AWS Certified Solutions Architect Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert TOGAF Certified Data Management Professional (CDMP) Project Management Professional (PMP) or ITIL Foundation or higher.
Schedule:The Chief Executive Officer or designee may change the schedule of positions between hybrid and onsite as necessary to accomplish LAHSAs business needs.
Additional Information:LAHSA has adopted a hybrid telework policy requiring employees to work onsite at our Los Angeles office a minimum of two (2) days per week. Applicants must be able to meet this onsite requirement with or without a reasonable accommodation. LAHSA is committed to providing equal employment opportunities and reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities. If you require an accommodation please contact Human Resources atto initiate the interactive process.
Residency Requirement:This position requires the employee to reside within the State of California. Proof of residency may be requested as part of the onboarding process to ensure compliance with organizational and operational requirements.
Applicants may make a reasonable accommodation request for this job by calling the Human Resources Department at ; or via email at
We are an Equal Opportunity / E-Verify Employer
Required Experience:
Director
