Principal Applications Developer Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Salary : $110,709.51 - $155,779.40 Annually
Location : Sacramento, CA
Job Type: Full-Time Career
Job Number: 001828-26-IT-2
Department: Information Technology
Division: DOU Support Systems
Opening Date: 05/21/2026
Closing Date: Continuous
THE POSITION
THIS POSTING WILL BE OPEN UNTIL FILLED
Application cut-off dates are the 2nd and 4th Friday of each month.
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.
The City of Sacramento is seeking a Principal Applications Developer with sound project management and technical experience. This position will be responsible for leading a team of applications developers in providing support and complex innovative solutions to enhance the Department of Utilities critical customer care and billing system, Oracle Customer Care and Billing (CC&B). This is a highly technical level position operating in a fast-paced environment, and will be responsible for the development, configuration, and technical support efforts to design, develop, and administer applications and systems to enhance business processes, document system procedures, and provide after-hours application support when needed. The incumbent will be expected to work under tight timelines and competing priorities. This position will also support new enhancements and system/data reporting requirements and will make recommendations for implementing new system modules to better support the organization's mission.
IDEAL CANDIDATE STATEMENT
The ideal candidate will have advanced knowledge and hands-on experience with enterprise business application system administration, software support, development and documentation, business process analysis, configuration, programming and project management, strongly preferred in a public utility environment. The candidate will also have experience managing and coordinating projects for all application functionality requirements, including system integration and software customizations to meet the needs of the business across different departments and divisions.
Under general direction, the Principal Applications Developer performs a variety of high-level professional, technical, and analytical duties involving research, evaluation, planning, requirements analysis, design, development, testing, implementation, administration and support of new and existing small and large scale systems and databases in a multi-platform environment that includes mainframe, client server, distributed and web based systems.
DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS
This is an expert professional-level classification populated with multiple incumbents. Principal Application Developers provide the highest level of business and technical expertise and knowledge in the performance of their duties. Incumbents are the recognized experts in their fields. The Principal Applications Developer is distinguished from Senior Applications Developer by the increased degree of difficulty of the work assignment, the greater level of business and technical knowledge required to satisfactorily perform the tasks, and the potential consequences of errors. The Principal Applications Developer provides project management and technical leadership, training and informal work direction to lower-lever Applications Developers. The Principal Applications Developer is distinguished from Information Technology Supervisor in that the latter is the first full supervisory level while the former, which may supervise as an incidental assignment, is the highest-evel technical expert.
SUPERVISION RECEIVED AND EXERCISED
General direction is provided by and Information Technology Supervisor, Information Technology Manager or other higher-level management staff. Responsibilities may include supervision of technical, administrative staff or project teams.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
TYPICAL DUTIES
- Plans and manages major IT-related projects and leads project teams involving complex applications, systems and processes that have City-wide impact .
-Consults with city staff on software development principles and techniques in order to design, develop and implement complex software applications to meet specific City business needs.
- Monitors and tunes city databases and systems to obtain optimum performance; designs/creates database structures; develops and implements data migration/conversion techniques for system(s) conversions and/or upgrades.
- Applies analytical and design techniques in order to develop new software or systems or modify existing ones; evaluates vendor products for applicability to the City's needs, budget constraints, and business objectives.
- Prepares requests for proposals, feasibility studies, cost-benefit analyses, users requirements studies, policies, procedures and project plans.
- Functions as the City's technical expert in areas such as systems requirements and analysis; application design, development, testing and implementation; and database administration
- Provides technical leadership to city wide IT personnel and end users through coaching, training and mentoring.
- Performs other or related duties as assigned.
QUALIFICATIONS
Knowledge of:
- Advanced principals and concepts of business process and software design; relational and distributed database technology; networks and communications; and project management.
- Software development methodologies and life cycles
- Project management and planning tools
- Current trends in information technology software, business systems, hardware, networks and communications.
- Commonly used programming languages, databases and operating systems on multiple hardware platforms.
- Commercially available software, and application evaluation techniques
- Applications development and structured analysis methods; data modeling theory and methods; disaster planning and recovery techniques; debugging and error detection § Software applications such as finance, human resources, utility billing, geographical information systems, permitting.
Skill in:
- The use of design and testing tools and methodologies
- The use of various desktop tools
- A variety of complex programming languages, databases and operating systems on multiple hardware platforms
- The appropriate use of relational and distributed database technology
- Maintaining good working relationships with a variety of city staff at all levels
Ability to:
- Communicate effectively orally and in written format in a variety of situations and formats; make group presentations
- Analyze and develop logical solutions and alternatives to complex problems
- Train and guide others; coordinate and facilitate work with others
- Plan and manage multiple tasks, projects, and various other resources simultaneously
EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION
Education:
Possession of a Bachelor's degree in computer science, information technology, or a related field.
AND
Experience:
Six years progressively responsible professional experience in information technology including a minimum of three years at the advanced journey level.
PROOF OF EDUCATION
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 Sacramento's 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.
1. Application: (Pass/Fail) - All applicants must complete and submit online a City of Sacramento employment application for further consideration by the next posted cut-off date;

• 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.

2. Supplemental Questionnaire: (Pass/Fail) - In addition to the City of Sacramento employment application, all applicants must complete and submit online responses to the supplemental questionnaire to the City of Sacramento Employment Office as part of the application process;

• 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.

3. Screening Committee: (Pass/Fail) - All applications received will be forwarded to the hiring department for review until the position is filled. 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.
4. 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.
5. Conditional Hire: Upon receipt of a conditional offer, the selected candidate must complete and pass LiveScan/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? That's 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 Employee's Pension Reform Act (PEPRA) of 2013. Please note that the provisions within this act may affect or impact an applicant's 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:
Union Contracts:
Salary Schedule:
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 Sacramento's Applicant Resources Page for Screening Instructi