Automation Specialist

Job Description and Duties

Are you passionate about leveraging technology to make a tangible difference in people’s lives? Do you thrive in an environment that values innovation, collaboration, and excellence? If you’re driven by the challenge of improving complex systems for the public good, we have an opportunity for you at Covered California.

Join our Eligibility and Enrollment (E&E) Automation team as an Automation Specialist. You’ll help advance healthcare access in California through continuous improvement of the CalHEERS application. In this role, you’ll contribute to developing, enhancing, and maintaining enrollment functionalities, ensuring our systems are efficient, equitable, and responsive to Californians' needs. Apply today and help us shape the future of healthcare in California.

At Covered California, we recognize our employees are our most valuable asset. We have a variety of career fields that help make a difference in the lives of Californians, and we’re looking for talented and enthusiastic individuals to join our team! Learn more about why you should join the .

This position is headquartered in Sacramento County, 1601 Exposition Blvd, Sacramento, CA 95815. Business travel may be required, and reimbursement considers an employee’s designated headquarters office subject to regulations and bargaining unit contract provisions. Travel expenses associated with commuting to the employee’s office headquarters location are not reimbursable, other than authorized transit subsidies.

NOTE: To be considered for this job opportunity, applicants must be reachable on an employment list, have transfer eligibility, or have reinstatement eligibility. If you are new to California State service and you do not have list eligibility, you must take the exam for this classification. To gain employment list eligibility, please to access the exam bulletin.

Possession of minimum qualifications will be verified prior to interview and/or appointment . If it is determined an applicant does not meet the minimum qualifications, the applicant's name may be removed from the eligibility list.

Covered California does not provide visa sponsorship and is not an E-Verify employer.

Effective July 1, 2025, in response to the budget deficit, the Department of Human Resources (CalHR) has implemented the Personal Leave Program 2025 (PLP 2025). PLP 2025 requires that each full-time employee working their assigned work schedule receive a 3 percent reduction in pay in exchange for 5 hours of PLP 2025 leave credits monthly through June 30, 2027. 

You will find additional information about the job in the .

Working Conditions

This position may be eligible for telework. In accordance with Government Code section 14200, only employees who reside in California are eligible for telework. The amount of telework is at the discretion of the Department and based on Covered California’s current telework policy. While Covered California supports telework, in-person attendance may be required based on operational needs. Employees are expected to be able to report to their worksite with minimal notification if an urgent need arises, as determined by the Department.

Special Requirements

Statement of Qualifications (SOQ) Instructions: A SOQ is required to apply. The SOQ will be used as a pre-interview screening tool. Applicants who do not follow the SOQ instructions and/or do not answer the prompt as stated below may not be considered.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools can be useful in the development of written responses; however, it is important to use these tools responsibly and ethically. Where assistive tools may be used, responses within the SOQ should be your own original work. Applicants must write in their own words and avoid plagiarism. Failure to comply may be cause for disqualification.

Please submit a Statement of Qualifications (SOQ) that is no more than two pages, typed in Arial 12-point font, with responses numbered to match each question below. Use specific examples and clearly describe your role, actions, and results.

1. Describe how your education, experience, and professional skills qualify you for the Automation Specialist position, as described in the desirable qualifications.
2. Describe a time when you led a system change discovery to launch. Explain how you set the strategy, worked with stakeholders, balanced priorities, and ensured successful delivery.

Desirable Qualifications

In addition to evaluating each candidate's relative ability, as demonstrated by quality and breadth of experience, the following factors will provide the basis for competitively evaluating each candidate:

• Demonstrated experience translating complex business needs – particularly in healthcare eligibility and enrollment – into clear functional requirements, business rules, system designs, or process changes for information technology teams, vendors, or system architects.
• Demonstrated experience supporting or leading multiple stages of the system development life cycle for complex system changes, such as requirements development, solution design, joint application design sessions, testing or user acceptance testing, implementation, go-live support, and post-implementation analysis.
• Experience analyzing complex system defects, design gaps, workflow issues, or policy implantation challenges; identifying root causes and downstream impacts; evaluating alternatives; and recommending practical, scalable solutions.
• Experience working with a large, rules-based, or highly integrated system – such as eligibility and enrollment, health insurance exchange, public benefits, healthcare, or other enterprise system – and assessing how proposed changes affect consumers, business operations, policy compliance, and connected systems. Experience with CalHEERS or a similar system is highly desirable.
• Experience facilitating cross-functional design or requirements sessions and building alignment among policy subject matter experts, IT staff, vendors, operations teams, and other internal or external partners.
• Demonstrated ability to independently manage multiple concurrent projects, change requests, or complex assignments; prioritize competing deadlines, document decisions and action items; and maintain quality in a fast-paced implementation environment.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including experience explaining complex systems behavior, business rules, or technical requirements to both technical and non-technical audiences and preparing concise recommendations, decision documents, executive summaries, presentations, or system guidance materials.

Benefits

The State of California offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes Health, Vision, Dental, Retirement, and an array of other options. For more information on the benefits offered by the State of California, please click below:

Pre-Employment Requirements

Background Check: All applicants shall be subject to a pre-employment background investigation. The investigation will consist of completion of a pre-employment questionnaire, fingerprinting, and an inquiry to the Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation to disclose criminal records.

Incompatible Activities: To maintain our integrity and focus on serving Californians, Covered California adheres to unique conflict of interest restrictions on the outside employment and activities of its board members and staff. If you’re considering a role with us, it’s important to know at the time of your start:

• You must not be employed by or otherwise affiliated with health insurance carriers, other insurers, agents, brokers, health care professionals, health facilities, or health clinics, or trade associations of any of these entities. This also means that you must not hold an active license to sell health insurance in California.
• You must not hold an active license to sell health insurance in California.
• Health care professionals are welcome to join our team, provided you do not receive payment for professional services and do not hold ownership or financial interests in a health care practice.

Please email any questions or concerns you may have prior to accepting a final offer of employment to View email address on us.fitly.work

Required Application Package Documents

The following items are required to be submitted with your application. Applicants who do not submit the required items timely may not be considered for this job:

• Current version of the State Examination/Employment Application STD Form 678 (when not applying electronically), or the Electronic State Employment Application through your Applicant Account at All Experience and Education relating to the Minimum Qualifications listed on the Classification Specification should be included to demonstrate how you meet the Minimum Qualifications for the position.
• Resume is optional. It may be included, but is not required.
• Statement of Qualifications -

  Please attach your SOQ to your application. Applications received without an SOQ may not be considered. Resumes and cover letters will not be accepted in place of an SOQ. Please see above “Special Requirements” section for SOQ instructions. Please note: a resume will not be accepted in lieu of an SOQ, and should not be submitted.