Chief Infrastructure Officer

Job class: 9183-Deputy Director I Application Opening: May 26, 2026 Application Filing Deadline: Applicants are encouraged to apply immediately as announcement may close at anytime. Salary: $228,332 - $337,324/annually DOE/DOQ Hours: Full-time About: The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), an agency of the City and County of San Francisco, is responsible for managing all public transportation in San Francisco. The SFMTA keeps people connected through the San Francisco Municipal Railway (Muni), the nation’s eighth largest public transit system. The agency’s additional responsibilities include managing parking and traffic, bicycling, walking, and the regulation of taxis. With a workforce of more than 6,000 staff and an annual operating budget of approximately $1.5 billion, the agency delivers safe, reliable, and accessible transportation options that connect people to their communities while supporting San Francisco’s economic vitality, environmental sustainability, and overall quality of life. The ideal Chief Infrastructure Officer is a strategic, emotionally intelligent, and forward-thinking infrastructure executive with significant experience leading complex maintenance, infrastructure, or transit operations within large operational environments. This leader understands how to balance long-range infrastructure planning, operational reliability, workforce engagement, modernization efforts, and organizational transformation within a highly visible public service environment. The successful candidate has a strong background in overseeing large-scale infrastructure systems such as rail systems, electrical infrastructure, fixed guideway operations, facilities maintenance, utilities, or transportation operations, along with an understanding of the challenges associated with maintaining aging infrastructure while advancing modernization and asset renewal initiatives. They possess a proven track record of leading organizational change within large and complex unionized environments, with the ability to unify highly technical teams and build alignment across labor organizations, executive leadership, regulatory agencies, and operational stakeholders. Comfortable balancing long-range strategy with operational decision making in a fast-paced, 24-hour transit environment, this leader values innovation, accountability, workforce development, and continuous improvement while supporting safe and reliable public transportation infrastructure. The Chief Infrastructure Officer (CIO) provides executive leadership and strategic oversight for infrastructure operations, asset management, modernization initiatives, maintenance planning, and long-range infrastructure renewal efforts within the Maintenance of Way (MOW) Section. Reporting to the Director of Transit, the CIO serves as a senior leader within the Transit Division and works closely with executive leadership, operations teams, labor organizations, engineering staff, and regional stakeholders to align maintenance operations with agency priorities and capital investment strategies. This role oversees critical infrastructure functions supporting rail systems, overhead electrical systems, signals and train control systems, subway infrastructure, transit facilities, and related maintenance operations, while advancing initiatives related to infrastructure modernization, asset lifecycle management, reliability, workforce planning, and operational performance. The CIO also plays a key role in supporting organizational transformation and continuous improvement efforts across the MOW Section while balancing the operational realities of maintaining aging infrastructure within a 24-hour transit environment. How to qualify Education: Possession of a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university. Experience: Ten (10) years of full-time experience in the operation, maintenance, management, engineering, construction, or delivery of transportation infrastructure, rail systems, facilities operations, utilities, public works, or related large scale operational environments, including at least five (5) years in a senior management or executive leadership capacity performing duties such as overseeing complex infrastructure operations, multi-disciplinary teams, unionized workforces, operational budgets, and organizational strategy. License: Possession of a valid driver’s license. Substitution: Additional qualifying experience may substitute for the required education on a year for year basis. One year (2,000 hours) of qualifying experience will be considered equivalent to 30 semester units or 45 quarter units. Desirable Qualifications: Professional Engineer (PE) Certified Maintenance and Reliability Professional (CMRP) Project Management Professional (PMP) certifications Maintains a strong focus on delivering safe, reliable, and responsive transit services that meet the needs of riders and the broader community. Develops and sustains effective partnerships across departments, unions, and external stakeholders to support coordinated operations and shared goals. Leads, supports, and unifies a large, multidisciplinary workforce, fostering accountability, collaboration, and high performance across all levels of the organization. Aligns decisions and priorities with the SFMTA’s mission, ensuring work advances system reliability, safety, and service excellence for the community. For questions or inquiries, please contact: Levi Kuhlman at View email address on click.appcast.io or View phone number on click.appcast.io. #J-18808-Ljbffr San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA)