Serves as the highest level authority for an agency or in a major subdivision of DSHS in an information technology specialty area such as, but not limited to: operating system architecture, network architecture, applications development, applications support and enhancement, desktop/server operating systems, data architecture/administration, security architecture/administration, project management methodology or telephony systems architecture.

This is the expert professional level where incumbents are designated in writing by IT/IS management to provide technical and organizational leadership in a specialized area of technology. Incumbents possess advanced technical as well as business knowledge and grasp the overall impact of their specialty such that they are trusted by management to independently deal with high risk, high profile initiatives that may impact significant/fundamental public services. Incumbents have mastered the ability to translate technological options into business terms and interact with executive management to create technology solutions to mission critical business problems. Incumbents in this class serve as the agency spokesperson in their area of technical expertise and may make commitments on behalf of their agency. Serve as a technical mentor, coach and trainer to others. Often supervises others.

Incumbents typically perform the level of work described below a majority of the time. The work described below is not intended to be all inclusive but representative of the level of duties/responsibilities carried out by this job class:

• Responsible for an agency’s strategic planning and policy development in their designated area of specialty;

• Plans, analyzes, and leads strategic business initiatives and legislative mandates in their designated area of specialty;

• Develops agency-wide information technology system architecture; develops multi-agency system architecture;

• Project leader for integrating new technologies with existing technologies;

• Work group leader for design of applications that have significant statewide impact (e.g. the payroll system) or multi-agency impact;

• Develops and implements standards and procedures for data, data modeling, and data architecture;

• Defines requirements for data base management system and support software; develops plan and coordinates agency-wide implementation of new data base management system software;

• Serves as management advisor and technical consultant to enhance and maintain on-going operation of all applications (mainframe, client/server, web, microcomputer, etc.) within assigned area of responsibility;

• Develops business plans, decision packages, and acquisition strategy for Department of Information Services review;

• Markets and sells services and products offered;

• Negotiates service level agreements for major, mission critical applications or services;

• Establishes security policies and standards at an agency or statewide (inter-agency) level; manages agency security plan; defines off-site disaster recovery back-up requirements for user databases and system files;

• Directs complex, multi-agency system hardware/software installation projects;

• Consultant to executive management in their designated area of specialty.

• Examples of assignments which correlate with this level of work include:

- agency computing systems architect
- chief data architect
- chief data base architect/administrator
- chief network architect
- chief applications architect
- web-based applications chief
- agency security architect/administrator

There may be instances where individual positions must have additional licenses or certification. It is the employer’s responsibility to ensure the appropriate licenses/certifications are obtained for each position.

A Bachelor’s degree including 9 semester or 15 quarter hours of computer science courses and five years of consultative, administrative, or supervisory experience in information technology analysis, system maintenance, or troubleshooting/problem resolution experience, or analyzing, designing, or programming computer systems applications or databases.  

OR

An Associate’s degree or completion of an accredited vocational training program in an information technology or related program and six years of consultative, administrative, or supervisory experience in information technology analysis, system maintenance, or troubleshooting/problem resolution experience, or analyzing, designing, or programming computer systems applications or databases.

OR

One year as an Information Technology Systems Specialist 4 or an Information Technology Application Specialist 4 or equivalent or higher.

Consultative, administrative, or supervisory experience in information technology analysis, system maintenance, or troubleshooting/problem resolution experience, or analyzing, designing, or programming computer systems applications or databases will substitute for education on the basis of one year of experience for two years of education.

A Master’s degree will substitute for one year of the required experience except for the specified Information Technology Systems Specialist 4 or Information Technology Application Specialist 4 requirement.

New class: effective 7-1-99; replaces CISS 2 03280
New class code: (formerly 03286) effective July 1, 2007