Chief Innovation Officer (Unclassified) (Mayor's Office)

About the City and Team

San José, the heart of Silicon Valley, is home to a diverse workforce of over 7,000 employees dedicated to making the city a vibrant, innovative, and desirable place to live and work. As one of the nation's best-managed cities, San José serves as the center of cultural, government, and economic activity for the region. The City embraces core values of Integrity, Innovation, Excellence, Collaboration, Respect, and Celebration.

The Mayor's Office of Technology and Innovation (MOTI) is charged with making San José the most innovative city in America, both inside and outside City Hall. This dynamic team drives the Mayor's Smart City vision, fostering economic development through startup initiatives, promoting AI literacy through partnerships with local libraries and universities, and co-developing pilots with private industry. The office acts as a strategic filter for vendor pitches and a hub for public-private partnerships to advance the city's priority focus areas: growing the economy, building housing, increasing community safety, cleaning up neighborhoods, and reducing homelessness.

About the Role

The Chief Innovation Officer serves as an entrepreneurial and collaborative leader within the Office of Mayor Matt Mahan. This role is designed for a visionary who is passionate about applying innovative technological solutions to better serve the community and advance the Mayor's strategic vision. The Chief Innovation Officer will lead a small but dynamic Technology and Innovation team, designing the strategy and policies to ensure San José leads the country in technology and innovation policy.

In this capacity, you will act as the public face of the Mayor's Office, representing the city on major global stages and interacting with the press. You will advise the Mayor on major technology trends, manage high-level advisory boards with Silicon Valley executives, and serve as a key liaison for the Office of Retirement Services, the Information Technology Department, and the San Jose Public Library. The role requires navigating operational ambiguity to achieve results while building multi-stakeholder coalitions that include the Bay Area Council, Silicon Valley Leadership Group, and local tech institutions.

Hiring Process and Application Instructions

Applications for this position are not accepted through CalOpps or third-party job boards. To apply, candidates must complete an application directly via the City of San José's website.

Selection Process

The selection process begins with an evaluation of the applicant's training and experience based on the following materials:

• Cover Letter
• Resume/CV
• Three (3) References
• One (1) Writing Sample
• Four (4) Job-Specific Question Responses

Candidates who best match the position will move forward to interviews and reference checks. Applicants must answer all job-specific questions in the online application; failure to do so will result in the application being deemed incomplete and withheld. Responses must be written in the applicant's own voice; the use of AI-generated content in responses may result in disqualification.

Required Application Components

During the online application, you will be prompted to answer four specific questions regarding:

1. Instances of collaboration between private and public sectors.
2. A time you exercised sound discernment as a key stakeholder on a complex issue.
3. A brief vision of the body of work you would achieve in the first year.
4. Your perspective on where AI usage in local government should be encouraged, prohibited, or regulated.

Equal Opportunity and Culture

The City of San José is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants for all job openings will be considered without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, veteran status, or any other consideration made unlawful under federal, state, or local laws. The City is committed to offering reasonable accommodations to job applicants with disabilities. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please contact the City at 408-535-1285, 711 (TTY), or via email at CityCareers@sanjoseca.gov.

This is an unclassified, at-will position for a specified period of time. Candidates must be willing to work frequent evenings and weekends and are not eligible for overtime compensation. The position requires a disclosure of outside investments, real property interests, income, and business positions.