PRINCIPAL APPLICATION DEVELOPER

Job Description:

PRINCIPAL APPLICATION DEVELOPER

Description

Position/Program Information

EXAM NUMBER
E2526B

TYPE OF RECRUITMENT:

We welcome applications from anyone.

WHEN TO APPLY:

Applications will be accepted beginning Thursday, April 30, 2026, at 8:00 a.m. (PT) until

Monday, May 4, 2026, 5:00 p.m. (PT) All applications must be received before 5:00 p.m. (PT)

Take the Next Step in Your Career with One of the Nation’s Top Employers.

Join the County of Los Angeles, recognized by Forbes as one of America’s Best Large Employers! As the largest employer in Southern California, we offer unparalleled career growth, comprehensive benefits, and competitive salaries - all while making a meaningful impact on the lives of over 10 million residents.

At the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk (RR/CC), our mission is to serve the County of Los Angeles with fair, accessible, and transparent records management and election services. We take pride in fostering a workplace culture built on accountability, professionalism, integrity, respect, and equity.

Now is your chance to be part of a dynamic team of dedicated professionals-apply today and make a difference!

OUT-OF-CLASS:

No Out-of-Class experience will be accepted for this examination.

WITHHOLD INFORMATION:

No withholds will be allowed for this examination. Required experience/education must be fully met at by the last day of filing and clearly indicated on the application.

Essential Job Functions

Position Description:

This class is the principal level in the Application Developer series and generally reports to an Information Technology manager. Incumbents possess technical expertise on one or more major systems, which are characterized by their scope, functionality, critical nature, or technical complexity. Incumbents understand and are able to apply advanced information systems concepts, principles, and methodologies of analysis and application development. Incumbents provide technical directions and supervise a team of application developers and other technology staff engaged in all phases of application development and system maintenance.

Essential Job Functions

Duties of the Principal Application Developer:

• Provides technical expertise to project managers, department management, and/or user management regarding one or more major system development or maintenance efforts.
• Advises management on technical alternatives, such as languages, tools, platforms, utilities, and servers.
• Leads and participates in the work of a team of Application Developers engaged in the development or maintenance of the most highly technical programs.
• Provides technical consulting on long-range information systems planning.
• Programs the most specialized and complex applications.
• Solves the more complex application software and system performance problems.
• Examines performance metrics and finds opportunities for improvement.
• Establishes quality assurance procedures.
• Monitors vendors to ensure performance according to project goals and contract terms, and reports performance problems to management.
• As needed, assist in creating Statements of Work (SOWs) in support of applications development efforts.
• As needed, serve as a project manager.
• As needed, represent the department in coordinated efforts with other County departments, outside agencies, and/or vendors.
• As needed, supervise lower-level application development personnel.

Requirements

Requirements to Qualify:

OPTION I: Graduation from an accredited college with a bachelor’s degree* in Computer Science, Information Systems, or a closely related field**, and four (4) years of recent progressively responsible***, full-time, paid experience in a centralized information technology organization****, coding, testing and debugging application programs.

OPTION II: Two (2) years of full time, paid experience, within the last three (3) years, at the level of the Los Angeles County class of Senior Application Developer*****. At the level of”: You may still qualify even if your job title isn’t exactly the same as the ones listed. What matters is that your experience is at a similar level - meaning your job involves similar responsibilities, requires comparable skills and knowledge, and takes place within a similar organizational structure. Please provide a clear explanation of your experience to demonstrate that it is at the appropriate level.

OPTION III: Five (5) years of recent progressively responsible***, full-time paid experience, in an information technology organization, coding, testing, and debugging application programs .

LICENSE:

A valid California Class “C” Driver License or the ability to use an alternative method of transportation when needed to carry out job related essential functions.

PHYSICAL CLASS:

Physical Class 2 - Light: This class includes administrative and clerical positions requiring light physical effort that may include occasional light lifting to a 10-pound limit and some bending, stooping, or squatting. Considerable ambulation may be involved.

VETERAN’S CREDIT:

If you are a veteran, you may be eligible for veteran’s credit, which is an additional 10% of the total points added to a passing score. We will need a copy of your form DD214 to review, so please include that with your application or email it to the exam analyst at [email protected] as soon as possible so, if you are eligible for veteran’s credit, we can include it before the list is available.

Special Requirements Information:

* To receive credit for your education, include a legible copy of your official diploma, official transcript, or letter/certificate from an accredited institution within 5 (five) days by the end of the filing period. The document should show the date the degree was conferred and be in English. If not in English, then translation is required. International degrees must be evaluated for equivalency to U.S. standards if not listed in the International Handbook of Universities or World Higher Education Database.

• For more information on our standards for educational documents, please visit:

https://file.lacounty.gov/SDSInter/dhr/070812_PPG123.pdf

• Official Transcript is a transcript that bears the college seal and states "official and/or copy" issued by the school's registrar office. A printout of the transcript from the school's website is NOT considered official and may result in your application being incomplete and rejected.

We do not accept password-protected documents. Ensure documents are unlocked before attaching to your application or sending to the exam analyst.

** Closely related fields include:

• Software Engineering
• Information Technology (IT)
• Computer Engineering
• Cybersecurity
• Data Science / Data Analytics
• Management Information Systems (MIS)
• Computational Science
• Informatics
• Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning
• Systems Engineering (with emphasis on computing systems)
• Network Engineering

*** Recent progressively responsible experience is defined as work experience gained within the last five (5) years that clearly shows an upward progression in the level of duties and responsibilities from one job to the next.

**** The centralized Information Technology organization in LA County provides IT services under the Chief Information Technology official for departments or units.

*****Los Angeles County class of Senior Application Developer is defined as one who under direction, performs a wide range of application development related duties including analysis, design, evaluation, development, coding, testing and maintenance of complex application systems.

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS:

Additional credit will be awarded to qualified candidates who possess the following desirable qualifications:

• Minimum of four (4) years of experience with a government agency supporting and developing systems within a regulated or certified environment, including Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) activities, system documentation, and coordination with regulatory or testing bodies to support audit, compliance, or certification processes (e.g., security standards, system certification, or formal validation events).

• Minimum of four (4) years of experience with a government agency implementing and/or supporting endpoint security, vulnerability management, and system hardening tools (e.g., vulnerability scanning, endpoint protection, and log management systems), including performing security scans, analyzing results, and implementing remediation actions to maintain system security and compliance.

• Minimum of four (4) years of experience with a government agency implementing and/or supporting endpoint security, vulnerability management, and system hardening tools (e.g., vulnerability scanning, endpoint protection, and log management systems), including performing security scans, analyzing results, and remediating identified vulnerabilities in accordance with established security standards.

• Minimum of four (4) years of experience with a government agency establishing and/or supporting controlled Continuous Integration / Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) pipelines, build and release management, and promotion processes across multiple environments (development, test, and production), including managing code promotion, integrating automated testing, and supporting controlled deployments.

• Minimum of four (4) years of experience supporting systems for a government agency operating in high-volume transaction environments (defined as systems processing 500,000 or more transactions per day, with peak periods exceeding 1 million transactions per day, or handling millions of records within compressed processing windows) or large-scale device deployments (defined as environments supporting 10,000 or more endpoint devices, with preference for experience managing 20,000 or more devices). This experience must include performance testing, system analysis, tuning, scalability planning, and operational monitoring, as well as the ability to identify, troubleshoot, and resolve performance issues within complex enterprise environments.

Additional Information

EXAMINATION CONTENT:

TRAINING & EXPERIENCE (T&E): This assessment type will evaluate the training, experience education, and desirable qualifications you list on a questionnaire. This part of the assessment is worth 100% of your total score.

APPLICANTS MUST MEET THE REQUIREMENTS AND RECEIVE A PASSING SCORE OF 70% OR HIGHER ON THE ASSESSMENT TO BE ADDED TO THE LIST.

ELIGIBILITY AND VACANCY INFORMATION:

Qualified applicants who pass the examination will be placed on a list for a period of six (6) months. We will use this list to fill vacancies within the RR/CC as they occur. Appointees may be required to work any shift, including evenings, weekends, and holidays. We may use an alternative banding method in line with Civil Service Rule 11.01(D).

APPLICATION AND FILING INFORMATION:

We only accept applications filed online. Applications submitted by U.S. mail, fax, or in person are not accepted. Apply online by clicking on the "Apply" green button at the top right of this posting. This website can also be used to get application status updates.

Please fill out the application completely. Provide relevant job experience including employer's name and address, position/payroll title, beginning and ending dates, number of hours worked per week, and description of work performed.

We may verify information included in the application at any point during the examination and hiring process, including after an appointment has been made. Falsification of information could result in refusal of application or rescission of appointment. Copying verbiage from the requirements or class specifications as your work experience will not be sufficient to demonstrate meeting the requirements. Doing so may result in incomplete application and may lead to disqualification.

PASSING THIS EXAMINATION AND BEING PLACED ON THE ELIGIBLE LIST DOES NOT GUARANTEE AN OFFER OF EMPLOYMENT.

SOCIAL SECURITY INFORMATION:
Please include your Social Security Number for record control purposes. Federal law requires that all employed persons have a Social Security Number.

NO SHARING OF USER ID AND PASSWORDS:
All applicants must file their application online using their own user ID and password. Using a family member or friend's user ID and password may erase a candidate's original application record.

COMPUTER AND INTERNET ACCESS AT PUBLIC LIBRARIES: For candidates who may not have regular access to a computer or the internet, applications can be completed on computers at public libraries throughout Los Angeles County.

ANIT-RACISM, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION (ARDI) The County of Los Angeles recognizes and affirms that all people are created equal and are entitled to all rights afforded by the Constitution of the United States. RRCC is committed to promoting Anti-racism, Diversity, and Inclusion efforts to address the inequalities and disparities amongst race. We support the ARDI Strategic Plan and its goals by improving equality, diversity, and inclusion in recruitment, selection, and employment practices.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

For assistance, please contact us using the following information:

Department Contact Name: Britney Haggood

Department Contact Phone: (562) 462-2314

Department Contact Email: [email protected]

California Relay Services Phone: (800) 735-2922

Teletype Phone: (800) 735-2929

Testing Accommodations Coordinator: (562) 462-2314

For detailed information, please click here

Closing Date/Time: 5/4/2026 5:00 PM Pacific

Salary:

$118,233.84 - $159,337.20 Annually