Government H-1B Sponsorship Jobs in California
Government H-1B visa sponsorship jobs in California span federal agencies, state departments, research institutions, and public universities. Major employers include NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, UC system campuses, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and California state agencies. Sacramento, Los Angeles, and the Bay Area concentrate the most opportunities, particularly for engineers, scientists, IT specialists, and policy analysts.
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APPOINTMENT TYPE: Temporary Exempt, Category 18: This position is excluded by the Charter from the competitive Civil Service examination process, shall serve at the discretion of the Appointing Officer and are considered to be "at-will" employees. The duration of this appointment shall not exceed 36 months.
Application Opening: July 21, 2026
Deadline to Apply: 11:59PM PST on August 4, 2026
Recruitment ID: TEX-1044-166676
Salary: $171,158 - $215,306 annually
Division: Administration
Section/Unit: Technology Solutions and Integration/ Network Infrastructure
Work Location: One South Van Ness Avenue, 3rd Floor, San Francisco, CA
Work Schedule: Monday – Friday, 8:00am-5:00pm; onsite minimum of 4 days a week. Additionally, afterhours work will be required as needed during evenings or weekends (typically once or twice a month).
How to Apply:
Submit Smart Recruiters application by clicking on "I'm Interested"/”Apply Now” and completing the application.
Attach cover letter
Attach resume
Respond to the Microsoft Forms supplemental questionnaire. Link only found here: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/HbiPYHNPBN
Job Description
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) is a department of the City and County of San Francisco responsible for the management of all ground transportation in the City. The SFMTA has oversight over the Municipal Railway public transit (Transit Division or “Muni”), as well as bicycling, paratransit, parking, traffic, walking, and taxis. SFMTA is currently in the process of implementing an upgrade of the technology used to manage light rail operations on the surface and in the subway. The Train Control Upgrade Project (TCUP) is a multi-year, multimillion dollar project with the goal of replacing the existing train control system onboard vehicles and in the Muni Metro subway with a state-of-the-art radio-based technology. TCUP will expand supervision of trains by the train control system from the subway to the entire surface Muni light rail system. The TCUP vendor contract and installation work will be managed by a project management team within the Transit Division (“Muni”). Information Technology is at the core of TCUP. SFMTA’s Technology Solutions and Integration (TSI) team will be delivering the technology scope for TCUP. The role will be supporting delivery of the information technology components. Success requires significant investments in expanded network infrastructure, data architecture, wireless communication systems, servers, databases, and cybersecurity. Project systems will need data integration with existing enterprise and intelligent transportation systems. Changes need to be baselined, documented, designed, implemented, and tested. This is an opportunity to work with stakeholders and business units across the SFMTA and take a pivotal step in your career. Your work will impact the lives of all users of our transportation services and infrastructure.
Position Description:
Under the direction of the TCUP Technology Project Manager, the Cybersecurity Engineer works with the team responsible for delivering the network topology, policies, wireless infrastructure, fiber infrastructure, network equipment, security, installation, and testing for the new CBTC system. The Cybersecurity Engineer ensures that communication systems supporting CBTC operations are designed, implemented, and maintained to meet security, resiliency, and regulatory requirements.
Examples of Important and Essential Duties:
- Serve as the lead cybersecurity architect for TCUP, defining the security posture for all networked, wireless, and backhaul train control systems.
- Develop and contribute to redundancy and failover strategies, ensuring network resiliency and availability while aligning with cybersecurity requirements.
- Define and document network policies, including access control, segmentation, QoS, and routing practices, ensuring alignment with cybersecurity principles.
- Assess wireless spectrum usage for security risks, interference vulnerabilities, and resiliency.
- Review and provide security oversight of network architecture, including routing, segmentation (VLANs), and multicast configurations.
- Support the design and configuration of network architecture to ensure support for secure routing, segmentation (VLANs), and multicast communications.
- Define security standards for hardware lifecycle management and support lifecycle planning decisions.
- Implement cybersecurity measures, such as firewalls, intrusion detection/prevention systems (IDS/IPS), and endpoint protection.
- Conduct periodic vulnerability assessments and ensure compliance with industry standards (e.g., NIST, CISA, ISO/IEC 27001).
- Validate cybersecurity controls in end-to-end communication systems supporting train control operations.
- Troubleshoot and resolve issues identified during testing phases.
- Develop and maintain technical documentation for network and cybersecurity architectures, configurations, and operational procedures.
- Ensure cybersecurity controls align with applicable railway safety and security standards and regulatory requirements.
- Define requirements for network and security monitoring and ensure integration with enterprise SOC/NOC tools.
- Performs other related duties as assigned.
Qualifications
Minimum Qualifications:
Education: An associate degree in computer science, computer engineering, information systems, or a closely related field from an accredited college or university OR its equivalent in terms of total course credits/units [i.e., at least sixty (60) semester or ninety (90) quarter credits/units with a minimum of twenty (20) semester or thirty (30) quarter credits/units in one of the fields above or a closely-related field].
Experience: Five (5) years of experience analyzing, installing, configuring, enhancing, and/or maintaining the components of a system or platform.
Substitution: One year of additional experience as described above may be substituted for the required degree. Completion of the 1010 Information Systems Trainee Program may be substituted for the required degree.
Notes:
Applicants must meet the minimum qualifications by the final filing date unless otherwise noted.
One (1) year full-time experience is equivalent to 2000 hours. (2000 hours of qualifying work experience is based on a 40-hour work week). Any overtime hours that you work above forty (40) hours per week are not included in the calculation to determine full-time experience.
Desirable Qualifications:
The stated desirable qualifications may be used to identify candidates advancing to the interview process and/or to identify job finalist(s) at the end of the selection process when referred for hiring.
- 5+ years’ experience leading cybersecurity architecture for large, mission-critical or safety-critical systems.
- Knowledge of SIEM, SOAR, and/or SOC integrations for network and OT telemetry.
- 5-years’ experience securing LTE and 5G (3GPP) wireless communications for mission-critical or operational technology environments.
- 5-years’ experience applying security principles to networks (e.g., BGP security, MPLS segmentation, multicast control).
- 5 years’ experience implementing and managing network security protocols, including encryption (e.g., IPSec, TLS), firewalls, IDS/IPS, and endpoint security.
- 5 years’ experience of cybersecurity frameworks (e.g., NIST Cybersecurity Framework, EN 50159:2010, IEC 62443) and best practices.
- 5 years’ defining, reviewing, and validating network and security test plans.
- Proficiency with tools for security validation, performance monitoring, and troubleshooting (e.g., SIEM platforms, EDR/XDR Wireshark, SolarWinds, NetScout).
- Familiarity with network equipment from major vendors (e.g. Palo Alto, Fortinet, Cisco, Juniper, Nokia, Ericsson) and radio system hardware (e.g., base stations, access points).
- 5-years’ experience working with system engineers, project managers, operations teams, and regulatory bodies to ensure alignment of system requirements and performance goals.
- 5-years’ experience designing and implementing secure system architectures using Zero Trust principles, including Identity and Access management (IAM), least privilege access, and secure system design practices across system lifecycle.
- 5-years’ experience conducting threat modeling and cybersecurity risk assessments for complex systems, with demonstrated ability to coordinate incident response activities and integrate security monitoring with enterprise SOC processes.
- 5-years’ experience securing transportation, rail, utilities, or other critical infrastructure environments.
- Ability to communicate progress and issues to stakeholders through regular status updates and technical reports.
- Experience collaborating with diverse stakeholders and fostering an inclusive environment that values different perspectives, backgrounds, and expertise to drive effective decision-making.
Additional Information
Verification: Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. More information can be found at: https://careers.sf.gov/knowledge/#verification. Falsifying one’s education, training, or work experience or attempted deception on the application may result in disqualification for this and future job opportunities with the City and County of San Francisco. All work experience, education, training and other information substantiating how you meet the minimum qualifications must be included in your application by the filing deadline. Information submitted after the filing deadline will not be considered in determining whether you meet the minimum qualifications. Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of a completed City and County of San Francisco application. Applications completed improperly may be cause for ineligibility, disqualification or may lead to lower scores.
Selection Process: Applications will be screened for relevant qualifying experience. Additional screening mechanisms may be used to determine candidates' qualifications. Only those applicants who most closely meet the needs of the Agency will be invited to move forward in the selection process.
- Information About the Hiring Process
- Conviction History
- Employee Benefits Overview
- Equal Employment Opportunity
- Disaster Service Worker
- ADA Accommodation
- Right to Work
- Copies of Application Documents
- Diversity Statement
How to Apply: Applications for City and County of San Francisco jobs are only accepted through an online process.
Visit Careers With Purpose | City and County of San Francisco
Type “1044” in the “Search by class or keyword” field.
Click the link to open the Job Announcement.
Select the “Apply Now” button and follow the instructions on the screen.
A cover letter and resume should be attached to the online application.
Submit response to supplemental questionnaire: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/HbiPYHNPBN
For questions or inquiries, please contact the Human Resources Analyst, Melissa Lee at Melissa.Lee@sfmta.com. This recruitment may be utilized to fill similar positions in this classification at SFMTA. All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.
The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.
Company Description
APPOINTMENT TYPE: Temporary Exempt, Category 18: This position is excluded by the Charter from the competitive Civil Service examination process, shall serve at the discretion of the Appointing Officer and are considered to be "at-will" employees. The duration of this appointment shall not exceed 36 months.
Application Opening: July 21, 2026
Deadline to Apply: 11:59PM PST on August 4, 2026
Recruitment ID: TEX-1044-166676
Salary: $171,158 - $215,306 annually
Division: Administration
Section/Unit: Technology Solutions and Integration/ Network Infrastructure
Work Location: One South Van Ness Avenue, 3rd Floor, San Francisco, CA
Work Schedule: Monday – Friday, 8:00am-5:00pm; onsite minimum of 4 days a week. Additionally, afterhours work will be required as needed during evenings or weekends (typically once or twice a month).
How to Apply:
Submit Smart Recruiters application by clicking on "I'm Interested"/”Apply Now” and completing the application.
Attach cover letter
Attach resume
Respond to the Microsoft Forms supplemental questionnaire. Link only found here: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/HbiPYHNPBN
Job Description
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) is a department of the City and County of San Francisco responsible for the management of all ground transportation in the City. The SFMTA has oversight over the Municipal Railway public transit (Transit Division or “Muni”), as well as bicycling, paratransit, parking, traffic, walking, and taxis. SFMTA is currently in the process of implementing an upgrade of the technology used to manage light rail operations on the surface and in the subway. The Train Control Upgrade Project (TCUP) is a multi-year, multimillion dollar project with the goal of replacing the existing train control system onboard vehicles and in the Muni Metro subway with a state-of-the-art radio-based technology. TCUP will expand supervision of trains by the train control system from the subway to the entire surface Muni light rail system. The TCUP vendor contract and installation work will be managed by a project management team within the Transit Division (“Muni”). Information Technology is at the core of TCUP. SFMTA’s Technology Solutions and Integration (TSI) team will be delivering the technology scope for TCUP. The role will be supporting delivery of the information technology components. Success requires significant investments in expanded network infrastructure, data architecture, wireless communication systems, servers, databases, and cybersecurity. Project systems will need data integration with existing enterprise and intelligent transportation systems. Changes need to be baselined, documented, designed, implemented, and tested. This is an opportunity to work with stakeholders and business units across the SFMTA and take a pivotal step in your career. Your work will impact the lives of all users of our transportation services and infrastructure.
Position Description:
Under the direction of the TCUP Technology Project Manager, the Cybersecurity Engineer works with the team responsible for delivering the network topology, policies, wireless infrastructure, fiber infrastructure, network equipment, security, installation, and testing for the new CBTC system. The Cybersecurity Engineer ensures that communication systems supporting CBTC operations are designed, implemented, and maintained to meet security, resiliency, and regulatory requirements.
Examples of Important and Essential Duties:
- Serve as the lead cybersecurity architect for TCUP, defining the security posture for all networked, wireless, and backhaul train control systems.
- Develop and contribute to redundancy and failover strategies, ensuring network resiliency and availability while aligning with cybersecurity requirements.
- Define and document network policies, including access control, segmentation, QoS, and routing practices, ensuring alignment with cybersecurity principles.
- Assess wireless spectrum usage for security risks, interference vulnerabilities, and resiliency.
- Review and provide security oversight of network architecture, including routing, segmentation (VLANs), and multicast configurations.
- Support the design and configuration of network architecture to ensure support for secure routing, segmentation (VLANs), and multicast communications.
- Define security standards for hardware lifecycle management and support lifecycle planning decisions.
- Implement cybersecurity measures, such as firewalls, intrusion detection/prevention systems (IDS/IPS), and endpoint protection.
- Conduct periodic vulnerability assessments and ensure compliance with industry standards (e.g., NIST, CISA, ISO/IEC 27001).
- Validate cybersecurity controls in end-to-end communication systems supporting train control operations.
- Troubleshoot and resolve issues identified during testing phases.
- Develop and maintain technical documentation for network and cybersecurity architectures, configurations, and operational procedures.
- Ensure cybersecurity controls align with applicable railway safety and security standards and regulatory requirements.
- Define requirements for network and security monitoring and ensure integration with enterprise SOC/NOC tools.
- Performs other related duties as assigned.
Qualifications
Minimum Qualifications:
Education: An associate degree in computer science, computer engineering, information systems, or a closely related field from an accredited college or university OR its equivalent in terms of total course credits/units [i.e., at least sixty (60) semester or ninety (90) quarter credits/units with a minimum of twenty (20) semester or thirty (30) quarter credits/units in one of the fields above or a closely-related field].
Experience: Five (5) years of experience analyzing, installing, configuring, enhancing, and/or maintaining the components of a system or platform.
Substitution: One year of additional experience as described above may be substituted for the required degree. Completion of the 1010 Information Systems Trainee Program may be substituted for the required degree.
Notes:
Applicants must meet the minimum qualifications by the final filing date unless otherwise noted.
One (1) year full-time experience is equivalent to 2000 hours. (2000 hours of qualifying work experience is based on a 40-hour work week). Any overtime hours that you work above forty (40) hours per week are not included in the calculation to determine full-time experience.
Desirable Qualifications:
The stated desirable qualifications may be used to identify candidates advancing to the interview process and/or to identify job finalist(s) at the end of the selection process when referred for hiring.
- 5+ years’ experience leading cybersecurity architecture for large, mission-critical or safety-critical systems.
- Knowledge of SIEM, SOAR, and/or SOC integrations for network and OT telemetry.
- 5-years’ experience securing LTE and 5G (3GPP) wireless communications for mission-critical or operational technology environments.
- 5-years’ experience applying security principles to networks (e.g., BGP security, MPLS segmentation, multicast control).
- 5 years’ experience implementing and managing network security protocols, including encryption (e.g., IPSec, TLS), firewalls, IDS/IPS, and endpoint security.
- 5 years’ experience of cybersecurity frameworks (e.g., NIST Cybersecurity Framework, EN 50159:2010, IEC 62443) and best practices.
- 5 years’ defining, reviewing, and validating network and security test plans.
- Proficiency with tools for security validation, performance monitoring, and troubleshooting (e.g., SIEM platforms, EDR/XDR Wireshark, SolarWinds, NetScout).
- Familiarity with network equipment from major vendors (e.g. Palo Alto, Fortinet, Cisco, Juniper, Nokia, Ericsson) and radio system hardware (e.g., base stations, access points).
- 5-years’ experience working with system engineers, project managers, operations teams, and regulatory bodies to ensure alignment of system requirements and performance goals.
- 5-years’ experience designing and implementing secure system architectures using Zero Trust principles, including Identity and Access management (IAM), least privilege access, and secure system design practices across system lifecycle.
- 5-years’ experience conducting threat modeling and cybersecurity risk assessments for complex systems, with demonstrated ability to coordinate incident response activities and integrate security monitoring with enterprise SOC processes.
- 5-years’ experience securing transportation, rail, utilities, or other critical infrastructure environments.
- Ability to communicate progress and issues to stakeholders through regular status updates and technical reports.
- Experience collaborating with diverse stakeholders and fostering an inclusive environment that values different perspectives, backgrounds, and expertise to drive effective decision-making.
Additional Information
Verification: Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. More information can be found at: https://careers.sf.gov/knowledge/#verification. Falsifying one’s education, training, or work experience or attempted deception on the application may result in disqualification for this and future job opportunities with the City and County of San Francisco. All work experience, education, training and other information substantiating how you meet the minimum qualifications must be included in your application by the filing deadline. Information submitted after the filing deadline will not be considered in determining whether you meet the minimum qualifications. Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of a completed City and County of San Francisco application. Applications completed improperly may be cause for ineligibility, disqualification or may lead to lower scores.
Selection Process: Applications will be screened for relevant qualifying experience. Additional screening mechanisms may be used to determine candidates' qualifications. Only those applicants who most closely meet the needs of the Agency will be invited to move forward in the selection process.
- Information About the Hiring Process
- Conviction History
- Employee Benefits Overview
- Equal Employment Opportunity
- Disaster Service Worker
- ADA Accommodation
- Right to Work
- Copies of Application Documents
- Diversity Statement
How to Apply: Applications for City and County of San Francisco jobs are only accepted through an online process.
Visit Careers With Purpose | City and County of San Francisco
Type “1044” in the “Search by class or keyword” field.
Click the link to open the Job Announcement.
Select the “Apply Now” button and follow the instructions on the screen.
A cover letter and resume should be attached to the online application.
Submit response to supplemental questionnaire: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/HbiPYHNPBN
For questions or inquiries, please contact the Human Resources Analyst, Melissa Lee at Melissa.Lee@sfmta.com. This recruitment may be utilized to fill similar positions in this classification at SFMTA. All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.
The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.
H-1B Government Job Roles in California
See all 149+ Government H-1B Jobs in California
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Search Government Jobs in CaliforniaGovernment H-1B Sponsorship Jobs in California: Frequently Asked Questions
Which government employers in California sponsor H-1B visas?
Federal agencies with major California operations frequently sponsor H-1B visa workers, including NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Lawrence Berkeley and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories, and various Department of Defense installations. The University of California and California State University systems are also consistent H-1B sponsors, as are state-level agencies in information technology and public health. National laboratories are particularly active sponsors for research and engineering roles.
Which cities in California have the most government H-1B sponsorship jobs?
Sacramento has the highest concentration of state government H-1B positions, housing California's executive agencies and major IT departments. The Bay Area follows closely, anchored by federal research institutions and UC Berkeley. Los Angeles offers significant opportunities through federal agencies, JPL, and the UC system. San Diego's strong federal defense and research presence also generates consistent H-1B sponsorship activity across government-affiliated organizations.
What types of government roles in California typically qualify for H-1B sponsorship?
Roles that qualify as specialty occupations are the most commonly sponsored. In California's government sector, these include software engineers and IT specialists in state technology agencies, research scientists at national laboratories, biostatisticians and epidemiologists in public health departments, environmental engineers at regulatory agencies, and data analysts supporting policy functions. Positions requiring at least a bachelor's degree in a specific technical or scientific field are the strongest candidates for H-1B sponsorship.
How do I find government H-1B sponsorship jobs in California?
Migrate Mate is built specifically for international job seekers and filters government H-1B sponsorship jobs in California by employer, role type, and location. Rather than manually researching which agencies sponsor visas, you can browse verified sponsorship opportunities directly. Searching for government and public sector roles in California on Migrate Mate surfaces employers with documented H-1B sponsorship histories, saving significant time in your job search.
Are there any state-specific considerations for H-1B sponsorship in California's government sector?
California's public universities, including the UC and CSU systems, are cap-exempt H-1B employers, meaning they can file petitions year-round without being subject to the annual H-1B lottery. Federal agencies and national laboratories are similarly cap-exempt. This is a meaningful distinction for international workers who missed a lottery cycle, as these institutions can hire H-1B workers at any point during the year rather than waiting for the next registration period.
What is the prevailing wage for H-1B government jobs in California?
U.S. employers sponsoring a visa must pay at least the prevailing wage, which is what workers in the same role, area, and experience level typically earn. The Department of Labor sets this rate to make sure companies aren't hiring foreign workers simply because they'd accept lower pay than a U.S. worker. It varies by job title, location, and experience. You can look up current prevailing wage rates for any occupation and location using the OFLC Wage Search page.