Obama administration looks to fill more than 300 IT positions

The incoming administration is looking at more than 300 technology positions that are presidentially appointed, according to a job listing Congress released in November. Of those, 21 are listed as chief information officers.

Avue Technologies, based in Tacoma, Wash., added the listing of new Obama administration job openings on Monday to its recently launched Web site, transitionjobs.us, which allows users to search for positions by geographic and professional interest area.

The jobs were pulled from the U.S. Government Policy and Supporting Positions, known as the Plum Book, which lists presidentially appointed positions within the federal government. The Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs and the House Committee on Government Reform issue the Plum Book every four years after a presidential election, with the committees alternating publishing the book. The 2008 edition was published on Nov. 12.

In the area of technology, the book listed 331 positions open as of Monday afternoon. Of those, 21 positions were identified as chief information officers, which do not include deputy or associate CIOs. The book listed four chief technology officer positions, and four positions specifically included information security in the title.

The Defense Department listed the most available technology jobs, with nearly 50 openings. Among those listed were the assistant secretary of Defense in charge of networks and information integration. The position is currently held by John Grimes.

President-elect Barack Obama proposed an ambitious IT agenda during his campaign, which many believe would require significant investment in hiring skilled IT employees, as well as purchasing technology products and services.