Lincoln and Lancaster County are recruiting a new chief information officer as Carl Steffen prepares to leave the joint department that oversees technology operations for both governments.
Steffen’s last full-time day with the city will be Friday, Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird said. He will continue working part time through Dec. 1 after accepting a position outside city government.
Steffen has worked for Lincoln for nearly five years. He joined the city in January 2022 as an enterprise systems administrator, where he managed the cloud operations team and worked with other departments on the city’s cloud environment. He became interim chief information officer in February 2025 and took the permanent position in October 2025.
“Technology touches nearly every service our city team provides, and we are looking for a leader who can continue strengthening our systems, supporting our workforce, and finding innovative ways to better serve Lincoln residents,” Gaylor Baird said.
The joint department
The open position is a full-time chief information officer post for the Lincoln-Lancaster County Information Services Department. The department provides technology operations for the city and county, which share Lincoln as the county seat.
The CIO reports to the mayor’s office and works with city and county administrators, elected officials, department directors, public safety partners and Information Services employees. The position therefore covers technology used across both local governments rather than a single city department.
- The next CIO will oversee information technology operations for Lincoln and Lancaster County.
- The position includes responsibility for cybersecurity development and modernization of applications.
- The job also calls for work on artificial intelligence governance and improvements to technology services.
The city posted the opening through its Human Resources website. The job description identifies continued cybersecurity development, application modernization and artificial intelligence governance among the priorities for the incoming technology leader.
Steffen’s departure creates a change at the top of an office responsible for coordinating technology with local officials, department leaders and public safety partners. The city began advertising the replacement position as Steffen’s transition from full-time work approached.
