Thomas P. Campbell, the former director and chief executive of the Metropolitan Museum of Art who resigned under pressure last year, has been hired to lead the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.

In a peculiar twist, he takes over the job vacated by Max Hollein, who left earlier this year to take over the leadership at none other than the Met and now fills the position from which Mr. Campbell announced in February 2017 that he would leave.

The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, the institution that oversees the de Young Museum and the Legion of Honor, announced the decision Tuesday, bringing an unusual swap in leadership full circle between two major art museums at opposite ends of the country, and opening up the potential for future partnerships.

“I can’t think of anything like this in recent times, but it’s kind of fun and serendipitous,” Mr. Campbell, 56, said in a phone interview Tuesday. “I’m absolutely thrilled to have this opportunity. Just as he takes over an institution where I laid a certain groundwork, similarly he has laid groundwork here.”