diff --git a/dev_tools/conf/.pylintrc b/.pylintrc
similarity index 100%
rename from dev_tools/conf/.pylintrc
rename to .pylintrc
diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 9ac22d4ca..b7811d38b 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -74,8 +74,6 @@ This project follows Google coding conventions, with a few changes that are most
 configuration files at the top level of the source tree and in `dev_tools/conf/`. The following
 files configure various tools to the project conventions:
 
-*   `dev_tools/conf/.pylintrc`: Python code
-
 *   `.editorconfig`: basic code editor configuration
 
 *   `.hadolint.yaml`: Dockerfiles
@@ -84,6 +82,10 @@ files configure various tools to the project conventions:
 
 *   `.markdownlintrc`: Markdown files
 
+*   `.pylintrc`: Python file lint
+
+*   `.pyproject.toml`: Python tools other than Pylint
+
 *   `.yamllint.yaml`: YAML files
 
 #### Code comment conventions
@@ -220,7 +222,8 @@ check/mypy
 ### Linting and formatting
 
 Code should meet common style standards for Python and be free of error-prone constructs. We use
-[Pylint](https://www.pylint.org/) to check for code lint and [Black](https://github.com/psf/black) for formatting code.
+[Pylint](https://www.pylint.org/) to check for code lint and [Black](https://github.com/psf/black)
+for formatting code.
 
 *   To check that code is formatted properly after editing Python files:
 
diff --git a/check/pylint b/check/pylint
index 2a3aeb198..9239f8c1d 100755
--- a/check/pylint
+++ b/check/pylint
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@
 # limitations under the License.
 
 ################################################################################
-# Runs pylint on the repository using a preconfigured .pylintrc file.
+# Runs pylint from the top level of the project.
 #
 # Usage:
 #     check/pylint [--flags]
@@ -24,4 +24,4 @@
 cd "$( cd "$( dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}" )" && pwd )" || exit 1
 cd "$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)" || exit 1
 
-pylint --rcfile=dev_tools/conf/.pylintrc "$@" src dev_tools
+pylint "$@" src dev_tools
diff --git a/check/pylint-changed-files b/check/pylint-changed-files
index 7f8c2d2dd..69500932a 100755
--- a/check/pylint-changed-files
+++ b/check/pylint-changed-files
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@
 # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 # limitations under the License.
 
-# Summary: run pylint on changed files using a preconfigured .pylintrc file.
+# Summary: run pylint on changed files from the top level of the project.
 #
 # Usage:
 #     check/pylint-changed-files [BASE_REVISION]
@@ -81,4 +81,4 @@ echo "Found ${num_changed} lintable files associated with changes." >&2
 if [ "${num_changed}" -eq 0 ]; then
     exit 0
 fi
-env PYTHONPATH=dev_tools pylint --jobs=0 --rcfile=dev_tools/conf/.pylintrc "${changed[@]}"
+env PYTHONPATH=dev_tools pylint --jobs=0 "${changed[@]}"