AI Director

State of Utah Office of the Governor•Taylorsville, UT

13d•$54 - $87•Hybrid

About The Position

The Division of Technology Services (DTS) is seeking an AI Director to shape and lead the future of artificial intelligence across Utah’s executive branch state government. Aligned with Governor Cox’s Pro-Human AI Initiative, this pivotal executive role is responsible for establishing state-wide AI strategy, leading enterprise governance, and managing the adoption of secure, human-centered AI technologies. As AI Director, you will directly manage the DTS Enterprise AI Team operating the AI Factory—a centralized innovation hub that ideates, pilots, and monitors AI projects across state agencies—while championing responsible use, robust cybersecurity, privacy compliance, and workforce literacy for thousands of state employees. Occasional travel within and outside the state will be required.

Requirements

Extensive professional experience and exceptional ability to translate complex technical concepts into strategic business terms, coordinate with executive stakeholders (CIOs, CISOs, Executives), draft documentation and deliver presentations.
Extensive experience driving organizational change management initiatives to ease adoption bottlenecks, overcome internal resistance, guide employee enthusiasm, and build an AI-augmented workplace culture.
Extensive professional working experience demonstrating the ability to work closely with diverse teams, including executives, stakeholders, software engineers, project managers, and internal and external partners.
Experience in legislative, regulatory, or public policy processes to align AI initiatives with state law.
Skilled in developing enterprise-wide literacy programs, mandatory responsible-use training, and leadership upskilling initiatives in partnership with external educational or industry peers.
Substantial proven experience in managing large operational budgets and demonstrated ability to forecast ROI for enterprise projects.
Understanding of data privacy acts (e.g., CCPA, GDPA) and accessibility standards (e.g., WCAG) and their impacts on AI policy and implementation.
Substantial professional working experience with agile frameworks (including SAFe). Experience supporting quarterly Program Increment (PI) planning and other relevant SAFe ceremonies and artifact generation.
Skilled in developing enterprise-wide literacy programs, mandatory responsible-use training, and leadership upskilling initiatives in partnership with external educational or industry peers.
Experience managing high-stakes public communications or technical crisis response in enterprise environments.

Nice To Haves

Demonstrate a proactive commitment to continuous learning and professional development. Seek out new information and alternative perspectives to challenge existing practices and drive innovation within the team.
Approach challenges by analyzing complex information thoroughly before making informed decisions. Identify underlying patterns and potential risks, ensuring solutions are logical, practical, and aligned with long-term objectives.
Foster a collaborative and mission-focused environment by valuing the contributions of every team member. Prioritize the success of the organization and the team over personal recognition, actively listening to diverse viewpoints to achieve collective goals. Adhere to a “no job is too small” mindset.
Uphold the highest ethical standards in all professional actions, ensuring honesty and transparency in daily operations. Maintain consistent adherence to organizational policies and regulatory compliance, building trust with colleagues and stakeholders alike.
3+ years deep, hands-on experience and understanding of enterprise generative AI (Gemini for Google Workspace, Cloud AI infrastructure (Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform, Amazon Bedrock, Microsoft Foundry), enterprise AI code assist solutions (Claude Code, GitHub Copilot) and AI governance technologies in organizations with 10,000+ employees.
3+ years experience leading AI governance initiatives, with coordination experience with organization compliance, and cyber defense in public sector environments.
Deep technical understanding of AI risk frameworks, security vectors, data privacy standards, and retention policies, with demonstrated ability to audit emerging platforms and critically evaluate vendor claims.

Responsibilities

Enterprise AI Strategy: Collaborate with DTS and agency leadership to define the overall vision and strategy for AI implementation within the state executive branch, aligned with Governor Cox’s Pro-Human AI Initiative.
AI Governance: Lead the AI Governance Group and DTS Enterprise AI Team. Guide leadership decisions on AI strategy and implementation. Report on AI adoption and impact throughout state government.
AI Policy: Lead ongoing efforts to assess and revise the DTS Enterprise Generative AI Policy. Provide draft adjustments for DTS leadership and the Governors’ Cabinet review and approval.
AI Project Leadership: Provide oversight for high-visibility enterprise AI projects. Oversee the DTS AI Factory, a centralized, standardized and streamlined process to ideate, assess, pilot, deploy and monitor AI projects throughout state executive branch agencies. Identify emerging AI trends and maintain a 'test-and-learn' mindset.
AI Vendor and Technology Evaluation: Lead technical evaluation for emerging AI platforms, models, and vendors. Conduct AI risk assessments and determine whether AI solutions meet enterprise security, governance, privacy, and data retention requirements before agency adoption. Establish close coordination with the privacy and cybersecurity teams throughout the state in evaluation processes. Exercises rigorous critical thinking when assessing AI risks and vendor claims.
In-House AI Solution Development: Lead the DTS Enterprise AI Team in coordination with other DTS development teams in designing and developing bespoke AI solutions to support state agencies.
Inter-Agency and Stakeholder Collaboration: Liaise with agency IT Directors, Privacy Officers, Cybersecurity Officers, and specific state agency business leaders. Provide strategic recommendations, collect and disseminate regular status updates, review high-level project briefings, and gather feedback on AI adoption bottlenecks. Actively listen to stakeholders to gain insights.
AI Adoption, Training and Community Building: Define strategies and create plans to monitor and grow AI adoption and literacy in state government. Lead efforts to design mandatory AI responsible use training, along with additional end user and leadership AI training programs. Identify and work with partners to provide learning opportunities for state government employees.
External Representation and Networking: Represent DTS and the state’s AI implementation efforts at virtual and in-person major industry conferences, meetings and forums. Engage with counterparts in other state and local governments to share knowledge and identify areas of potential collaboration.
AI Budget Development: Define, document, and present annual enterprise AI budget proposals that support AI programs to DTS leadership.
Change Management: Lead organizational culture initiatives to manage the transition to AI-augmented and automated processes and address resistance to AI adoption.
Infrastructure Management: Define strategies that contemplate a blend of cloud and sovereign AI platforms, considering long-term maintenance, cost-optimization, and lifecycle management, including model management and deprecation.
Vendor Ecosystem Management: Manage ongoing vendor relationships, SLA compliance, and strategies to minimize vendor lock-in.