Principal Data & AI Governance Architect

Kapitus•Arlington, VA

16h•$117,800 - $189,000•Remote

About The Position

Kapitus is seeking a high-impact, execution-oriented leader for the Principal Data & AI Governance role, serving as the enterprise governance architect and primary practitioner for its Enterprise Data Governance program. Reporting to the VP, Data Governance & BI within the CDAO organization, this senior individual-contributor role combines enterprise framework design, functional leadership, and direct operationalization. The role will architect and operationalize Kapitus’s enterprise Data Governance framework while establishing the initial risk-based Model & AI Governance capability. The successful candidate will translate governance policy and standards into adoptable operating practices and increasingly automated controls across data, analytics, reporting, machine learning, generative AI, AI-enabled workflows, and applicable third-party AI services. This is a Player-Architect role for a leader who balances strategic framework design with direct operational delivery. The role defines governance requirements, control objectives, evidence expectations, and acceptance criteria; engineering and platform teams implement and operate associated technical controls. The Principal partners closely with those teams to ensure controls are practical, appropriately designed, and demonstrably operating as intended.

Requirements

10+ years of experience in Data Governance, Data Management, Data Quality, or related data disciplines, including demonstrated success building or materially maturing enterprise governance capabilities.
Experience developing federated stewardship programs, governance operating models, policies, standards, workflows, decision rights, and governance forums.
Strong practical knowledge of business glossary design, metadata management, data cataloging, data lineage, Critical Data Elements, Data Quality, data classification, retention, lifecycle management, and certification; Atlan experience is preferred.
Working knowledge of model and AI lifecycle governance, including inventory, risk tiering, ownership, documentation, evaluation, monitoring, change management, and evidence expectations.
Direct experience in commercial or small-business lending, banking, fintech, payments, insurance, or another similarly regulated financial-services environment is strongly preferred. Ability to engage credibly with business, risk, and control stakeholders on financial-services data, reporting, and governance requirements.
Modern data-platform fluency, including Snowflake, dbt, Tableau, Power BI, Sigma, semantic layers, metadata/catalog platforms, data-quality monitoring, and automated lineage.
Working knowledge of machine-learning lifecycle concepts and modern AI patterns, including generative AI, retrieval-augmented generation, evaluation, monitoring, AI-enabled workflows, and proportionate human-oversight practices.
Exceptional communication and influence skills, with the ability to translate governance requirements into practical, repeatable processes and implementable controls for executives, business stakeholders, engineers, risk partners, and auditors.
A bachelor’s degree in a relevant field, or equivalent relevant experience, is preferred; a master’s degree is a plus.
Relevant certifications such as CDMP or IAPP AIGP, and NIST AI RMF or ISO/IEC 42001 training, are valued but are not required or substitutes for demonstrated implementation experience.

Nice To Haves

Atlan experience is preferred.
A master’s degree is a plus.
Relevant certifications such as CDMP or IAPP AIGP, and NIST AI RMF or ISO/IEC 42001 training, are valued but are not required or substitutes for demonstrated implementation experience.

Responsibilities

Architect and operationalize Kapitus’s enterprise Data Governance framework, including policies, standards, decision rights, escalation and exception processes, evidence requirements, governance reporting, and operating cadences.
Design and activate a federated governance model that enables Business Data Owners, Business Data Stewards, and Technical Data Custodians to apply enterprise standards within their domains.
Build durable internal governance capability by codifying standards, operating practices, stewardship guidance, workflows, and decision records that reduce dependency on external consulting support over time.
Establish governance practices for critical data assets, including business glossary, Critical Data Elements, metadata, lineage, data contracts, data classification, retention, lifecycle, and certification.
Define the enterprise Data Quality framework, including quality dimensions, business rules, monitoring expectations, issue and remediation practices, risk reporting, and risk-based release or promotion criteria.
Partner with Data Engineering, Analytics Engineering, BI, Product, and Enterprise Architecture to embed governance requirements in data products, dashboards, reports, semantic models, and analytical delivery processes.
Serve as the functional product owner for Atlan and related governance capabilities, defining business priorities, workflows, adoption requirements, and evidence needs in partnership with Governance Platform Engineering.
Establish and operationalize a risk-based Model & AI Governance framework covering analytical models, machine learning, generative AI, AI-enabled workflows, agentic AI use cases, and applicable third-party AI services.
Define proportionate model and AI lifecycle requirements for intake and risk tiering, inventory and ownership, documentation, review and approval, controlled implementation, monitoring, material change, issues and exceptions, and retirement. Define governance expectations for model and AI evaluation evidence; performance, drift, and outcome monitoring where applicable; approved-data use; grounding and retrieval for generative-AI use cases; logging, access controls, traceability, human oversight, and incident response.
Establish risk-based expectations for agentic AI, including autonomy levels, tool and action permissions, human-in-the-loop or human-on-the-loop oversight, evaluation evidence, and audit trails.
Partner with Risk, Compliance, Legal, Information Security, Procurement, Product, Operations, and technical teams to align governance requirements with enterprise risk and third-party risk practices. This role does not replace independent model validation where such validation is required.

Benefits

Competitive Base Salary Range of $117,800 to $189,000.
Annual Incentive Compensation Eligibility – Up to 10% annually.
Health Insurance: Comprehensive medical, dental, and employer-paid vision plans through UnitedHealthcare (UHC), with various coverage levels available to meet the needs of our employees and their families. Additional perks through UHC include: Sweat Equity, free subscription to the Calm App, UHC rewards, Real Appeal, and Quit For Life.
Flexible Spending Account: Set aside pre-tax dollars from your paycheck to pay for qualified out-of-pocket medical, dental, vision, pharmacy or dependent care expenses.
Lifestyle Spending Account: Employer sponsored post-tax benefits that allow reimbursement for expenses related to physical, mental and financial well-being.
100% Company Paid Insurances: Kapitus fully covers the cost of basic short-term and long-term disability insurance, as well as vision insurance, ensuring our employees have comprehensive protection without any personal expense.
Voluntary Insurance: Supplemental life insurance as well as enhanced short- and long-term disability coverage are available through Mutual of Omaha, providing additional security for our employees. Additionally, Colonial Accident and Hospitalization insurances are also available, offering further protection against unforeseen events.
Paid Maternity and Parental Leave: Beyond state-mandated leave policies, Kapitus provides company-paid maternity and parental leave, supporting our employees during important family milestones.
Commuter Benefits: We offer pre-tax benefits on parking and commuter expenses to cover travel to and from work.
LifeBalance Program: Enhance your lifestyle with our LifeBalance membership, which offers discounts on outdoor activities, the arts, health, and fitness. Additional benefits include: Pet and car insurance discounts. Financial services such as LegalShield. Relaxation and stress management tools.
Plum Benefits Discount Program: Access exclusive discounts on shows, travel, car rentals, and more, enriching your personal and family life.
Tuition Reimbursement: Pursue further education with up to $5,000 annually in tuition reimbursement, plus opportunities to attend relevant conferences and career development events. Managed through our LSA plan, Kapitus Academy.
Travel Reimbursement: We also offer travel reimbursement for all work-related travel, supporting your involvement in career and personal development activities.
Paid Time Off and Sick Time.
Retirement Benefits: Our 401K plan is managed through Fidelity. To support your long-term financial goals, the company provides a 25% match on your contributions, up to 6% of your annual salary.