Senior Program Manager, People Data Access & Governance

Zillow

7d • $123,700 - $207,900 • Remote

About The Position

As a Senior Program Manager in Zillow’s Business Operations & People Analytics organization, you will own the program governing access to people data across HR source systems, cloud analytical environments, analytics interfaces, and AI-powered workforce tools. You will design policies, access frameworks, data classification standards, and operating practices that help leaders and partners use people data responsibly while minimizing friction and avoiding ungoverned workarounds.

The role covers the full range of access, from governed metric layers and curated data products to back-end power-user access in Databricks. You will define how AI and large language model interfaces fit into the governance model, establish appropriate guardrails, and partner with Security, HR Tech, Data Engineering, Legal and Privacy, HRBPs, People Analytics, and Product and Tech leaders to translate policy into implemented controls.

You will serve as the primary decision-maker for people data access questions, build scalable intake and escalation processes, and establish operational practices such as periodic access reviews, exception handling, and leadership reporting. This is a remote position. U.S. employees may work from any of the 50 states, with limited exceptions, and must identify their physical work location to the Company. The role is eligible for equity awards. Base pay varies by location: $130,100–$207,900 annually in specified higher-range locations, and $123,700–$197,500 annually in specified other locations listed in the posting.

Requirements

• At least 8 years of experience in data governance, HR technology, people analytics, or technical program management, with demonstrated ownership of a program or domain.
• Familiarity with cloud-based analytical environments sufficient to partner with Data Engineering and Security on access-control implementation; the role’s core expertise is governance design and policy, not technical configuration.
• A clear understanding of how AI and LLM-based tools change data governance, including how natural-language interfaces to structured data differ from traditional BI access models.
• Experience governing sensitive data across its lifecycle, including classification, permissioning, access review cadences, audit trails, and exception handling; people or HR data experience is preferred within this requirement.
• Ability to operate in ambiguity at scale with structured thinking, iterative momentum, ownership, and autonomy.
• Strong cross-functional partnership skills, including the ability to align InfoSec, Legal, HR, Data Engineering, and Product around shared governance outcomes.
• A principled understanding of the ethical and organizational importance of people data governance, with the ability to explain it credibly to technical and non-technical audiences.
• HR domain fluency and a track record demonstrating governance judgment, design thinking, and program ownership.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with data privacy and compliance frameworks such as GDPR or CCPA and their application to workforce data.
• Familiarity with AI/ML governance, including access and accountability considerations for model training data, inference inputs, and agentic workflows.
• Experience working with or alongside People Analytics or HRBP teams and understanding how workforce data informs decisions.

Responsibilities

• Design and own Zillow’s People Data Access & Governance program, including policies, access frameworks, data classification standards, and access principles.
• Partner with HRBPs, People Analytics, Legal and Privacy, Security, and Product and Tech leaders to understand people-data use and design governance that protects data without creating unnecessary friction.
• Govern access across curated metric layers, self-service analytics, and back-end power-user access in Databricks, accounting for the risks and accountability needs of each tier.
• Define how AI-powered tools, including natural-language interfaces to workforce data, fit into the access governance model and establish guardrails for safe deployment at scale.
• Define role-based access, tiering principles, and standards for granting, modifying, and revoking access; partner with Security, HR Tech, and Data Engineering to implement controls.
• Serve as the primary decision-maker for people data access questions, handling requests and building scalable intake and escalation processes.
• Identify and address gaps in how people data moves through the data ecosystem, ensuring appropriate masking, permissions, and audit mechanisms from source records to AI interfaces.
• Lead cross-functional working groups and align stakeholders on access standards, sensitivity classifications, and escalation paths.
• Build program operations, including intake workflows, periodic access reviews, exception handling, and leadership reporting on people data governance.

Benefits

• Equity awards based on factors such as experience, performance, and location.
• Flexible work location through Zillow’s distributed-work approach, subject to the role’s remote-work requirements.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed