AI Governance and Evaluation Manager (Remote From Anywhere In CO)

Together, we innovate for a stronger Colorado

The work of employees at the Governor's Office of Information Technology (OIT) is challenging and diverse because the needs of agencies, customers and Coloradans constantly evolve. But our focus never changes: improve the lives of all Coloradans through innovation and collaboration. We're building one of the nation's leading government IT organizations by reimagining how we support agencies, building first-of-their-kind applications, and creating an inclusive, collaborative culture, together. Join us in the important work of providing equitable access to services.

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TERM LIMITED POSITION: This position is term-limited with an anticipated end date of approximately three (3) years from the date of hire, with a strong probability for a 2-year extension.. This position is eligible for State employee benefits and may be extended as the situation warrants. This video explains the many benefits of working at the State of Colorado on a term-limited basis. 

IMPORTANT NOTE: Please review your application to ensure completion. For the most equitable applicant experience, OIT’s hiring team considers only the contents of your application to review your qualifications. Please do not include any attachments (such as resume or cover letter) with your application as these items are not used by OIT’s hiring team. 

The AI Governance and Evaluation Manager will drive integration of AI governance throughout OIT’s enterprise architecture, infrastructure, and delivery practices, designing and operationalizing governance as an enabler. The AI Governance and Evaluation Manager will own a portfolio of work including:

• Evolving and managing AI governance operations, shifting the focus from one-and-done risk assessments to ongoing partnerships at the strategy, product, and delivery levels.

• Establishing and operationalizing structured practices for evaluating ongoing effectiveness of AI-enabled products.

• Partnering with data governance counterparts to ensure the data underlying AI-enabled products meet the need.

The ideal candidate will possess deep knowledge of AI risk frameworks, specifically the NIST AI Risk Management Framework, with a proven ability to apply these standards effectively within resource-constrained environments. You will integrate your understanding of Agile methodologies and product development to establish practical governance mechanisms. Furthermore, you will serve as a key change agent, utilizing your ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders—even without direct reporting authority—to successfully guide teams through process transformation and organizational adoption. 

Essential Functions:

• Translate vision and strategy into sustainable initiatives that produce measurable improvements in the State of Colorado’s maturity in responsible AI deployments.

• Evolve and manage AI governance operations, shifting the focus from one-and-done risk assessments to ongoing partnerships at the strategy, product, and delivery levels.

• Establish and operationalize structured practices for evaluating the ongoing effectiveness of AI-enabled products.

• Partner with data governance counterparts to ensure the data underlying AI-enabled products meets the need.

• Work hand-in-hand with enterprise practice leads to operationalize practical governance mechanisms along the product lifecycle, accelerating the ability for agency pods and OIT internal teams to pilot, test, and deploy AI-enabled products.

• Track federal and state AI laws and policies that affect the State of Colorado, evolving governance operations as needed.

• Diffuse best practices for ongoing evaluation of AI functionality in products across OIT’s platform and product workforce, including vendors.

• Provide technical assistance to colleagues exploring whether, and if so, how, to leverage AI effectively within their functions.

This role is dynamic; as the AI landscape evolves, specific responsibilities may shift to meet the changing needs of the State.

This individual contributor position offers high autonomy and high accountability. This role sits within a purposefully "small but mighty" AI team with a unique goal: to diffuse AI competency across all of OIT so that, within 3-5 years, AI becomes "normal" technology and a standalone AI team is no longer needed. You will be a trusted thought partner to executive leadership, helping cultivate the culture, practices, and infrastructure to ensure AI delivers real value for Coloradans. 

A wide salary range is posted for this position and any job offer is based upon a salary analysis to comply with the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act. The salary analysis considers relevant experience, education, certifications, and state seniority as compared to others doing substantially similar work. While most salary offers are made within the posted range, occasionally an offer is made below or above the posted range based upon this salary analysis.

To better understand your qualifications and increase your opportunity to move forward in the selection process, please indicate in your work history for each job, the outcomes you have achieved that you believe are most relevant to this job.

This is a skills-based job announcement. The required minimum qualifications and/or education (if substituting for the proven experience, knowledge, and skills), are as follows:

Minimum Qualifications:

• Minimum of five (5) years of experience working across multidisciplinary teams—data science, engineering, policy, and operations—to ingrain good governance practices into ongoing work.

• Demonstrated ability to navigate organizational obstacles and ambiguous technical challenges to deliver functional, scalable results.

• At least one year of experience working consistently with generative AI models.

Substitutions:

• Additional appropriate education will substitute for the required experience on a year-for-year basis, but cannot completely substitute for these qualifications. 

• Training or Certification related to the work assigned to the position will be assigned credit towards substitution for experience and/or education, but cannot completely substitute for these qualifications. 

• If the minimum qualifications include a degree requirement, additional appropriate paid or unpaid experience will substitute for the required education on a year-for-year basis.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in regulated industries (e.g., financial services, healthcare).

• Experience in legal analysis.

• Experience in applied research.

• Understanding of fairness, bias mitigation, and accessibility in AI models.

• Compelling communication, with the ability to tailor messaging based on the audience, whether executives, engineers, or non-technical customers.

Conditions of Employment:

OIT employees must comply with any screening procedures in place at state agency locations where they might perform work. 

A pre-employment background check will be conducted as part of the selection process. Post-employment background checks will be required for specific agencies as business needs dictate, which may include a polygraph exam, fingerprint-based criminal history search, reference checks, and a drug test.

This position may require travel within the specified geographic area, and to locations across the state as needed. 

This position may require on-call duties as needed by the position. 

If this posting indicates “remote from anywhere in CO” in the title, periodic reporting to the primary state work location designated for the position is required. All remote work must be performed in Colorado. 

While candidates from out of state will be considered for this role, the candidate selected for the position must relocate and reside in Colorado on the first day of their new position.  A reasonable timeframe for relocation will be established on an individual basis, while considering business needs, and determining a start date.

We know it's important to support each other, and that means having a healthy balance of work and personal time. Visit our benefits to learn more about some of our great offerings that allow us all to have fulfilling lives. 

Visit our How to Apply webpage to learn more about our application process and what to expect after you apply.

The State of Colorado strives to create a Colorado for All by building and maintaining workplaces that value and respect all Coloradans through a commitment to equal opportunity and hiring based on merit and fitness.  The State is resolute in non-discriminatory practices in everything we do, including hiring, employment, and advancement opportunities.

The Governor's Office of Information Technology is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, our agency will assist individuals who have a disability with any reasonable accommodation requests related to employment, including completing the application process, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, participating in the employee selection process, and/or to perform essential job functions where the requested accommodation does not impose an undue hardship. If you have a disability and require reasonable accommodation to ensure you have a positive experience applying or interviewing for this position, please direct your inquiries to our ADA Coordinator at [email protected] or call (303) 764-7900.

This posting may be used to fill multiple vacancies based upon business need. 

The Governor's Office of Information Technology does NOT offer sponsored Visas for employment purposes.