Principal Data & AI Governance Architect

Arlington, VA

Attention:
Kapitus is aware that individuals posing as recruiters may be communicating with job seekers about supposed positions with Kapitus. Kapitus has received reports that the content and method of communication can vary, but messages may contain requests for payment (e.g., fees for equipment or training) and/or for sensitive financial information.

Kapitus will never ask a candidate for employment for payment or financial information during the initial application or interview process. All open positions are posted in location specific employment portals available at  All legitimate Kapitus job postings on employment sites will direct candidates to complete an application through these portals before completion of the hiring process.

Candidates with additional questions or concerns regarding any recruiting communications or Kapitus’s recruiting process in general should email

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.

• 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…