Posted at: 3 November

Sr. Governance Lead

Company

Element Solutions

Element Solutions Inc is a US-based specialty chemicals company specializing in manufacturing chemical products for electronics and industrial applications, operating primarily in a B2B model with a global presence.

Remote Hiring Policy:

Element Solutions Inc is a remote-first company, primarily hiring candidates who reside in the Continental US, with team members collaborating across various time zones.

Job Type

Full-time

Allowed Applicant Locations

United States

Salary

$150,000 to $190,000 per year

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Job Description

Who is Element?

We serve as a partner at the intersection of innovation and our clients' needs, efficiently crafting meaningful user experiences for government and commercial customers. By breaking complex problems down into their fundamental elements, we create modern digital solutions that drive efficiency, maximize taxpayer dollars, and deliver essential outcomes that serve the people. 

Why Work at Element?

Make an impact that resonates-join our vibrant team and discover how you can improve lives through digital transformation.  Our talented professionals bring unparalleled energy engagement, setting a higher standard for impactful work. Be a part of our team and shape a better future. 

Position Summary

Element is looking for an experienced, permanent/full-time Sr. Governance Lead to join our growing company. The Senior Governance Lead will spearhead the development, implementation and oversight of governance frameworks for artificial intelligence (AI) and emerging technologies for a state project. This role will ensure that AI systems deployed or procured by the state are ethical, transparent, compliant with regulatory and policy requirements, and aligned with the state’s strategic objectives. The role requires strong stakeholder engagement across state agencies, vendors, legal/regulatory teams, technical teams and policy owners.

Key Responsibilities

    • Develop and maintain the program governance framework (including committees, decision-rights, escalation processes, roles & responsibilities) for the AI contract.
    • Work with senior leadership (company and state agency) to define governance structure, charter, terms of reference, performance oversight, compliance obligations, audit readiness, and stakeholder escalation mechanisms.
    • Define, implement and monitor policy, procedure, and control environment around:Contract management and compliance (deliverables, SLAs, milestones, reporting).Data governance, AI ethics, algorithmic accountability, transparency, and fairness.
    • Risk management (identification, assessment, mitigation, reporting).Document management, change control, decision-logs, audit trails.
    • Vendor/subcontractor governance, teaming partner oversight and sub-contract compliance.
    • Lead the preparation of governance artifacts: dashboards, risk/issue registers, escalation logs, governance meeting minutes, status reports, management briefings.
    • Serve as the prime interface for governance‐related inquiries from the state customer, internal audit, external oversight bodies, and internal executive sponsors.
    • Provide expert guidance and training to program teams, subcontractors and partners on governance best practices, ethical AI considerations, compliance obligations, contract requirements, and governance tools.
    • Conduct periodic assurance reviews / audits to validate that program activities align with governance frameworks, internal policies, contract terms, state/federal regulations, and ethical/AI governance principles. Report findings, drive corrective actions.
    • Establish and maintain stakeholder communication channels (state agency leadership; program leadership; contractor leadership; legal/compliance functions; subcontractors) to ensure governance transparency, escalation of issues, and alignment of governance objectives.
    • Collaborate with legal, compliance, technology leads, data scientists and program management to ensure governance is embedded in AI project lifecycle: design, development, testing, deployment, and monitoring.
    • Oversee data governance alignment with FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) to ensure datasets are trusted, transparent, and reusable across state and federal systems.
    • Define governance checkpoints across the phased rollout, ensuring all sandbox environments, access workflows, and AI validation activities are compliant before production release.
    • Establish accessibility and inclusivity requirements in governance documentation and workflows to ensure compliance with WCAG 2.1 Level AA and multilingual accessibility standards.
    • Implement Zero Trust–aligned governance practices, ensuring continuous verification, role-based access control (RBAC), and least-privilege principles across all data tiers.
    • Develop governance metrics (e.g., % compliance with FAIR metadata standards, % trained data stewards, audit closure rate) and ensure they are reported transparently to MassTech leadership and oversight committees.
    • Coordinate with the Security Architect and Program Director to ensure all data-sharing, ethical AI, and privacy policies remain aligned with Massachusetts data-protection laws and StateRAMP/NIST controls.
    • Stay abreast of relevant regulatory, legislative and standards developments in AI, data privacy, state procurement and contract governance, and ensure program readiness and compliance.
    • Provide leadership, coaching and mentoring to governance, risk & compliance staff (if applicable) and help build the governance capability within the program.

Minimum Qualifications

    • Bachelor’s degree in Public Policy, Law, Computer Science, Data Science, Business Administration or related field. Advanced degree preferred (e.g., Master’s in Public Policy, Law, Data Science).
    • 8+ years of progressive experience in governance, risk & compliance, data governance, AI policy/governance or related discipline.
    • Demonstrated experience working at the intersection of technology, regulation and policy—especially with AI, machine learning or advanced analytics.
    • Familiarity with AI/ML lifecycle risks (bias, fairness, transparency, interpretability), data privacy and security, ethical AI principles.
    • Strong ability to engage and influence stakeholders across technical and non-technical domains, build consensus, and drive governance adoption.
    • Excellent written and verbal communication skills, able to prepare executive-level reports and deliver briefings.
    • Experience with vendor contracts, procurement frameworks, audit readiness and operationalizing governance in a large organization (preferably public sector).
    • Ability to work in a dynamic environment, handle ambiguity, and translate high-level policy into actionable governance frameworks and practices.
    • Demonstrated experience leading data-governance or AI-ethics frameworks aligned with FAIR principles and Zero Trust security.
    • Proven ability to develop accessibility-compliant governance documentation and policies (WCAG 2.1, Section 508).
    • Experience coordinating sandbox testing, phased rollout validation, and compliance readiness reviews for large-scale government or research programs.
    • US Citizenship or Permanent Residency required.
    • Must reside in the Continental US.
    • Depending on the government agency, specific requirements may include public trust background check or security clearance.

Preferred Qualifications

    • Experience with state or federal government AI programs, public sector procurement and regulatory oversight.
    • Knowledge of relevant federal/state AI, data and privacy laws/regulations (for example GDPR, CCPA/CPRA, or state data privacy acts).
    • Certification in risk/governance/compliance (e.g., CIPP, CIPM, ISO 31000, ISO 27001, or similar).Prior experience building and leading an AI governance office or program from scratch.
    • Experience governing metadata-driven data-commons or data-catalog platforms (e.g., CKAN, Dataverse) within public-sector environments.
    • Familiarity with ethical AI assurance, bias-monitoring, and fairness-auditing frameworks (e.g., AIF360, Fairlearn) as part of governance review processes.
    • Working knowledge of machine learning models, data architecture, model validation and operationalization (not necessarily hands-on coding, but sufficient fluency to engage technical teams).
$150,000 - $190,000 a year
The likely salary range for this position is $150,000-$190,000. This is not, however, a guarantee of compensation or salary. Rather, salary will be set based on experience, geographic location and possibly contractual requirements and could fall outside of this range.
Location

Be in your Element. We are a remote-first company based in Washington, DC.

Element is an equal opportunity employer  All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status, marital status, protected veteran status, or any other legally protected class. 

We believe in a world where solutions we build improve the lives of those who use them.
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