Director, MaineIT Artificial Intelligence (AI) Center of Excellence - Public Service Manager III

Location: Augusta,Maine,United States

OFFICE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY - MAINE IT

DIRECTOR, MAINEIT ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE CENTER OF EXCELLENCE

Opening Date: June 27, 2025

Closing Date:  July 14, 2025

Job Class Code: MH34
Grade: 34
Salary: $93,167.36 - $132,292.16*/Annually (includes 10% recruitment & retention stipend)
Position Number: 020103243

JOB DESCRIPTION:

The Department of Administrative and Financial Services (DAFS) Office of Information Technology (MaineIT) provides information technology support to over 13,000 employees.  MaineIT oversees large-scale enterprise applications that support the critical and diverse business needs of the State and its agencies.

This position reports to the Executive Director of Enterprise Architecture within the Office of Information Technology.  The Director, MaineIT AI Center of Excellence (COE), is responsible for leading the development, design, adoption, and monitoring of the State’s Generative AI strategy. Under this position’s leadership, the AI COE will be a progressive, forward-thinking unit that fosters collaboration across agencies, championing AI best practices, and setting the framework for how the state of Maine adopts and integrates generative AI, making recommendations on how IT infrastructure and applications will be procured, provisioned, and supported. The AI COE will influence technological decisions, oversee the ethical application of AI, and explore its potential to drive operational efficiencies to improve services for Maine’s constituents.

This position will:

• Ensure the program is scalable, secure, accessible, and equitable while adhering to rigorous accountability standards statewide.
• Deliver guidelines for the integration of generative AI into existing state systems and monitor its ongoing use.
• Govern the program, enforce compliance with state and federal guidelines, and uphold relevant regulatory standards.
• Recruit, develop, and retain top talent to ensure the AI COE possesses the skills and abilities needed to fulfill the mission and guide the State’s journey toward leveraging generative AI for transformative impact.

MaineIT embraces the following core values (C.A.R.E.)

• Customer-Focus – Ensuring our customers are heard and their needs are met.
• Accountability – Holding ourselves to a high standard through transparency with stakeholders.
• Responsiveness – Providing timely updates in a proactive manner.
• Empathy – Delivering people-focused services with emotional intelligence.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the development, design, adoption, and monitoring of the State’s Generative AI strategy and COE ensuring it is scalability, security, accessibility and equity.
• Collaborate and agencies and staff to strategize and develop AI initiatives.
• Participate in the Technical Advisory Committee as defined in the Governor’s Executive Order on Artificial Intelligence.
• Conduct capacity planning, implement optimization strategies, and maintain AI reference architectures.
• Foster and lead a community of practice (COP) to facilitate cross-agency collaboration.
• Promote and drive early adoption of AI practices to realize the value mitigating risks and maintaining transparency.
• Define governance structure and engagement processes.
• Collaborate with security, risk management, and legal/regulatory compliance to manage risks.
• Partner with policy makers and public stakeholders to align AI initiatives with the State’s missions.
• Develop and maintain a knowledge hub to support AI adoption and measure outcomes.
• Oversee the recruitment, development, and retention of a skilled team of technologists and AI specialists.
• Authorize decisions regarding the development and execution of the AI COE program statewide.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES REQUIRED: 

Knowledge: 

• Cybersecurity & Compliance – Familiarity with security frameworks (NIST 800-53, ISO 27001) and regulatory compliance (HIPAA, CJIS, GDPR, etc.) with a focus on securing AI models and datasets against adversarial attacks, ensuring data privacy, and maintaining compliance with evolving AI-specific regulations.
• IT Governance & Policies – Experience with IT governance structures, procurement policies, and regulatory requirements on State and Federal levels including familiarity with AI governance frameworks such as NIST AI RMF, OECD AI Principles and the EU AI Act.