AI Risk & Controls Lead

Northern Trust; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 137,400 - 233,600; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401k and pension

Medical, dental, and vision benefits

Paid time off

Discretionary bonus program

Job summary

Northern Trust in Chicago is looking for an AI Risk & Controls Lead to establish and operationalize first-line-of-defence controls for AI. This role ensures compliance with regulatory and audit expectations while fostering responsible innovation.

You will implement AI control frameworks, oversee AI model management, and work closely with risk, compliance, and audit to maintain effective oversight and governance.

Salary ranges from $137,400 to $233,600, plus a discretionary bonus program, comprehensive benefits including retirement, health, and paid time off.

Qualifications

• Deep experience in AI governance, audit, and model risk management.
• Experience with control design and operationalisation.
• Familiarity with audit readiness and regulatory expectations.

Responsibilities

• Establish and operationalise 1LOD controls for AI across the enterprise.
• Define and implement AI control frameworks aligned to enterprise risk standards.
• Monitor adherence to policies regarding ethical AI and data usage.

Skills

AI governance / AI audit / model risk management

Control design and operationalisation (1LOD)

AI model lifecycle & documentation practices

Model inventories

Usage tracking

Audit readiness

Job description

About Northern Trust As a global leader in innovative wealth management, asset servicing, asset management and banking services, Northern Trust (Nasdaq: NTRS) is proud to guide the world’s most successful individuals, families, corporations and institutions.

Role Purpose

The AI Risk & Controls Lead is responsible for establishing and operationalising first‑line‑of‑defence (1LOD) controls for AI across the enterprise. This role ensures that AI solutions are designed, deployed, and managed in line with regulatory, risk, and audit expectations, while enabling responsible innovation at scale.

Key Responsibilities

AI Governance & Control Framework

• Define and implement AI control frameworks aligned to enterprise risk standards
• Embed 1LOD controls across AI lifecycle (design → build → deploy → monitor)
• Partner with Risk, Compliance, and Audit to ensure alignment with enterprise policies

AI Model Management & Oversight

• Oversee AI model inventory, classification, and lifecycle management
• Define and enforce model governance standards (documentation, approvals, controls)
• Ensure traceability of models, datasets, and decision logic

Documentation & Regulatory Readiness

• Own end‑to‑end AI documentation standards (models, use cases, controls)
• Ensure readiness for internal audit, regulatory inspection, and model validation
• Maintain audit‑ready evidence repositories

Controls Monitoring & Reporting

• Define and track AI control metrics, usage tracking, and compliance indicators
• Monitor adherence to policies (ethical AI, data usage, model risk)
• Provide risk dashboards and reporting to leadership

AI Risk & Audit Partnership

• Act as primary 1LOD interface with 2LOD (Risk) and 3LOD (Audit)
• Support audits, reviews, and issue remediation
• Translate regulatory expectations into practical control execution

Enablement & Advisory

• Advise AI delivery teams (CoPilot, Digital Co‑Worker, ACE, etc.) on control requirements
• Embed controls into AI operating model and delivery pipelines
• Drive awareness of responsible AI practices across teams

Key Skills & Experience Required

• Deep experience in:
  • AI governance / AI audit / model risk management
  • Control design and operationalisation (1LOD)
  • AI model lifecycle & documentation practices
• Experience with:
  • Model inventories, usage tracking, and control frameworks
  • Audit readiness and regulatory expectations

Desirable

• Financial services / regulated environment experience
• Understanding of:
  • AI/ML concepts (not necessarily data scientist level)
  • Regulatory landscape (EU AI Act, SR 11‑7, model risk frameworks)

Success Measures

• % of AI use cases onboarded into governance framework
• Audit findings / control gaps reduction
• Time to evidence production for audit
• Coverage of AI model inventory & tracking
• Adoption of AI control standards across platforms

Salary Range

$137,400 - 233,600 USD

Salary range is a good faith estimate of base pay. Northern Trust provides a comprehensive benefits package including retirement benefits (401k and pension), health and welfare benefits (medical, dental, vision, spending accounts and disability), paid time off, parental and caregiver leave, life & accident insurance, and other voluntary and well‑being benefits. Northern Trust also provides a discretionary bonus program that may include an equity component.

Work Authorization

Applicants must be authorized to work in the U.S. without the need for employment‑based visa sponsorship now or in the future. Northern Trust will not sponsor applicants for U.S. work visa status for this opportunity (no sponsorship is available for H‑1B, L‑1, TN, O‑1, E‑3, H‑1B1, F‑1, J‑1, OPT, CPT or any other employment‑based visa).

Reasonable Accommodation

Northern Trust is committed to working with and providing adjustments to individuals with health conditions and disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please email our HR Service Center at [e-mail], or alternatively you can discuss your individual requirements with the recruiter you are working with.