Principal Consultant, Governed AI Runtime (Founding Hire)

iTmethods · Toronto (hybrid) · Forge Practice · Reports to the CEO

TL;DR. Lead the first cohort of Forge Secure AI (FSAI) engagements end-to-end, codify the methodology that scales the practice from 3-5 customers to 15+ in 12 months, hire and mentor the second wave of experts, and build the Forge Forward-Deployed Engagement (FFDE) practice for active remediation. Staff-equivalent founding IC role with direct CEO reporting. Both a senior individual contributor track and a path to Practice Lead / VP Forge are open and earned. Neither is pre-assigned.

About iTmethods. A 21-year-old Toronto-based technology platform firm running mission-critical regulated environments for some of the most demanding institutions in North America and Europe. Banking and capital markets, life sciences, semiconductor and more. Two product lines: Reign, our governance and assurance platform for regulated AI (AI Gateway, Model Risk Validation, immutable Audit Ledger, Assurance Packs), and Forge, our platform engineering practice and Managed Runtime for Agentic AI, structured around three motions: Assess, Harden, Sustain.

The strategic moment. Regulator clocks are converging. Key AI and model risk regulations, including upcoming Federal Reserve guidance, OSFI E-23, EU AI Act high-risk, FDA PCCP, and FINOS AIGF v2.0, are binding or expected inside the next 12 months. The shadow-AI discovery layer is being commoditized; operator-grade governance is becoming the platform. Regulated enterprises need an operator who can take them from shadow AI to attested AI on a defined timeline. Forge Secure AI (FSAI) is the flagship Forge offering that earns most of our multi-year customer relationships.

The customer journey. An FSAI engagement runs three motions: Assess (60-90 days; AI inventory, severity scoring, remediation plan), Harden (60-120 days; Reign Spine deployed, top remediation items shipped), Sustain (continuous operations, monitoring, and quarterly refresh). The customer owns ongoing remediation by default. Customers who want Forge to take active remediation buy the Forge Forward-Deployed Engagement (FFDE): 90-day Sprints, Forge engineers plus Reign architect, outcome guarantee on priority remediations.

The seat. Founding-hire scope. Direct CEO reporting until we name a VP Forge. The path to Practice Lead or VP Forge is open and earned: the operator who builds the FFDE practice, scales the team, and grows the commercial motion is the natural internal candidate when we name those seats. The senior practice IC track is equally valid. Neither path is assigned.

You will:

• Lead FSAI engagements end-to-end and the FFDE Sprint cadence for customers on that path
• Codify methodology and IP; build the internal training that scales delivery beyond the first cohort
• Hire and mentor the second wave of experts
• Develop pipeline within the Forge installed base and named-account targets
• Lead global advisory partner co-sell alongside the Forge GM and partnerships team

You bring:

• 10+ years total, 5+ at staff or principal level at a frontier AI lab, Big-4 risk practice, FAANG infra/security, hyperscaler PS, or leading platform-engineering firm
• Multi-quarter engagement leadership at CISO, CIO, or CDO level inside regulated enterprises with references
• Hands-on technical depth across AI gateways, identity, endpoint and SASE, cloud audit logging, data lake substrates, and policy engines
• AI-native daily practice as a 2-3x multiplier with concrete receipts (we will ask)
• Working command of the regulator vocabulary (SR 11-7 and upcoming Federal Reserve AI guidance, OSFI E-23, EU AI Act, FINOS AIGF, FDA PCCP, ISO 42001, BCBS 239, DORA)
• Track record of contributing to revenue and proven ability to scale a delivery team under pressure

Bonus points: Tier-1 D-SIB or top-10 pharma direct experience. Prior FDE or Principal at Anthropic, Palantir, Databricks, Snowflake, AWS Pro Services, Microsoft Industry Solutions, or Big-4 risk. Speaker history at FINOS, RSAC, or re:Invent.

You are eligible to work in Canada. US clearance is preferred for cross-border work but not required for the first 12 months; we will support sponsorship where needed.

Compensation. $260K to $340K CAD base + variable + ESOP eligibility. Toronto hybrid; 25-40% travel.

How to apply. Please send your CV and a one-page point-of-view memo (400 to 600 words) describing how you would scope a flexible AI assurance engagement at a Tier-1 bank to [email protected]. Use "Principal Consultant, Forge Secure AI" in the subject line. We aim to respond to all qualified candidates within one week.

iTmethods is an equal opportunity employer.