[Hiring] Senior Program Manager, People Data Access & Governance @Zillow

Role Description

As a Senior Program Manager, People Data Access & Governance within the Business Operations & People Analytics organization, you’ll be part of a team at the center of one of Zillow’s most consequential investments: making people data more accessible, more intelligent, and more trustworthy, all at the same time. This team sits at the intersection of HR systems, cloud data infrastructure, and the rapidly evolving world of AI-powered workforce tools, and plays a critical role in shaping how leaders and partners across the company can engage with people data responsibly.

The way organizations interact with people data is changing fundamentally. This role exists because Zillow is leaning into that future, and doing it thoughtfully requires someone who can hold the full picture: who should have access to what, through which interfaces, with what controls, and accountable to whom.

As Senior Program Manager, People Data Access & Governance, you’ll design and own the framework that governs access in how people data flows from source systems like Workday through cloud analytical environments like Databricks, and ultimately into the hands of HRBPs, people leaders, and AI-powered tools.

• Design and own Zillow’s People Data Access & Governance program, including policies, access frameworks, data classification standards, and the principles that determine who can access what, through which interfaces, and under what conditions.
• Partner with HRBPs, People Analytics, Legal and Privacy, Security, and Product and Tech leaders to understand how people data is used in practice, and design governance that protects that data without creating friction that pushes teams toward ungoverned workarounds.
• Govern the full spectrum of people data access: from curated, governed metric layers and self-service analytics surfaces, to back-end power user access in Databricks; understanding the risk and accountability considerations that differ across each tier.
• Define how AI-powered tools, including large language model interfaces that allow natural language querying of workforce data, fit into the access governance model, and build the guardrails that make those tools safe to deploy at scale.
• Define the access governance framework for people data, including role-based access design, tiering principles, and the standards that govern when access is granted, modified, or revoked.
• Serve as the primary decision-maker for people data access questions across the organization: fielding requests, making principled calls, and building scalable intake and escalation processes.
• Identify and close gaps in how people data moves through Zillow’s data ecosystem, ensuring appropriate masking, permissioning, and audit mechanisms exist at every layer from source record to AI interface.
• Lead cross-functional working groups and drive alignment on data access standards, sensitivity classifications, and escalation paths across a complex, multi-stakeholder environment.
• Build the operational infrastructure of the program: intake workflows, periodic access reviews, exception handling, and reporting that gives leadership real visibility into the state of people data governance.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in data governance, HR technology, people analytics, or technical program management, with demonstrated ownership of a program or domain, not just project delivery.
• Familiarity with cloud-based analytical environments to partner with Data Engineering and Security about how access controls are implemented.
• A clear mental model for how AI and LLM-based tools change the data governance equation.
• Experience governing sensitive data across its full lifecycle: classification, permissioning, access review cadences, audit trails, and exception handling, ideally with people or HR data specifically.
• Comfort operating in genuine ambiguity at scale.
• Strong cross-functional partnership instincts.
• A grounded, principled perspective on why people data governance matters.
• HR domain fluency to deeply understand the sensitivity of what you’re governing.

Requirements

• Experience with data privacy and compliance frameworks (GDPR, CCPA, or similar) and how they apply to workforce data specifically.
• Familiarity with AI/ML governance considerations.
• Background working with or alongside People Analytics or HRBP teams.

Benefits

• Competitive base salary.
• Eligible for equity awards based on factors such as experience, performance, and location.

Company Description

At Zillow, we’re reimagining how people move—through the real estate market and through their careers. As the most-visited real estate platform in the U.S., we help people navigate buying, selling, financing, and renting with greater ease and confidence.

Zillow is honored to be recognized among the best workplaces in the U.S. Zillow was named one of FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For® in 2026, and included on TIME’s America’s Best Companies 2026 list.

Zillow Group is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering an inclusive, innovative environment with the best employees.