Chief Digital Information Officer (CDIO)

The American Physical Society (APS) is a nonprofit membership organization devoted to advancing and diffusing the knowledge of physics through its outstanding research journals and scientific meetings, as well as its education, outreach, advocacy, and international activities. APS represents 50,000 members, including physicists in academia, national laboratories, and industry in the United States and throughout the world.

Position Summary:

The chief digital information officer (CDIO) provides executive leadership for APS's enterprise technology, digital strategy, cybersecurity, data, artificial intelligence, and digital transformation initiatives. The CDIO partners closely with other executive leadership to leverage technology as a strategic enabler of APS's mission, creating exceptional digital experiences for members, authors, reviewers, volunteers, staff, and the broader physics community.

The CDIO is responsible not only for delivering secure and reliable technology operations, but also for driving innovation, modernizing business capabilities, improving organizational effectiveness, enhancing customer satisfaction, and ensuring APS fully realizes the value of emerging technologies.

Responsibilities:

Enterprise Digital Strategy

• Develop and execute APS's enterprise digital strategy aligned with organizational priorities.
• Serve as a strategic advisor to the CEO and senior leadership team (SLT) on technology, AI, data, cybersecurity, data privacy, and digital innovation.
• Translate business strategy into a multi-year digital roadmap with measurable outcomes.
• Ensure technology investments directly support organizational effectiveness and drive customer value.
• Establish and lead an enterprise technology governance model with clear decision rights, accountability, and consistent processes for proposing, evaluating, prioritizing, approving, and overseeing technology work.
• Maintain a transparent enterprise technology portfolio and roadmap.
• Document key decisions, assumptions, ownership, resources, expected outcomes, and delivery status.

Digital Transformation

• Lead enterprise-wide digital transformation initiatives that improve employee and customer experiences.
• Modernize business processes through automation, workflow redesign, and connected digital platforms.
• Support creation of a technology product owner model that meets business needs across APS.
• Champion user-centered design across internal and external digital experiences.

Artificial Intelligence & Emerging Technology

• Guide APS's enterprise AI strategy and maintain a governance framework.
• Identify opportunities to responsibly leverage AI to deliver value across the organization.
• Ensure policies for responsible AI use, privacy, and ethical implementation.
• Establish an enterprise AI context that creates sufficient guardrails to safeguard data and provides a rich information ecosystem for AI usage.
• Monitor emerging technologies and recommend innovations that advance APS's mission.

Information Technology Leadership

• Provide leadership for infrastructure, applications, cloud services, service management, and enterprise architecture.
• Ensure highly reliable, secure, scalable technology operations consistent with our remote-first environment.
• Oversee enterprise technology standards and technology lifecycle planning.
• Direct technology investment and capital planning.
• Lead staff training initiatives related to information technology.

Cybersecurity & Risk Management

• Lead enterprise cybersecurity strategy and function as the chief information security officer.
• Oversee information security, disaster recovery, business technology continuity, identity management, privacy and related cyber compliance.
• Ensure incident response management and processes to provide timely responses with documented root causes, response timelines, exposures, and remediations.
• Oversee information security policy and chair the Information Security Governance Committee.
• Establish and lead an enterprise-wide disaster recovery and business continuity testing program.
• Oversee regular tabletop exercises and technical recovery tests to validate plans, critical dependencies, roles, and recovery objectives.
• Ensure compliance with applicable regulatory requirements and industry standards.
• Manage enterprise technology risk.
• Oversee third-party and vendor risk management.

Data & Analytics

• Develop APS's enterprise data architecture, based on organizational strategy, management success metrics, and personalized data delivery.
• Establish governance for enterprise data quality and stewardship.
• Expand organizational analytics capabilities.
• Promote data-informed decision making across APS.

Business Partnership

• Partner with executive leaders across APS, including publications, membership, marketing and communications, finance, human resources, meetings, and external affairs to identify technology opportunities.
• In partnership with the Enterprise Project Portfolio Management Office, ensure the digital transformation roadmap is aligned with APS business planning.
• Lead cross-functional governance for the enterprise technology portfolio, applying consistent criteria and decision processes to prioritize initiatives, allocate capacity, manage dependencies, and monitor delivery against APS’s strategic priorities.
• Foster strong collaboration between APS business units and Information Systems.

Organizational Leadership

• Build and lead a high-performing information systems organization.
• Develop leadership capability throughout the department.
• Foster innovation, collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Lead change management for major enterprise initiatives.

Vendor & Strategic Partnerships

• Oversee strategic vendor relationships, including procurement.
• Evaluate technology partnerships and investment opportunities.
• Where appropriate, represent APS within the scholarly publishing, scientific society, and technology communities.

Leadership and Management

• As a Senior Leadership Team member, provide operational, cultural, and behavioral leadership.
• Foster internal and external relationships to advance strategy and strengthen the APS brand.
• Provide strategic direction and ensure mentorship and professional development across the information systems team.
• In partnership with c-suite partners, track agreed-upon KPIs, ensuring alignment with APS strategic priorities.
• Oversee the department’s budget responsibly, aligning resources with strategic priorities and organizational goals.

Education:

Bachelor’s degree in information technology, computer science, business administration, engineering, or equivalent relevant years of experience. Certifications in ITSM/ITIL, LEAN, and related practices are desirable, but not required.

System/platform knowledge:

Salesforce, MacOS, AWS, AI platforms (Claude/Cowork and/or ChatGPT/Codex), Google Workspace.

Experience and Qualifications:

15+ years of progressive technology leadership experience. 10+ years of managerial experience in information technology. Broad knowledge of all aspects of IT with strong analytical, strategic planning, and communication skills. Executive experience leading enterprise digital transformation and innovation. Experience developing enterprise technology strategy. Success leading large organizational change initiatives. Experience overseeing cybersecurity, data privacy, and enterprise risk. Experience with cloud technologies, enterprise applications, data platforms, and AI. Excellent interpersonal and problem-solving skills, as well as the ability to plan and execute projects within time and budget constraints. The ability to collaborate effectively with other senior managers in order to define, articulate and champion the ways in which technology requirements relate to the Society’s business. Team leadership, coaching, change leadership, and capacity planning, across a remote workforce. Experience within scholarly publishing, associations, higher education, or mission-driven organizations preferred.

Location of Work:

As noted in the job description, APS follows a “remote first” work model, with a majority of staff working primarily from remote locations. The CMO is a “remote first” position that will be associated with the APS offices in the Washington, DC metro area. The position will require regular and frequent travel to meet – in person – with staff in the College Park, Maryland; Hauppauge, New York; and Washington, DC, offices.

Travel:

The position requires up to 15% travel to attend internal and external meetings and events as part of its core responsibilities, as well as additional travel as assigned.

Salary:

The salary range for this position takes into account various factors influencing compensation decisions, such as skill sets, experience, training, and other business and organizational requirements. The salary listed within the specified ranges considers relevant experience. Our compensation philosophy at APS aims to maintain salaries at the midpoint of the market. As a result, we typically hire within the target starting range. Exceptional, rare cases may merit reviews above target starting range for specialized or niche skills aligned with strategic operational goals. Hiring range: $290,000/year - $395,125/year (USD) Target starting range: $290,000/year - $322,625/year (USD)

This is us:

Help us achieve our mission of advancing and diffusing the knowledge of physics for the benefit of humanity, promote physics, and serve the broader physics community. Our core values: our values are our guideposts Scientific Method Trust, Integrity, and Ethical Conduct Equity, Diversity, and Respect Collaboration Education and Learning Speaking Out.

Amazing 2027 Benefit Offerings:

• Flexible schedules and ability to work remotely
• Employer contribution to FSA or HSA account, eligibility based on medical plan enrollment
• Investment advisement services: 100% employer paid
• Medical benefits: PPO or HDHP option
• Employer contribution to FSA or HSA account, eligibility based on medical plan enrollment
• Lifestyle Spending benefit up to $1,500.00 (USD) - 100% employer paid
• Vision benefits: individual and dependent coverage 100% employer paid
• Basic Life & Accident insurance: employee coverage 100% employer paid
• Supplemental Life & Accident insurance, including spouse & dependent child(ren) coverage
• Disability insurance: employee coverage 100% employer paid
• Voluntary Accident & Critical Illness insurance
• Healthcare, Commuter & Dependent care flexible spending accounts
• Vacation: 15 days annually
• Generous holiday leave: 17 paid office closures; includes one week closure at the end of December
• Personal leave: 4 days annually
• Volunteer leave: 1 day annually
• Sick leave: 10 days annually
• Bereavement & Compassion leave: 2 -15 days based on loss
• 12 weeks employer-paid family leave
• College tuition reimbursement plan
• Job related seminar & continuing education 100% employer paid
• Professional Certification/Recertification 100% employer paid
• Training and professional development; access to LinkedIn Learning on-demand courses
• Employee Assistance Program
• Mindfulness Meditation: live and on-demand classes

APS does not offer relocation assistance/costs SLT Only: 457 plan.

The American Physical Society is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer. It is the policy of American Physical Society not to discriminate or allow the harassment of employees or applicants on the basis of race, religious creed, immigration status, alienage or citizenship, religion, color, ethnicity, sex, national origin, age, disability, marital status, familial status, protected veteran status, protected military status, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, predisposing genetic characteristics, ancestry, domestic violence victim status or any other characteristic protected by law with regard to any employment practices, including recruitment, advertising, job application procedures, hiring, upgrading, training, promotion, transfer, compensation, job assignments, benefits and/or other terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, provided the individual is qualified, with or without reasonable accommodations, to perform the essential functions of the job. This policy applies to all jobs at APS. The American Physical Society is committed to providing access, equal opportunity and reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities in employment, its services, programs, and activities. To request a reasonable accommodation, please contact APS Human Resources at hr@aps.org.

The “Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal'' poster, prepared by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), provides an overview of several laws that protect you from discrimination on the job, and several rights are afforded to you by these laws. The “Pay Transparency Non Discrimination Provision,” prepared by the U.S. Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), provides an overview of several protections implemented to protect individuals working under federal contracts from discrimination when inquiring about or discussing compensation; these protections apply to all employees and applicants. The APS has a "remote first" concept that promotes equal treatment and equal access, independent of physical work location, with a majority of staff working primarily from remote work locations.