Remote Director Internal Controls Jobs in California

Description
AppFolio is more than a company - we're a community of dreamers, big thinkers, and problem solvers building technology that carries real estate into the future. We move fast, operate with purpose, and show up as one team connected by a shared commitment to doing right by our customers, our communities, and each other.
AI is fundamentally changing how AppFolio builds products, serves customers, and manages risk - and Internal Audit has a front-row seat. We're looking for a Director, Internal Audit Transformation to help us rise to that moment. This is not a status-quo audit role. You'll be doing two things at once: auditing the AI-driven risks emerging across our business (from agentic AI in our products to AI-accelerated software development to the full lifecycle of internal AI adoption) and actively transforming how Internal Audit itself operates, using AI tools to mature our methodologies, scale our coverage, and eventually move toward near-real-time risk identification.
You'll bring deep operational audit experience - particularly in financial services domains like payments processing, tenant screening, and underwriting - and pair it with the curiosity and technical fluency to lead audit work in an environment where the risk landscape is evolving faster than any annual plan can capture.
Your Impact
Audit AI and Emerging Risk Across the Business
• Act as the third line of defense for AI risk: understand how AI is being introduced into our products and internal operations, assess whether the right controls are in place, and ensure appropriate Human-in-the-Loop (HITL) oversight exists where it matters most.
• Audit the full internal AI adoption lifecycle - from employee use of AI tools, to AI embedded in our SaaS products, to agentic AI deployments, to the use of proprietary data in custom or fine-tuned models.
• Assess risks in our AI-accelerated engineering environment, including open-source code adoption, AI-assisted development, and the shift toward AI-driven QA.
• Monitor regulatory developments tied to AI in financial services (payments, screening, insurance) and ensure IA's audit plan evolves alongside the compliance landscape.
• Partner with Enterprise Risk Management, Compliance, Risk & Fraud, Legal, and Security to assess program maturity and develop appropriate third-line coverage.
Transform How Internal Audit Operates
• Lead the integration of AI tools into our audit processes - building standardized, repeatable approaches to AI-assisted planning, fieldwork, and reporting across all engagements.
• Drive maturity improvements across the Gartner audit maturity framework by identifying where AI can accelerate our capabilities and developing the roadmap to get there.
• Build toward continuous and near-real-time auditing: develop data analytics and AI-driven monitoring to identify emerging risk proactively rather than reactively.
• Lead end-to-end audits (planning, fieldwork, reporting) across product, engineering, operations, and compliance domains - including payments processing, vendor integrations, tenant screening, and partner programs.
• Prepare and present audit findings and insights to senior leadership and contribute to the Internal Audit function's long-term strategic roadmap.
What You Bring
• 6-12 years of progressive internal audit or risk management experience, with meaningful exposure to complex operational, financial, and compliance environments.
• Hands-on experience in financial services operations - payments, screening, underwriting, or similar domains. This is a specialist role, not a generalist one.
• Genuine fluency with data analytics: you've built or used data-driven audit approaches and are excited about what AI makes possible.
• Working knowledge of AI concepts and risk - you don't need to be an AI engineer, but you understand agentic AI, LLMs, model risk, and what HITL oversight means in practice.
• Strong grasp of internal control frameworks (COSO, COBIT) and how controls mature alongside organizational and technological change.
• Prior experience in SaaS, fintech, or technology-driven environments.
• CPA, CIA, or CISA preferred.
• Excellent communication and executive presence - you can translate complex risk concepts for senior leaders and audit committees alike.
Why This Role
Most internal audit roles ask you to assess risk. This one asks you to help define what risk looks like in a world that hasn't finished changing yet. You'll have real ownership
over building something - the methodology, the tooling, the posture - and you'll be doing it inside a company that takes both innovation and integrity seriously.
Location
Find out more about our locations by visiting our site.
Compensation & Benefits
The compensation that we reasonably expect to pay for this role is: $167,200 - $209,000 base pay. The actual compensation for this role will be determined by a variety of factors, including but not limited to the candidate's skills, education, experience, and internal equity.
Please note that compensation is just one aspect of a comprehensive Total Rewards package. The compensation range listed here does not include additional benefits or any discretionary bonuses you may be eligible for based on your role and/or employment type.
Regular full-time employees are eligible for benefits - see here.
About AppFolio
AppFolio is the technology leader powering the future of the real estate industry. Our innovative platform and trusted partnership enable our customers to connect communities, increase operational efficiency, and grow their business. For more information about AppFolio, visit appfolio.com.
Why AppFolio
Grow We enable a culture of high performance, where delivering results is recognized by opportunities for growth and compelling total rewards. Our challenging and meaningful work drive the growth of our business, and ourselves.
Learn We partner with you to realize your potential by investing in you from the start. We're cultivating a team of big thinkers through coaching and mentorship with our best-in-class leaders, and giving you the time and tools to develop your skills.
Impact We are creating a world where living in, investing in, managing, and supporting communities feels magical and effortless, freeing people to thrive. We do this by innovating with purpose while cultivating a culture of impact. We learn as much from each other as we do our customers and our communities.
Connect We excel at hybrid work by fostering an environment that feels flexible, personal and connected, no matter where we are. We create space to fuel innovation and collaboration, and we come together to celebrate, connect, and succeed.
Paddle as One.
Learn more at appfolio.com/company/careers
Statement of Equal Opportunity
At AppFolio, we value diversity in backgrounds and perspectives and depend on it to drive our innovative culture. That's why we're a proud Equal Opportunity Employer, and we believe that our products, our teams, and our business are stronger because of it. This means that no matter what race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identification, national origin, age, marital status, ancestry, physical or mental disability, or veteran status, you're always welcome at AppFolio.