Senior Manager - AI Innovation & Research

Posted Yesterday
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New York, NY, USA
In-Office
Senior level
Fintech • Financial Services
The Role
Leads strategy and early product development for agentic commerce and AI-powered payments. Evaluates emerging technologies, customer needs, market opportunities, technical feasibility, and commercial potential. Develops product concepts, requirements, experiments, pilots, and proofs of concept while partnering with Engineering, Product, Network, Risk, Legal, Compliance, commercial teams, technology providers, startups, and ecosystem partners. Translates validated opportunities into platform capabilities, roadmaps, and partner opportunities within a regulated financial services environment.
Summary Generated by Built In

Amex Digital Labs’ mission is to build the future of payments and membership, creating new value that evolves with our customers' needs and drives deeper engagement and loyalty. We leverage emerging technologies to deliver innovations that enhance how customers pay, travel, dine, and experience the brand.

We are seeking a Senior Manager, Product Development to help shape the future of Agentic Commerce at American Express. This role will focus on identifying and developing new products, capabilities, and experiences that enable the next generation of AI-powered commerce. From agent wallets and digital identity to emerging payment protocols and new transaction models, this person will explore how evolving technologies can create new value for Card Members, merchants, and partners. 

As a trusted, closed-loop network, American Express is uniquely positioned to bring its authentication, authorization, identity, and risk capabilities into emerging commerce experiences. This person will help identify where American Express can leverage these strengths to create differentiated products and unlock new growth opportunities. 

Partnering closely with Engineering, Product, Network, and cross-functional teams, this Senior Manager will turn emerging technologies and market insights into actionable product concepts, lead early-stage experimentation, and help shape the capabilities that will define the future of Agentic Commerce. The ideal candidate is a curious, hands-on product thinker who enjoys solving ambiguous problems, exploring new technologies, and bringing new ideas to life.

Responsibilities

Product Strategy & Emerging Opportunities 

  • Identify and evaluate new opportunities across agentic commerce, AI-powered payments, agent wallets, digital identity, delegated purchasing, and emerging commerce models. 
  • Keep a pulse on emerging technologies, industry standards, competitive developments, and customer behaviors to identify opportunities that can shape future product strategy. 
  • Translate market insights, customer needs, and technology developments into compelling product concepts, use cases, value propositions, and recommendations for investment. 
  • Evaluate the commercial potential, customer value, technical feasibility, and ecosystem readiness of emerging opportunities to help prioritize where American Express should invest. 

Emerging Technology & Product Development 

  • Partner deeply with Engineering and technical teams to understand emerging technologies and explore how they can enable new commerce experiences. 
  • Develop a working perspective on evolving technologies and protocols, including Agent-to-Agent Protocol, Agentic Payments Protocol, x402, Model Context Protocol, digital identity, and emerging agent authentication and authorization frameworks. 
  • Lead early-stage product discovery and development, defining requirements, customer experiences, success metrics, and approaches to testing new capabilities. 
  • Drive proofs of concept, pilots, and experiments to validate product hypotheses, assess feasibility, and determine opportunities for further development.

Cross-Functional Collaboration & Ecosystem Engagement 

  • Collaborate across Product, Engineering, Network, Risk, Legal, Compliance, and commercial teams to evaluate solutions, navigate dependencies, and advance emerging product opportunities. 
  • Engage with technology providers, startups, industry participants, and ecosystem partners to understand new capabilities, evolving standards, and potential opportunities for collaboration. 
  • Partner with Agentic Commerce Platform & Product Strategy and Partner Integrations teams to translate validated concepts into future platform capabilities, product roadmaps, and partner opportunities. 
  • Bring structure to ambiguous problems, synthesize technical and commercial insights, and communicate clear recommendations that influence product direction and leadership decisions. 
Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications 

  • 5+ years of experience in product management, product development, product strategy, fintech, digital commerce, or a related technology role. 
  • Enthusiasm for building exceptional products and experiences, with strong customer empathy, product intuition, and an ability to articulate compelling product opportunities. 
  • Curiosity and a hunger to understand how emerging technologies work, connect ideas across disciplines, and identify opportunities to push innovation within a large organization. 
  • Experience taking new product ideas from concept through discovery, experimentation, and validation, with a strong ownership mentality and willingness to be hands-on. 
  • Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to evaluate opportunities, assess trade-offs, and make informed product decisions. 
  • Comfortable partnering closely with Engineering, understanding technical concepts, and translating business and customer needs into product requirements and potential solutions. 
  • Ability to balance big-picture strategy with tactical execution, bringing structure and clarity to ambiguous or rapidly evolving opportunities. 
  • Highly organized, adaptable, and self-motivated, with the ability to navigate competing priorities and drive progress across cross-functional teams. 
  • Excellent communication and relationship-building skills, with the ability to engage, influence, and align both technical and non-technical stakeholders. 
  • A collaborative, test-and-learn mindset with a willingness to challenge assumptions, experiment with new approaches, and adapt based on feedback and results. 
  • Willingness to be creative within the bounds of a highly regulated financial services environment. 
     

Preferred Qualifications 

  • Experience in payments, financial services, digital wallets, commerce platforms, or emerging technology products. 
  • Familiarity with payment processing, authentication, tokenization, APIs, digital identity, or payment network capabilities. 
  • Exposure to agentic AI, AI-enabled commerce, emerging payment protocols, or autonomous transaction models. 
  • Experience with zero-to-one product development, prototyping, pilots, startup ecosystems, or new business incubation. 
     

Employment eligibility to work with American Express in the United States is required, as the company will not pursue visa sponsorship for these positions. 

About Us

At American Express, our culture is built on a 175-year history of innovation, shared values and Leadership Behaviors, and an unwavering commitment to back our customers, communities, and colleagues. From delivering differentiated products to providing world-class customer service, we operate with a strong risk mindset, ensuring we continue to uphold our brand promise of trust, security, and service.

As part of Team Amex, you’ll experience our powerful backing with comprehensive support for your holistic well-being and many opportunities to learn new skills, develop as a leader, and grow your career. Here, your voice and ideas matter, your work makes an impact, and together, you will help us define the future of American Express.

About the Team

We back you with benefits that support your holistic well-being so you can be and deliver your best. This means caring for you and your loved ones' physical, financial, and mental health, as well as providing the flexibility you need to thrive personally and professionally:

  • Competitive base salaries
  • Bonus incentives
  • 6% Company Match on retirement savings plan
  • Free financial coaching and financial well-being support
  • Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life insurance, and disability benefits
  • Flexible working model with hybrid, onsite or virtual arrangements depending on role and business need
  • 20+ weeks paid parental leave for all parents, regardless of gender, offered for pregnancy, adoption or surrogacy
  • Free access to global on-site wellness centers staffed with nurses and doctors (depending on location)
  • Free and confidential counseling support through our Healthy Minds program
  • Career development and training opportunities

For a full list of Team Amex benefits, visit our Colleague Benefits Site.

American Express is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, disability status, age, or any other status protected by law. American Express will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with arrest or conviction records, in accordance with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including the California Fair Chance Act, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, and the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance. For positions covered by federal and/or state banking regulations, American Express will comply with such regulations as it relates to the consideration of applicants with criminal convictions.

We back our colleagues with the support they need to thrive, professionally and personally. That's why we have Amex Flex, our enterprise working model that provides greater flexibility to colleagues while ensuring we preserve the important aspects of our unique in-person culture. Depending on role and business needs, colleagues will either work onsite, in a hybrid model (combination of in-office and virtual days) or fully virtually.

US Job Seekers - Click to view the “Know Your Rights” poster. If the link does not work, you may access the poster by copying and pasting the following URL in a new browser window: https://www.eeoc.gov/poster.


The below represents the expected salary range for this job requisition. Ultimately, in determining your pay, we’ll consider your location, experience, and other job-related factors.​

Skills Required

  • 5+ years of experience in product management, product development, product strategy, fintech, digital commerce, or a related technology role
  • Experience building products and experiences with strong customer empathy and product intuition
  • Experience taking new product ideas through discovery, experimentation, and validation
  • Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including opportunity evaluation and trade-off assessment
  • Ability to partner closely with Engineering, understand technical concepts, and translate business needs into product requirements
  • Ability to balance strategic thinking with tactical execution in ambiguous or rapidly evolving environments
  • Strong organization, adaptability, self-motivation, and cross-functional execution skills
  • Excellent communication and relationship-building skills with technical and non-technical stakeholders
  • Collaborative, test-and-learn mindset with willingness to experiment and adapt
  • Willingness to work creatively within a highly regulated financial services environment
  • Experience in payments, financial services, digital wallets, commerce platforms, or emerging technology products
  • Familiarity with payment processing, authentication, tokenization, APIs, digital identity, or payment network capabilities
  • Exposure to agentic AI, AI-enabled commerce, emerging payment protocols, or autonomous transaction models
  • Experience with zero-to-one product development, prototyping, pilots, startup ecosystems, or new business incubation

American Express Compensation & Benefits Highlights

The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about American Express and has not been reviewed or approved by American Express.

  • Strong & Reliable Incentives — Bonuses are often viewed as strong and materially boost total compensation when combined with benefits. Company-performance bonuses are highlighted as a recurring strength.
  • Leave & Time Off Breadth — Paid time off and paid leave are frequently highlighted as strengths within the total rewards package. These policies support work-life balance and contribute meaningfully to overall satisfaction.
  • Retirement Support — Retirement benefits are frequently mentioned as a positive component of the package. These offerings add tangible value beyond base salary.

American Express Insights

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The Company
HQ: New York, NY
100,703 Employees
Year Founded: 1850

What We Do

At American Express, we know that with the right backing, people and businesses have the power to progress in incredible ways. Whether we’re supporting our customers’ financial confidence to move ahead, taking commerce to new heights, or encouraging people to explore the world, our colleagues are constantly striving to uphold our powerful backing promise to our customers and each other every day. These beliefs have been our North Star for 170 years as our business transformed – from helping evacuate travelers during World Wars, to ensuring the safety of our customers’ funds during the Great Depression in the U.S., to creating the Shop Small® movement to help small businesses recover from the Financial Crisis, to providing aid to communities impacted by many natural disasters and so much more. For generations, the key to our success has been the determination and resilience of our American Express colleagues. Now, as a globally integrated payments company, we work together to provide customers with access to products, insights and world-class experiences that enrich lives and build business success. Join us and let’s lead the way together.

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