AI Product & Strategy Manager

Our Purpose

Mastercard powers economies and empowers people in 200+ countries and territories worldwide. Together with our customers, we’re helping build a sustainable economy where everyone can prosper. We support a wide range of digital payments choices, making transactions secure, simple, smart and accessible. Our technology and innovation, partnerships and networks combine to deliver a unique set of products and services that help people, businesses and governments realize their greatest potential.

Title and Summary

AI Product & Strategy Manager

OVERVIEW

Mastercard is seeking a strategic product leader to define and drive the vision for AI solutions within the AI Center of Excellence.

This role shapes what we build and why.

You will serve as a thought partner to senior leadership, combining strategic insight and technical depth to deliver measurable business impact.

You will own the roadmap for internal AI initiatives, influence technical decisions, and align business and engineering teams on outcomes.


WHAT THIS ROLE IS

Owns strategic direction: defines the problem space, the “why,” and the sequence of bets grounded in technical and business realities.

Operates as a thought partner: provides leverage to senior leaders through independent, structured thinking and technical credibility.

Drives decisions and outcomes: creates clarity, frames trade‑offs, and guides stakeholders to a clear path forward.

Brings technical depth: understands ML pipelines, data flows, and model architectures to challenge assumptions and surface risks early.

Connects strategy to execution: translates technical concepts into business implications and ensures delivery against value targets.

Thrives in ambiguity: makes principled decisions with imperfect information and proactively identifies risks and opportunities.

Builds influence without authority: earns trust through insight, clarity, and consistent results.


KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Product Strategy & Execution

Define the strategic vision and multi‑quarter roadmap based on capability, constraints, and market dynamics.

Surface misalignments and strategic risks early; propose course‑correcting options with clear trade‑offs.

Validate AI opportunities through independent technical and commercial analysis.

Recommend priorities and own outcomes end‑to‑end.


Technical Leadership & Credibility

Partner with data science and ML engineering teams to review approaches and surface considerations that impact business value and technical feasibility.

Dive into data, evaluation methods, and implementation details to build a credible point of view.

Translate complex technical concepts into concise narratives and decisions for executives.


Stakeholder Influence & Alignment

Lead forums to decisions with clear owners, timelines, and metrics.

Build direct relationships across Product, Engineering, and Business to accelerate execution.

Create shared understanding across diverse stakeholders; communicate strategies with crisp recommendations.


QUALIFICATIONS

Required

7+ years in product management, product strategy, or technical leadership roles.

Proven track record defining product strategy in technical domains, with examples of setting direction.

Hands‑on experience with AI/ML products, data platforms, or analytics products.

Demonstrated technical depth; able to discuss ML pipelines, model evaluation, and data architecture in detail.

History of operating as a strategic thought partner to senior leadership (Director+), influencing direction.

Strong analytical skills with ability to work directly with data (SQL required; Python or R a plus).

Evidence of driving decisions in ambiguous environments.


Preferred

Experience in payments, financial services, or other highly regulated industries.

Background in strategy consulting, product strategy, or technical strategy roles.

Prior experience managing or leading technical teams.


KEY COMPETENCIES

Strategic thought partnership: elevates leadership decision quality.

Independent decision‑making: acts with speed and judgment under uncertainty.

Technical depth and curiosity: goes beyond surface‑level understanding.

Intellectual credibility: earns trust through clear, evidence‑based perspectives.

Outcome ownership: accountable for value, quality, and adoption.

Mastercard is a merit-based, inclusive, equal opportunity employer that considers applicants without regard to gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, disabled or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We hire the most qualified candidate for the role. In the US or Canada, if you require accommodations or assistance to complete the online application process or during the recruitment process, please contact [email protected] and identify the type of accommodation or assistance you are requesting. Do not include any medical or health information in this email. The Reasonable Accommodations team will respond to your email promptly.

Corporate Security Responsibility

All activities involving access to Mastercard assets, information, and networks comes with an inherent risk to the organization and, therefore, it is expected that every person working for, or on behalf of, Mastercard is responsible for information security and must:

• Abide by Mastercard’s security policies and practices;

• Ensure the confidentiality and integrity of the information being accessed;

• Report any suspected information security violation or breach, and

• Complete all periodic mandatory security trainings in accordance with Mastercard’s guidelines.

In line with Mastercard’s total compensation philosophy and assuming that the job will be performed in the US, the successful candidate will be offered a competitive base salary and may be eligible for an annual bonus or commissions depending on the role. The base salary offered may vary depending on multiple factors, including but not limited to location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Mastercard benefits for full time (and certain part time) employees generally include: insurance (including medical, prescription drug, dental, vision, disability, life insurance); flexible spending account and health savings account; paid leaves (including 16 weeks of new parent leave and up to 20 days of bereavement leave); 80 hours of Paid Sick and Safe Time, 25 days of vacation time and 5 personal days, pro-rated based on date of hire; 10 annual paid U.S. observed holidays; 401k with a best-in-class company match; deferred compensation for eligible roles; fitness reimbursement or on-site fitness facilities; eligibility for tuition reimbursement; and many more.

Pay Ranges

New York City, New York: $143,000 - $228,000 USD