Director, Emerging Technology - Global Business Development

About the role

Sony Music Entertainment fuels the creative journey, with a pioneering history in music, a global presence in over 70 countries, and a focus on music, entertainment, and technology. The Director, Emerging Technology will operationalize SME’s emerging technology priorities by managing the end‑to‑end lifecycle for promising AI vendors and tools—from scouting and evaluation through pilots, rollout, and scaled adoption—working with labels and external partners to equip teams with AI tools, run creative and business R&D programs, and surface insights that reshape workflows.

Responsibilities

• Vendor pipeline and evaluation: source and maintain a pipeline of AI companies, tools, and models that address creative and business priorities; evaluate vendors using defined criteria and document findings; build and maintain relationships with existing and emerging AI vendors, staying close on product roadmaps, performance, and implementation needs.
• Rollout and adoption: partner with internal teams to guide selected vendor engagements through contracting, security review, approvals, and launch logistics; execute structured rollouts of approved AI tools across the organization, including stakeholder coordination, user communication, training workshops, onboarding materials, and case studies; adjust plans based on adoption signals and measured impact; serve as a go‑to advisor on AI tools and maintain feedback loops with users, vendors, and stakeholders; cultivate internal communities of AI‑forward practitioners to develop case studies and support pilots that transform workflows.
• R&D programs: lead day‑to‑day execution of R&D programs to accelerate innovation across content production, business operations, and consumer experiences.
• Communication: develop executive briefings and reports to highlight progress, insights, and opportunities.

Requirements

• Hands‑on AI practitioner: power user of generative AI tools for content production and business workflows, strong in prompt engineering, conceptually grounded in model training and fine‑tuning, ideally experienced with agentic workflows.
• Active in the AI landscape: tracks new models, tools, and vendors; assesses what’s real versus overhyped; constantly tests tools and has well‑formed views on which actually deliver.
• Proven execution operator: assessed startups or products, run pilots, managed scaled rollouts, worked with partners to influence execution and product direction.
• Strong collaborator and capability‑builder: comfortable with tactical questions or sustained partnerships to help teams unlock new ways of working with AI; relationship‑building and cross‑functional skills to drive lasting impact.
• Structured but nimble operator: brings real project‑management discipline (clear plans, owners, follow‑through) without rigidity; delivers through trust and influence with cross‑functional partners.
• Responsible innovation operator: enterprise innovation and change‑management experience, including enablement (training, onboarding materials, internal communities); takes projects from concept through adoption while recognizing governance, policy, or rights considerations and raising those questions early.
• Excellent communicator: translates technical concepts and user feedback into compelling, actionable recommendations for leaders at every level.
• Industry experience: experience in music, media, or entertainment is preferred.

Benefits

• Modern office environment designed to foster productivity, creativity, and teamwork.
• Attractive and comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, vision, life & disability coverage, and 401K + employer matching.
• Voluntary benefits such as company‑paid identity theft protection, resources for pets, mental health and meditation, industry‑leading fertility coverage, fully paid leave for childbirth or bonding, fully paid leave for caregivers, programs for loved ones with developmental disabilities and neurodiversity, subsidized back‑up child and elder care, and reimbursement for adoption, surrogacy, tuition, and student loans.
• Investment in professional growth and development.
• Time off for a winter recess.

Pay

New York pay range: $165,000—$190,000 USD.