Senior Director, Innovation & Emerging Solutions

NBCUniversal is one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies, creating world-class content distributed across film, television, streaming, and global theme park destinations. We own and operate leading entertainment and news brands, including NBC, NBC News, NBC Sports, Telemundo, NBC Local Stations, Bravo, and Peacock. We produce and distribute premier filmed entertainment through Universal Pictures, DreamWorks Animation, Focus Features, and Universal Studio Group’s television studios. We also operate industry-leading theme parks and experiences worldwide, such as Universal Orlando Resort and Universal Studios Hollywood. NBCUniversal is a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation.

About the Role

The Senior Director, Innovation & Emerging Solutions will identify, incubate, prototype, and accelerate the next generation of capabilities shaping the future of advertising, audience intelligence, measurement, identity, automation, and AI. This role transforms emerging ideas and technologies into validated solutions through rapid development, experimentation, and cross-functional collaboration. The ideal candidate combines strategic thinking, technical fluency, and a builder's mindset with a passion for exploring what comes next.

Unlike traditional product leadership roles focused on established roadmaps, this position is dedicated to identifying new opportunities, rapidly testing concepts, developing working prototypes, and shaping future capabilities across NBCUniversal's advertising ecosystem.

Responsibilities

• Innovation & Opportunity Discovery
  • Identify emerging technologies, industry trends, customer needs, and market opportunities influencing the future of advertising and media.
  • Assess evolving technology landscapes to pinpoint areas for experimentation and future investment.
  • Maintain a portfolio of incubation initiatives spanning AI, automation, audience intelligence, identity, measurement, and data-driven capabilities.
  • Develop recommendations for future solution development based on experimentation, validation, stakeholder input, and learnings.
• Incubation & Rapid Development
  • Lead development of prototypes, proof-of-concepts, MVPs, and pilot solutions to convert early ideas into tangible working concepts.
  • Establish rapid experimentation frameworks to accelerate learning, validation, iteration, and decision-making.
  • Translate conceptual ideas into practical, testable solutions with clear hypotheses, design principles, success criteria, and learning objectives.
  • Drive initiatives from idea through prototype with an emphasis on speed, adaptability, user feedback, and iterative development.
  • Partner with engineering and technology teams to evaluate technical feasibility, integration needs, data requirements, and scalability considerations.
• AI & Emerging Technology Innovation
  • Explore and develop practical applications for AI, agentic systems, generative AI, automation, and emerging technologies across advertising and operational workflows.
  • Evaluate new tools, platforms, and technologies for applicability to NBCUniversal’s advertising ecosystem.
  • Develop pilot programs to validate emerging technology opportunities, user experiences, workflow improvements, and operational value.
  • Identify opportunities to improve efficiency, decision-making, insight generation, and user experiences through intelligent technologies.
• Future Solutions Development
  • Explore next-generation capabilities across audience intelligence, measurement, interoperability, automation, analytics, and data-driven decision-making.
  • Partner with stakeholders to identify unmet needs, whitespace opportunities, and future-state capability requirements.
  • Evaluate new concepts and determine pathways toward operationalization, integration, ownership transition, and scale.
  • Help shape long-term product and technology direction through experimentation, discovery, and structured learning.
• Innovation Leadership
  • Lead cross-functional innovation initiatives involving Product, Engineering, Data Science, Strategy, Operations, Sales, and external partners.
  • Facilitate innovation workshops, design sprints, prototype reviews, discovery sessions, and stakeholder alignment forums.
  • Promote a culture of experimentation, agility, learning, and practical problem-solving across teams.
  • Communicate findings, recommendations, risks, and opportunities to senior leadership with clear synthesis and actionable next steps.

Requirements

• Required Qualifications
  • 8+ years of experience in innovation, product management, product strategy, emerging technology, advertising technology, data platforms, or related fields.
  • Demonstrated experience developing prototypes, proof-of-concepts, pilot programs, or emerging technology solutions.
  • Strong understanding of AI, automation, data platforms, audience intelligence, measurement, identity, and digital advertising ecosystems.
  • Proven ability to operate effectively in ambiguous environments with limited precedent or established processes.
  • Experience leading cross-functional initiatives involving both technical and business stakeholders.
  • Strong strategic thinking, problem-solving, analytical, and prioritization skills.
  • Exceptional written, verbal, and executive communication abilities.
• Preferred Qualifications
  • Experience with generative AI, agentic AI, machine learning, intelligent automation, or emerging technology platforms.
  • Experience working in advertising technology, media technology, marketing technology, customer intelligence, or data-driven environments.
  • Experience establishing innovation, incubation, rapid prototyping, or rapid development programs.
  • Track record of bringing new concepts from idea to operational prototype.
  • MBA or advanced degree preferred.

What Makes This Role Unique

• Focused on what comes next, not managing existing products.
• Functions as an incubation and rapid development leader across AP&S.
• Operates with a startup mindset inside a large enterprise environment.
• Prioritizes experimentation, iteration, and learning over long-term roadmap ownership.
• Develops prototypes and emerging capabilities that may become future products, platforms, workflows, or business functions.
• Helps define the future direction of AP&S through innovation and exploration.

Schedule

Hybrid: This position requires contributing from the office a minimum of four days per week. The Company reserves the right to change in-office requirements at any time.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• 401(k) retirement plan
• Paid leave
• Tuition reimbursement
• Variety of discounts and perks

Learn more about the benefits offered by NBCUniversal by visiting the Benefits page of the Careers website.

Pay

Salary range: $195,000 - $235,000 (bonus and long-term incentive eligible).