NBCUniversal is seeking a Senior Director, Innovation & Emerging Solutions to identify, incubate, prototype, and accelerate the next generation of capabilities that will shape the future of advertising, audience intelligence, measurement, identity, automation, and AI.This role is responsible for transforming 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 and mature platforms, this position is dedicated to identifying new opportunities, rapidly testing concepts, developing working prototypes, and helping shape future capabilities across NBCUniversal's advertising ecosystem.
Role Overview
The Senior Director, Innovation & Emerging Solutions will lead a portfolio of incubation initiatives focused on emerging technologies, AI-powered workflows, audience intelligence, measurement, data interoperability, automation, and next-generation advertising capabilities.Operating as an incubation and rapid development leader within AP&S; this individual will work across Product, Engineering, Data Science, Strategy, Sales, Operations, and external partners to quickly transform concepts into prototypes, pilot solutions, and validated capabilities.Success in this role requires the ability to operate in ambiguous environments, challenge conventional approaches, rapidly iterate on new ideas, and accelerate the development of future-facing solutions.Key Responsibilities
Innovation & Opportunity DiscoveryIdentify emerging technologies, industry trends, customer needs, and market opportunities that may influence the future of advertising and media.Continuously assess evolving technology landscapes to identify areas for experimentation, exploration, 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 DevelopmentLead development of prototypes, proof-of-concepts, MVPs, and pilot solutions that convert early ideas into tangible working concepts.Establish rapid experimentation frameworks that 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 closely with engineering and technology teams to evaluate technical feasibility, integration needs, data requirements, and scalability considerations.AI & Emerging Technology InnovationExplore 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 to determine their applicability to NBCUniversal's advertising ecosystem.Develop pilot programs designed 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 DevelopmentExplore next-generation capabilities across audience intelligence, measurement, interoperability, automation, analytics, and data-driven decision-making.Partner with stakeholders across AP&S; to identify unmet needs, whitespace opportunities, and future-state capability requirements.Evaluate new concepts and determine pathways toward operationalization, integration, ownership transition, and scale when appropriate.Help shape long-term product and technology direction through experimentation, discovery, and structured learningInnovation LeadershipLead 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.
