Project Director, Digital & Smart Buildings

Global Real Estate and Workplace Experience (GREWE) is a global team at American Express (Amex) responsible for the full lifecycle of planning, execution, and operations of Amex real estate. GREWE supports over 75,000 Amex colleagues and contractors in over eight million square feet of property located in 59 countries. 

GREWE’s purpose is to provide the world’s best workplace experience at a competitive cost, for every colleague, at every site, every day. 

The GREWE Property Development team is responsible for delivering a new global headquarters from concept to completion. They lead the full lifecycle of the project—overseeing design, coordinating construction, managing stakeholders, and ensuring the building is fully prepared for operations. This team is responsible for ensuring the headquarters is delivered on time, within budget, and aligned with organizational goals and future workplace needs.

How will you make an impact in this role?

You will lead the end-to-end digital, technology, and smart building enablement strategy and roadmap for our next-generation American Express headquarters. Acting as the central integrator across design, procurement, construction, and operational readiness, you will ensure all building systems, enterprise technologies, and workplace experience platforms are seamlessly connected, secure, scalable, and ready for deployment.

This role goes beyond infrastructure delivery—you will be accountable for ensuring that both:

• Front-of-house/end-user experience (colleague, guest, UX/UI, and customer-facing digital interactions) are fully enabled, tested, and optimized prior to occupancy.
• Back-of-house operations (building systems, infrastructure, security, data platforms and digital twin) 

You will ensure that all end-user experience technologies—from workplace tools and collaboration systems to smart spaces, digital signage, access, and service platforms—are delivered, integrated, and operationally ready as part of the HQ program.

By enabling “Smarter Systems, Seamless Experiences,” you will drive a unified digital ecosystem that enhances sustainability, operational efficiency, cybersecurity, and workplace experience—while unlocking the power of real-time data, automation, and AI to future-proof the building and enable a best-in-class digital experience for colleagues globally.

Define the Strategy & Execution of the Digital and Smart Building Roadmap for HQ Technology, Infrastructure, and Experience

Digital & Smart Building HQ Strategy

• Lead the holistic digital and smart building strategy for the new HQ across all phases (design, procurement, construction, commissioning, and operations). 
• Define and deliver a fully integrated digital ecosystem spanning building systems, enterprise IT, workplace technologies, and user-facing platforms. 
• Ensure alignment between GREWE, Digital Product, Engineering, Security, Workplace Experience, and Business stakeholders and AMEX global strategies.

Back-of-House Enablement (Operational Technology & Infrastructure)

• Oversee integration of core building and operational systems, including: 
  • BMS, HVAC, lighting, elevators, energy systems 
  • Security, access control, and life safety systems 
  • IoT platforms and sensor networks 
• Ensure OT/IT convergence, cybersecurity compliance, and resilience of all systems. 
• Embed data architecture, governance, and digital twin capabilities to enable predictive operations and performance optimization. 

End-User Experience (UX & UI) Enablement 

Ensure readiness and implementation of all end-user facing technologies: 

• Workplace experience platforms (room booking, desk booking, mobile apps) 

  • Collaboration technologies (AV, conferencing, hybrid meeting solutions) 

  • Smart spaces (sensor-driven environments, adaptive workspaces) 

  • Digital signage, wayfinding, and guest experience systems 

  • Security, access, identity, and seamless entry experiences 

• Partner with Workplace Experience, Digital Product & engineering teams to ensure: 

  • Solutions are user-centric, intuitive, and frictionless 

  • Technology is fully tested, deployed, and operationally ready at go-live 

• Define and execute end-user acceptance testing (UAT) and experience validation.

Digital Infrastructure, Integration &