Lead Product Manager, AI Product R&D

WORK OPTION: [[Remote Eligible]]

The NBA is committed to providing a safe and healthy workplace.  To safeguard our employees and their families, our visitors, and the broader community from COVID-19, and in consideration of recommendations from health authorities and the NBA’s own advisors, any individual working onsite in our New York and New Jersey offices must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The NBA will discuss accommodations for individuals who cannot be vaccinated due to a medical reason or sincerely held religious belief, practice, or observance.

Group Summary
The NBA's Direct to Consumer Products, Technology & Operations (DTC PTO) department is responsible for enhancing fan affinity and reach through world-class broadcasts and digital offerings that are globally accessible and unified through a personalized journey. The DTC PTO team oversees the underlying operations & technology that supports the NBA's broadcast distribution and digital product offerings including NBA.com and the NBA App (across multiple platforms extending from mobile to connected). DTC PTO leads the strategy behind the NBA's direct to consumer programs and offerings including the NBA's membership program (NBA ID) and NBA League Pass.
 
The work this team has accomplished has allowed the NBA to finish the 2022-23 regular season with record-breaking engagement across the NBA App and NBA League Pass. The reimagined NBA App, which launched in September 2022, generated more than one billion video views during the 2022-23 regular season, more than triple the prior years' total. DTC PTO is focused on continuing to grow the reach of the NBA through broadcast and digital touchpoints making it easier to be an NBA fan.
 
Job Summary
The ideal candidate will have proven experience in product research, development and engineering, with a special focus on steering and interdepartmental collaboration.  This position will oversee product research, product development, in the AI/ML space, leading communication, decision-making, and initiative implementation while collaborating on architecture and build. The AI R&D team function will be responsible for delivering solutions that can be taken to market to demonstrate League innovation and to validate hypothesis on how AI technologies can allow the NBA to better serve fans.  

Major Responsibilities
•    Define, communicate, and execute the vision, strategy, and roadmap for product R&D at the NBA for initiatives regarding artificial intelligence and machine learning as applicable to direct-to-consumer products and the technology platforms needed to support them
•    Manage a dedicated AI budget and ensuring all projects are on time and within budget
•    Communicate with leadership to share project status, and call out risks as needed to ensure clarity, ownership, and timely resolution 
•    Partner with DTC business operations to make recommendations towards the annual R&D budget including proposed modifications and scenario management
•    Maintain and build trusted relationships with leadership at key partners and stakeholders throughout the NBA organization
•    Develop presentations and other supporting materials/analyses for Senior Leadership Team and Committee/Board meetings
•    Develop a deep understanding of user needs, and translate these into actionable requirements for product, design, and engineering teams
•    Build and maintain relationships with established market actors, industry experts, as well as start-ups to ensure the NBA’s first-mover advantage 
•    Champion ethical AI practices within the organization, ensuring models are designed, implemented, and used in a fair, transparent, and accountable manner.
•    Help lead discussions and actions around data privacy, algorithmic bias, transparency, and other AI ethics-related topics.
•    Provide organizational updates on new advances in the field of AI that have potential value for the League and evangelize the adoption of these technologies
•    Work with an agile, cross-functional team of AI engineers and product managers to develop solutions, and where applicable, partner with engineering and platform teams to develop software solutions. 
•    Partner with consumer experience product team to develop unified approach to delivery milestones and dependencies
•    Represent the NBA at industry conferences and events
•    Effectively support the product design, engineering and QA teams throughout sprint cycles by proactively removing roadblocks and prioritizing work items based on established outcomes and business objectives
•    Partner with cross-functional teams to deliver impactful AI initiatives that drive OKMs supporting the overall league objectives around growth, revenue, and innovation
•    Help shape and build a motiva