Director, AI CoE Programs and Technical Delivery

Our Purpose

Mastercard powers economies and empowers people in 200+ countries and territories worldwide. Together with our customers, we’re helping build a sustainable economy where everyone can prosper. We support a wide range of digital payments choices, making transactions secure, simple, smart and accessible. Our technology and innovation, partnerships and networks combine to deliver a unique set of products and services that help people, businesses and governments realize their greatest potential.

Title and Summary

Director, AI CoE Programs and Technical Delivery

Overview:
Mastercard’s AI Center of Excellence (AI CoE) is leading a transformative journey to embed AI across the enterprise. As we scale Agentic AI and traditional AI/ML capabilities, we seek a Director of Programs and Technical Delivery to drive program management and delivery excellence across the AI CoE.

This role is pivotal in shaping how Mastercard delivers AI solutions that are not only technically sound but also deeply aligned with the needs of internal and external customers. You will help define and mature the delivery frameworks, governance models, and cross-functional engagement strategies necessary to support AI at scale. You will work closely with product, engineering, finance, HR, procurement, compliance, and business stakeholders to ensure that AI initiatives are delivered with speed, transparency, and strategic alignment.

Key Responsibilities:
• Lead AI-first program management across the AI CoE, applying agentic AI principles to streamline planning, tracking, and execution.
• Define and evolve Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for AI CoE delivery workflows, ensuring clarity, consistency, and scalability.
• Standardize project artifacts and ceremonies in alignment with Mastercard’s broader program management frameworks.
• Partner with AI CoE leadership and business stakeholders to identify and track AI initiatives, ensuring agility and rigor in execution.
• Champion a customer-centric delivery approach, incorporating the voice of internal and external customers into program/project planning, prioritization, and execution.
• Collaborate with product managers and technical program managers to ensure visibility into delivery status and alignment with team, group, and corporate KPIs.
• Manage standardization of weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly AI CoE reporting requirements, leveraging an AI-first approach to status reporting workflows.
• Apply delivery benchmarks to assess and improve performance.
• Manage financial planning and tracking for AI CoE initiatives in partnership with Finance.
• Coordinate with Procurement to onboard suppliers and manage vendor relationships.
• Collaborate with HR to understand and support global resource needs for the AI business, including workforce planning, talent alignment, and capacity forecasting.
• Participate in and support global programs that foster engagement, culture, and collaboration across all AI CoE members.
• Navigate ambiguous and overlapping complex processes with confidence, identifying the most efficient paths forward by leveraging negotiation, relationships, and influence.
• Build trusted partnerships and collaborate across global organizations and teams, aligning diverse stakeholders toward shared delivery goals.
• Manage risks, issues, assumptions, and dependencies across a portfolio of global AI initiatives, ensuring proactive mitigation and alignment with strategic priorities.
• Serve as a strategic thought partner in defining Mastercard’s AI delivery model, recognizing the unique challenges of deploying AI in a regulated, global enterprise.

The Role:
• Program Leadership: Builds inclusive, high-trust teams; coaches program managers and engineers; sets clear goals and recognizes excellence.
• Technical Delivery Excellence: Plans, sequences, and executes complex programs; removes roadblocks; delivers reliably.
• Customer Obsession: Anchors solutions in measurable user and business outcomes; actively listens to and integrates customer feedback.
• Communication: Explains complex concepts simply; adapts messaging for executives, partners, and engineers.
• Adaptability: Comfortable with ambiguity and emerging technologies; iterates and scales what works.
• Strategic Thinking: Understands the broader business context and aligns AI CoE delivery with Mastercard’s transformation goals.
• Influence & Collaboration: Navigates complexity and organizational boundaries with diplomacy and clarity; builds alignment across global teams.


All About You:
• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Business, Humanities, Data Science, or related fields (or equivalent practical experience).
• Proven exper