Staff Product Manager – AI Foundations – San Francisco

We believe that the way people interact with their finances will drastically improve in the next few years. We’re dedicated to empowering this transformation by building the tools and experiences that thousands of developers use to create their own products. Plaid powers the tools millions of people rely on to live a healthier financial life. We work with thousands of companies like Venmo, SoFi, several of the Fortune 500, and many of the largest banks to make it easy for people to connect their financial accounts to the apps and services they want to use. Plaid’s network covers 12,000 financial institutions across the US, Canada, UK and Europe. Founded in 2013, the company is headquartered in San Francisco with offices in New York, Washington D. C., London and Amsterdam. Plaid’s Product team builds the network that powers the future of financial services. Our mission is to unlock financial freedom for everyone through open finance. Product Managers at Plaid are curious, customer-obsessed, and move quickly to deliver value. They take ownership, sweat the details, and make sound decisions with imperfect information. As a Product Manager on the AI Foundations team, you will drive Plaid’s AI strategy by building the data and intelligence layer that powers smarter financial experiences. You will work across engineering, data science, and research to develop scalable AI systems—from core embeddings and representation learning to applied model integrations that enhance developer and consumer outcomes. This role is for an experienced PM who thrives at the intersection of AI and platform products. You are technically fluent, strategic, and execution-oriented. You enjoy turning advanced machine-learning capabilities into reliable, trusted infrastructure that scales across Plaid’s ecosystem. Responsibilities • AI Platform Vision: Define the strategy, roadmap, and success metrics for Plaid’s core AI and data foundation, enabling smarter, more adaptive financial products across the ecosystem. • System Development: Partner with Engineering and Data Science to design scalable AI systems, from model training and evaluation pipelines to APIs that deliver intelligence at scale. • Product Execution: Drive initiatives from concept to production, balancing rapid experimentation with reliability, transparency, and responsible AI practices. • Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with research, platform, and product teams to embed AI capabilities across Plaid’s products and developer platform. • Measurement and Iteration: Use metrics, model performance data, and customer feedback to validate impact, inform prioritization, and continuously improve outcomes. • Communication and Alignment: Translate complex AI concepts into clear narratives and tradeoffs for technical and non-technical stakeholders, building shared understanding across teams. Qualifications • 8+ years of product management experience with direct experience leading AI/ML or applied intelligence products from concept to production with measurable impact. • Deep technical fluency in how modern ML systems are trained, evaluated, deployed, and monitored, with the ability to engage confidently with engineers and data scientists. • Strategic and executional range. Skilled at defining long-term AI vision while delivering near-term experiments, prototypes, and launches. • Platform mindset and experience building scalable developer or data platforms through well-designed primitives, APIs, and frameworks. • Strong communicator and influencer who can translate complex AI concepts into clear narratives and decisions for technical and non-technical audiences. • Commitment to responsible AI and transparency, especially in regulated or high-trust domains. • [Nice to Have] Hands-on experience with LLMs, embeddings, or agentic systems in production. • [Nice to Have] Familiarity with applied AI in regulated or high-trust domains such as fintech, identity, or risk. $202,800 – $330,000 a year The target base salary for this position ranges from $202,800/year to $330,000/year [in Zone 1, in Zone 4 or encompassing all Zones]. The target base salary will vary based on the job’s location. Our geographic zones are as follows: Zone 1 – New York City and San Francisco Bay Area Zone 2 – Los Angeles, Seattle, Washington D. C. Zone 3 – Austin, Boston, Denver, Houston, Portland, Sacramento, San Diego Zone 4 – Raleigh-Durham and all other US cities Additional compensation in the form(s) of equity and/or commission are dependent on the position offered. Plaid provides a comprehensive benefit plan, including medical, dental, vision, and 401(k). Pay is based on factors such as (but not limited to) scope and responsibilities of the position, candidate’s work experience and skillset, and location. Pay and benefits are subject to change at any time, consistent with the terms of any applicable compensation or benefit plans. Our mission at Plaid is to unlock financial freedom for everyone. To support that mission, we seek to build a diverse team of driven individuals who care deeply about making the financial ecosystem more equitable. We recognize that strong qualifications can come from both prior work experiences and lived experiences. We encourage you to apply to a role even if your experience doesn’t fully match the job description. We are always looking for team members that will bring something unique to Plaid! Plaid is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and values diversity at our company. We do not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, ethnicity, religion or religious belief, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, sexual stereotypes, age, military or veteran status, disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state, and local laws. Plaid is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities in our recruiting process. If you need any assistance with your application or interviews due to a disability, please let us know at accommodations@plaid.com. Please review our Candidate Privacy Notice here.