Emerging Products Innovation Lead

U.S. Bank; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 105,000 - 124,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare (medical, dental, vision)

401(k) and employer-funded retirement

Paid vacation

Paid holidays

Adoption assistance

Job summary

U.S. Bank is seeking an Innovation Specialist to lead opportunities from discovery through commercialization readiness. You will apply customer insight, product management, venture-building, and financial analysis to identify what’s next across the enterprise.

The role requires comfort with ambiguity, strong analytical skills, and the ability to influence senior leaders. You’ll collaborate with research, design, engineering, and business lines to build evidence-based investment decisions.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent work experience.
• 4+ years of experience in product management, innovation, strategy, venture development, consulting, research, product marketing, or related fields.
• Experience leading initiatives from concept through implementation or commercialization.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and business case development capabilities.
• Experience conducting customer research and translating insights into action.
• Excellent written, verbal, facilitation, and presentation skills.

Responsibilities

• Identify unmet customer needs, emerging trends, regulatory shifts, market disruptions, and technology opportunities. Conduct customer research, interviews, market analysis, and competitive assessments.
• Lead opportunities through the Emerging Products lifecycle, including Explore Backlog, Discovery, Validate, and Accelerate stages. Build Learning Plans and evidence-based validation strategies.
• Lead development of concepts, prototypes, proofs of value, MVPs, pilots, and market tests. Partner with research, design, engineering, operations, legal, risk, marketing, and business-line stakeholders.
• Create business cases supported by customer, competitive, operational, and financial evidence. Assess TAM, market attractiveness, customer economics, profitability, and growth potential.
• Facilitate discussions with senior leaders on emerging opportunities and strategic investments. Communicate findings, recommendations, and lessons learned through storytelling and executive-ready presentations.
• Success is measured by outcomes such as validating opportunities, advancing pipeline, and launching pilots and commercialization initiatives.

Skills

Product management

Innovation

Strategy

Venture development

Consulting

Research

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Job description

U.S. Bank is seeking an Innovation Specialist to lead opportunities from discovery through commercialization readiness. You will apply customer insight, product management, venture-building, and financial analysis to identify what’s next across the enterprise.

The role requires comfort with ambiguity, strong analytical skills, and the ability to influence senior leaders. You’ll collaborate with research, design, engineering, and business lines to build evidence-based investment decisions.