Plaid

Staff Product Manager - AI & Data Foundations

Plaid • $150K — $180K *
Enterprise Technology
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 8+ years of product management experience in AI/ML platform systems or data infrastructure
  • Deep technical understanding of modern data and AI/ML systems
  • Experience in fast-paced startup environments
  • History of operating in ambiguous, early-stage settings
  • Platform mindset with experience in scalable developer data platforms
  • A strategic mindset with a track record of balancing long-term vision and near-term execution
  • Strong communication skills for technical and non-technical stakeholders

Responsibilities

  • Define vision, roadmap, and success metrics for AI and data platforms at Plaid
  • Collaborate with engineers to design and launch foundational AI infrastructure and developer tools
  • Enhance internal user experience and drive platform adoption through understanding user needs
  • Balance immediate product team demands with long-term platform investments
  • Lead cross-functional teams to integrate AI and data capabilities across the organization
  • Translate technical complexities into accessible narratives for stakeholder alignment

Benefits

  • Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plans
  • 401(k) retirement plan
  • Equity and commission opportunities depending on position
  • Flexible working environment
  • Commitment to responsible AI practices
Full Job Description
As a Product Manager on the AI & Data Foundations team, you will build the shared platforms that power Plaid's AI and data capabilities. This is early-stage, hands-on work: you'll partner with data, ML, and platform engineers to take capabilities from 01 and scale them into infrastructure that is accessible, reliable, and easy to use across Plaid. Your scope will span our AI platform (e.g., LLM gateway, eval infrastructure), our data platform (e.g., Databricks, AI-powered data tooling), and the systems connecting the two. This role is for an experienced platform PM who is excited about the rapidly evolving intersection of data infrastructure and AI. You are technically fluent, strategic, and execution-oriented, and know how to turn emerging capabilities into reliable platforms, primitives, and tools that other teams can build on. Responsibilities  AI & Data Foundations Strategy: Define the vision, roadmap, and success metrics for the shared platforms that power data and AI development across Plaid.  Platform Development: Partner with data, ML, and platform engineers to design and ship foundational capabilities spanning AI infrastructure, developer tooling, data platforms, pipelines, quality, and governance.  Internal Developer Experience & Adoption: Build platforms that Plaid teams choose to use. Develop a deep understanding of internal users, remove friction from common workflows, and measure success through adoption, developer velocity, reliability, and quality.  Platform Evolution: Balance immediate needs from product teams with longer-term platform investments, identifying where Plaid should standardize, build shared primitives, enable experimentation, and/or leverage an existing external solution.  Cross-Functional Leadership: Partner with product, engineering, data, research, and security to identify shared needs and embed foundational AI and data capabilities across Plaid.  Communication & Alignment: Translate complex technical decisions and platform trade-offs into clear narratives that enable decisions across technical and non-technical stakeholders. Qualifications  8+ years of product management experience including direct experience building AI/ML platform systems, applied intelligence products, or other data infrastructure from concept to production  Deep technical fluency in modern data and AI/ML systems, including how data is stored and processed and how models are developed, evaluated, deployed, and monitored. You can engage deeply with engineers and data scientists on architecture and technical trade-offs without needing to be the engineer in the room.  Demonstrated success operating in ambiguous, early-stage environments, turning loosely defined problems into decisions, shipped capabilities, and measurable adoption or impact.  Ability to operate in a fast-paced startup environment  Platform mindset and experience building scalable developer or data platforms through well-designed primitives, APIs, and frameworks.  Strategic and executional range. Skilled at setting the long-term vision while also delivering near-term experiments, specs, prototypes, and launches.  Strong communicator and cross-functional leader who can translate complex technical concepts into clear narratives to drive decisions for technical and non-technical stakeholders.  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] Experience building AI developer tooling in production.  [Nice to Have] Familiarity with applied AI in regulated or high-trust domains such as fintech, identity, or risk. 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.

About Plaid

Plaid is a financial services company based in New York City. The company builds a technology platform, which enables applications to connect with users' bank accounts. Plaid focuses on enabling consumers and businesses to interact with their bank accounts, check balances, and make payments through financial technology applications. The company was founded in 2013 by Zach Perret and William Hockey. In January 2020, Visa announced that it would acquire Plaid for $5.3 billion. The acquisition was completed in January 2021.
Learn more about Plaid
Size
600 employees
Industry
Founded
2011

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