Head of Generative AI Research

Visa • Foster City, CA

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

Visa Research is seeking an exceptional Head of Generative AI Research to lead our strategic research initiatives in generative artificial intelligence. This senior leadership role will drive groundbreaking research across GenAI models, agents, reality applications, and privacy-preserving technologies. You will build and lead a world-class team of researchers, establish Visa as a thought leader in GenAI for commerce and payments, and translate cutting-edge research into transformative products and services. As Head of Generative AI Research, you will shape Visa's GenAI research agenda, collaborate with top academic institutions, publish in premier AI conferences, and work closely with product and engineering teams to deploy GenAI innovations at scale across Visa's global network.

Requirements

• Basic Qualifications 12 or more years of work experience with a Bachelor’s Degree or at least 10 years of work experience with an Advanced degree (e.g. Masters/MBA /JD/MD), or a minimum of 5 years of work experience with a PhD

Nice To Haves

• Preferred Qualifications 15 or more years of experience with a Bachelor’s Degree or 12 years of experience with an Advanced Degree (e.g. Masters, MBA, JD, or MD), PhD with 9+ years of experience

Responsibilities

• Research Leadership & Strategy Define and execute Visa's generative AI research strategy across model development, agent systems, reality applications, and privacy technologies Lead research initiatives in large language models (LLMs), multimodal models, diffusion models, and foundation model development Drive innovation in GenAI agents for autonomous decision-making, planning, and reasoning in commerce applications Pioneer research in GenAI reality applications including virtual shopping experiences, digital twins, and immersive commerce Advance privacy-preserving GenAI techniques including federated learning, differential privacy, and secure multi-party computation
• Team Building & Management Build, mentor, and lead a world-class team of GenAI researchers and scientists Foster a culture of innovation, collaboration, and academic excellence Develop talent through mentorship, training, and career development opportunities Collaborate with recruiting to attract top-tier research talent from academia and industry
• Research Execution & Innovation Conduct original research in generative AI with applications to payments, commerce, risk management, and customer experience Develop novel GenAI architectures, training methodologies, and evaluation frameworks Create innovative agent systems for intelligent automation, recommendation, and personalization Design privacy-preserving GenAI solutions that protect sensitive financial data while enabling powerful AI capabilities Explore GenAI applications in fraud detection, risk modeling, customer service, and merchant solutions
• Academic & Industry Collaboration Establish and maintain partnerships with leading universities and research institutions Publish research findings in top-tier AI/ML publications Present at academic conferences, industry forums, and technical symposia Serve on program committees and editorial boards for premier AI venues Contribute to the broader AI research community through open-source projects and collaborations
• Product & Business Impact Translate research breakthroughs into practical solutions for Visa's products and services Collaborate with product management, engineering, and business teams to identify high-impact research opportunities Prototype and pilot GenAI solutions for real-world deployment Provide technical leadership and guidance on GenAI adoption across Visa Measure and communicate research impact through metrics, demos, and business outcomes
• Thought Leadership Establish Visa as a leader in responsible and innovative GenAI research Represent Visa Research at industry conferences, media engagements, and public forums Contribute to AI policy discussions, standards development, and ethical AI frameworks Publish technical blogs, whitepapers, and research reports Build Visa's reputation as a destination for world-class GenAI research talent

Benefits

• Visa has a comprehensive beneits package for which this position may be eligible that includes Medical, Dental, Vision, 401 (k), FSA/HSA, Life Insurance, Paid Time Off, and Wellness Program.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Executive
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees