Fintech Acceleration Principal

At U.S. Bank, we're on a journey to do our best. Helping the customers and businesses we serve to make better and smarter financial decisions and enabling the communities we support to grow and succeed. We believe it takes all of us to bring our shared ambition to life, and each person is unique in their potential. A career with U.S. Bank gives you a wide, ever-growing range of opportunities to discover what makes you thrive at every stage of your career. Try new things, learn new skills and discover what you excel at-all from Day One.

Job Description THE COMPANY U.S. Bancorp, with nearly 70,000 employees, is the parent company of U.S. Bank National Association, the fifth-largest bank in the United States. Customers across the country and around the world trust us as a responsible financial partner. This commitment continues to earn us a spot on the Ethisphere Institute's World's Most Ethical Companies list and places U.S. Bank in the top 5% of global companies assessed on the CDP "A" List for climate change action. Be a part of transformational change where integrity matters, success inspires, and great teams collaborate and innovate. We're one of the United States' most respected, innovative, ethical, and successful financial institutions. We're looking for people who want more than just a job - they want to make a difference. We are seeking a technology executive who will contribute to the success of our technology initiatives in our digital transformation and modernization journey. THE ROLE At U.S. Bank the Fintech Acceleration team is responsible for managing the discovery, curation and engagement of Financial Technology (FinTech) partnerships and investments and all associated compliance and reporting. Working with internal and external stakeholders to ensure that the right strategic partners are effectively found, projects are efficiently executed, the right opportunities are advanced and reported on and the Banks' Fintech Strategy is positioned to lead it into the future.

The Fintech Acceleration Lead: is part of a team that helps guide Fintech strategy and objectives by assessing business needs and external trends, investment landscape and consumer shifts; responsible for managing the discovery, curation and engagement of Financial Technology (FinTech) partnerships and investments for the Bank's businesses.

Manages Fintech engagements strategy, sourcing, partnerships, legal, investment and business development for a subset of business lines. Working closely with leaders to build strong relations and flesh out priority areas to focus on. Responsible for products/assignments of highest complexity and/or technological scope. Performs at a highly independent level. Helps project teams to achieve milestones. May manage multiple relationships, with business areas. Applies expert-level knowledge of professional concepts and established technologies.

Extensive understanding of consumer trends and markets. Advanced knowledge and experience researching trends, topics and companies. Involvement in extensive, analysis, due diligence, project management, and use of CRM tools. With advanced skills in using CRM tools, running reporting and performing data analysis. Intensive experience collaborating with large teams using effective communication.

Utilizes a high degree of independence in solving problems and has significant latitude to make decision and take action.

Makes decisions that are typically only subject to review by senior management. Usually, they have opportunity to affect a substantial portion of revenue or expenses, substantial loss of production or service, or substantial monetary loss with negative impact on goals. Extensive experience developing business cases in new or advanced product lines. Requires a broad understanding and practical application of applicable laws and regulations.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS Research FinTech's and be an expert at evaluating and discovering companies that fit with the Banks strategic needs, able to articulate FinTech trends and their potential implications to the Banks leadership.

Keep abreast of trends in relevant landscapes and adjacent industries to identify potential opportunities or challenges before they become mainstream.

Build strong relationships with external partners to help us advance and mature the Fintech Engagement practice at US bank. Collaborate with FinTech peers across the Bank's business lines to ensure efficient execution of Fintech projects and serve as pint of escalation for any issues.

Work closely with senior leaders across the Bank to understand their strategic needs and priorities, being able to turn those into communications tools and marketing collateral to effectively communicate these both externally and internally.

Attention to detail and deadlines, managing all the necessary portfolio reporting and tracking for all FinTech Engagements across the bank.

Be able to negotiate, document and manage complex FinTech projects bringing them in on time, in scope and on budget.

Proven ability to communicate at a senior level, able to articulate complex technical and financial solutions concisely and simply.

Identify and work as needed on Investment opportunities working alongside corporate development, the business lines.

RESPONSIBILITIES Lead end-to-end fintech engagement lifecycle for assigned business lines, including discovery, evaluation, diligence, contracting, pilot execution, scaling, and ongoing relationship management

Serve as a strategic advisor to senior business and technology leaders by translating enterprise priorities into actionable fintech partnership strategies

Own fintech sourcing pipelines across priority domains (e.g., payments, embedded finance, data, AI, fraud, lending, compliance) and maintain a strong external ecosystem presence

Drive rigorous due diligence across technology, business model, risk, regulatory, legal, and financial dimensions in partnership with Legal, Compliance, Risk, Procurement, and Corporate Development

Develop and present business cases, investment theses, and partnership recommendations to executive leadership and governance forums

Negotiate and manage complex commercial agreements, pilots, and strategic partnerships, ensuring alignment with bank risk appetite, compliance standards, and financial objectives

Oversee execution of highly complex, cross-functional fintech initiatives, ensuring delivery on time, within scope, and on budget

Act as point of escalation for fintech engagements, proactively identifying risks, resolving issues, and driving informed decision-making

Manage portfolio reporting, performance metrics, and executive dashboards using CRM and internal reporting tools

Contribute to enterprise fintech strategy, thought leadership, and operating model evolution, helping position U.S. Bank as a market leader in innovation and partnerships

Qualifications Bachelor's degree in business, finance, technology, engineering, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience

7-10 years of progressive experience in fintech, financial services, technology partnerships, venture investing, product strategy, or corporate innovation

Demonstrated experience leading complex, enterprise-scale partnerships or investments in highly regulated environments

Strong understanding of financial services ecosystems, fintech business models, and emerging technology trends

Proven ability to operate independently with sound judgment, influencing senior executives and making recommendations with material business impact

Experience developing business cases, financial models, and executive-level presentations

Deep familiarity with regulatory, legal, and risk considerations impacting fintech partnerships and investments

Advanced experience with CRM platforms, portfolio management tools, and data-driven reporting

Preferred Qualifications MBA or advanced degree

Experience working within a large financial institution or similarly regulated enterprise

Background in venture capital, corporate development, M&A, or strategic investments

Direct experience launching or scaling fintech pilots into production environments

Established network across fintech founders, investors, accelerators, and industry partners

Experience supporting or presenting to executive committees, investment committees, or governance forums

Familiarity with payments, embedded finance, AI/ML, data platforms, or digital banking architectures

Skills / competencies Strategic Thinking & Foresight:

Anticipates market shifts, connects external trends to enterprise priorities, and informs long-term fintech direction

Executive Communication:

Clearly and concisely translates complex technical and financial concepts for senior leaders

Partnership & Influence:

Builds trusted relationships and aligns stakeholders across business, technology, risk, and external partners

Analytical Rigor:

Applies strong research, diligence, and financial analysis with high attention to detail

Decision-Making:

Exercises sound judgment in ambiguous environments within established governance frameworks

Program & Project Leadership:

Manages multiple complex, cross-functional initiatives simultaneously

Negotiation & Commercial Acumen:

Structures and negotiates sophisticated partnership and investment agreements

Adaptability:

Thrives in fast-moving innovation environments while maintaining strong governance and control standards

The role offers a hybrid/flexible schedule, which means there's an in...