Senior Innovation and Strategy Director - Remote

Senior Innovation And Strategy Director

Optum is a global organization that delivers care, aided by technology to help millions of people live healthier lives. The work you do with our team will directly improve health outcomes by connecting people with the care, pharmacy benefits, data and resources they need to feel their best. Here, you will find a culture guided by inclusion, talented peers, comprehensive benefits and career development opportunities.

Come make an impact on the communities we serve as you help us advance health optimization on a global scale. Join us to start Caring. Connecting. Growing together.

Optum Financial is seeking a Senior Innovation and Strategy Director to lead strategy development and product build for innovation products supporting the S3 Directed Spend payment network. This leader will identify market opportunities, shape long-term innovation strategy, and drive the creation of new concepts, technologies, and products that meet emerging customer and partner needs. The ideal candidate combines deep expertise in product development, engineering, and business development, with the ability to take ideas from inception through functional proof of concept and into scalable execution.

This role will serve as an industry thought leader and practice subject matter expert, advancing leading-edge strategies across healthcare fintech, consumer payments, and directed spend innovation. The Senior Innovation and Strategy Director will influence senior management decisions, develop plans that shape the long-term success of the business, and direct cross-functional teams in the design, validation, and launch of transformative capabilities for Optum Financial's payment ecosystem.

You'll enjoy the flexibility to work remotely
* from anywhere within the U.S. as you take on some tough challenges.

For all hires in the Minneapolis or Washington, D.C. area, you will be required to work in the office a minimum of four days per week.

• Lead the strategy, incubation, and product development of innovation offerings for the S3 Directed Spend payment network, from concept definition through proof of concept, pilot, and commercialization
• Develop solutions that transform the industry by identifying unmet customer needs, market shifts, and emerging technologies that can unlock new growth opportunities
• Serve as a practice SME and industry thought leader, bringing a strong external perspective on trends, competition, partnerships, and disruptive innovation in payments, healthcare, and AI-enabled product development
• Demonstrate expertise in leading-edge theories, techniques, and technologies, including AI-assisted development tools and models such as Codex and Claude, to accelerate ideation, prototyping, and product execution
• Lead the development of new concepts, technologies, and products to meet emerging customer requirements and position Optum Financial at the forefront of consumer directed spend innovation
• Partner closely with engineering, architecture, product, operations, legal, compliance, and go-to-market teams to translate strategy into executable product roadmaps and functional solutions
• Identify and solve complex problems that impact the management and direction of the business, balancing customer value, operational feasibility, regulatory requirements, and commercial viability
• Develop long-range plans that impact the sustained success of the business, including innovation roadmaps, investment priorities, partnership strategies, and scaled adoption plans
• Influence senior management decisions that impact business direction through clear strategic recommendations, data-driven business cases, and compelling executive communication
• Drive segment-wide and enterprise-wide impact by shaping innovation priorities and enabling collaboration across multiple teams, functions, and business leaders
• Direct cross-functional and, where appropriate, industry-facing teams to validate new opportunities, build strategic partnerships, and deliver high-impact innovation outcomes

You'll be rewarded and recognized for your performance in an environment that will challenge you and give you clear direction on what it takes to succeed in your role as well as provide development for other roles you may be interested in.

• Proven experience in innovation strategy, product development, engineering collaboration, and business development, with a track record of taking ideas from inception to functional proof of concept and scaled delivery
• Deep experience building and launching technology-enabled products, preferably in payments, fintech, healthcare technology, consumer financial platforms, or regulated industries
• Experience leading broad, matrixed teams and driving outcomes across product, engineering, design, operations, commercial, and external partner organizations
• Hands-on familiarity with AI-assisted product development and engineering workflows, including experience using models and tools such as…