Lead Risk Data Scientist & ML Engineer

Worldpay

$125K — $150K *
Finance & Insurance
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 7+ years of experience in data science, machine learning, or data engineering.
  • Proven experience leading teams in fraud detection, AML transaction monitoring, or credit risk.
  • Demonstrated experience delivering detection logic (rule-based and model-driven) in production environments.
  • Experience in regulated financial services or fintech environments preferred.
  • Exposure to model risk management frameworks and regulatory interactions.

Responsibilities

  • Own detection logic performance across fraud, credit, and AML monitoring.
  • Define detection strategies based on emerging fraud typologies and operational outcomes.
  • Establish performance metrics to drive improvements in detection effectiveness.
  • Lead the development and deployment of detection logic through data science and ML engineering teams.
  • Design scalable data pipelines that support detection logic and analytics.
  • Ensure adherence to governance standards and compliance with regulatory expectations.
  • Lead and develop a team of data scientists and engineers, setting performance expectations.

Benefits

  • Inclusive global team environment with opportunities for collaboration and learning.
  • Career growth potential in a dynamic company.
  • Strong focus on innovation and delivering impactful solutions.
  • Encouragement of decision-making empowerment and ownership.
  • Opportunity to work on cutting-edge technology in fraud detection.
Full Job Description
Job Description

Lead Risk Data Scientist & ML Engineer to own the full lifecycle of fraud detection and risk models. This role combines deep data science expertise with practical AI/agentic workflow experience and the infrastructure knowledge needed to ship at scale.

What You'll Own

In this role, you'll own the end-to-end delivery of detection models and AI-assisted workflows that power fraud, credit, and AML risk operations. You'll drive model performance through the full lifecycle, from design and validation through production deployment and continuous optimization. You'll translate regulatory requirements and operational needs into detection strategies and technical execution plans, partner across Risk, Compliance, and Technology to ensure alignment, and lead project teams through complex, ambiguous detection challenges. This is a hands-on role that combines deep technical leadership with pragmatic problem-solving in a small, high-impact team.

Model Development & Deployment (End-to-End)
  • Own the full lifecycle of ML models: design, development, validation, deployment, and serving in production
  • Lead model performance monitoring and continuous refinement using production data and investigation outcomes
  • Ensure models are explainable, auditable, and aligned with regulatory expectations
  • Design and oversee scalable batch and real-time data pipelines supporting model development and serving


AI & Agentic Workflows
  • Design and deploy AI-assisted analyst workflows using LLMs and agentic frameworks
  • Guide the development of agent-based systems that augment human decision-making in risk operations
  • Work at the pilot/proof-of-concept stage, establishing best practices for scale


Detection Strategy & Performance
  • Define and refine detection strategies based on emerging fraud patterns and regulatory requirements
  • Maintain and monitor key performance metrics (precision, recall, false positives, alert quality)
  • Influence tradeoff decisions between detection coverage, operational cost, and false positive rates


Governance & Regulatory Alignment
  • Define governance standards for model development, validation, documentation, and change management
  • Ensure compliance with regulatory expectations (BSA/AML, OFAC, FinCEN, SR 11-7)
  • Partner with Model Risk Management and Compliance to support validation and regulatory reviews


Cross-Functional Partnership
  • Serve as the primary technical partner to Fraud Operations, Compliance, and Technology teams
  • Translate regulatory and operational requirements into technical execution plans
  • Drive alignment across teams to enable effective detection capability implementation


Team Leadership & Project Ownership
  • Lead cross-functional project teams through ML model and AI workflow development, from conception to deployment
  • Establish clear priorities, performance expectations, and delivery accountability for project work
  • Provide technical guidance and mentorship to data scientists and engineers executing on risk initiatives
  • Build and strengthen team capabilities across detection modeling, data engineering, and AI/agentic systems


What you'll bring:

Experience
  • 7+ years in data science, machine learning or MLOps
  • Proven experience developing, deploying, and maintaining detection models (fraud, AML, or credit risk) in production environments
  • Hands-on experience with AI-assisted workflows, LLMs, and agentic frameworks (including pilot-stage deployments)
  • Experience in regulated financial services or fintech environments preferred
  • Exposure to model risk management frameworks (SR 11-7) and regulatory interactions


Technical & Domain Expertise
  • Strong proficiency in Python and SQL
  • MLOps experience: Git, GitHub Actions, CI/CD practices, model monitoring, retraining pipelines, infrastructure automation
  • Hands-on experience with data science platforms (Databricks, Snowflake, AWS SageMaker)
  • AWS ecosystem expertise: SageMaker, Glue, Lambda, EventBridge, and related services
  • Familiarity with LLM and agentic frameworks: foundational models (Claude, GPT, etc.), agent orchestration tools (AWS AgentCore, LangChain, etc.)
  • Understanding of fraud typologies, AML transaction monitoring methodologies, and detection system design


Leadership Profile
  • Resourceful and versatile: thrives in a small, fast-moving team; comfortable wearing multiple hats and delivering with constrained resources
  • Startup mentality: pragmatic problem-solver who ships solutions; bias toward execution and measurable outcomes
  • Combines technical depth with collaborative leadership. Guides project teams through ambiguous problems and drives clarity, structure, and delivery
  • Collaborates effectively across Risk, Compliance, and Technology functions; comfortable operating in ambiguity and translating strategy into action


Similar Jobs

More Jobs at Worldpay

More Finance & Insurance Jobs

Find similar Lead Risk Data Scientist & ML Engineer jobs: