Lead Data Scientist

Lead Data ScientistNetspend Corporation is a global, vertically-integrated financial services and technology company dedicated to the delivery of innovative financial empowerment solutions to consumers worldwide. Netspend's financial products and services span prepaid, debit, cross-border payments, and loyalty solutions for consumers and enterprise partners. Netspend provides prepaid and debit account solutions that connect customers with secure, convenient access to global payment networks so they can manage their money and make everyday purchases. With a nationwide U.S. retail network, customers can purchase and reload Netspend products at 130,000 reload points and over 100,000 distributing locations. Since our founding in 1999 by industry pioneers, Netspend products have processed billions of dollars in transaction volume and served millions of customers worldwide. The company is headquartered in Austin, Texas with employees worldwide.The Lead Data Scientist is an advanced professional responsible for spearheading the design and deployment of the company's most complex machine learning and predictive modeling initiatives. At this level, they possess in-depth professional knowledge and exhibit advanced experience to resolve intricate analytical challenges. They will work creatively and effectively on complex data issues where the analysis of situations requires an in-depth evaluation of variable factors. Operating with a high degree of autonomy, they will exercise independent judgment in selecting methods, techniques, and evaluation criteria, often acting as a technical team lead and determining procedures on new, high-impact assignments.Essential Functions & Responsibilities:Advanced Modeling & Architecture: Lead the end-to-end design, development, training, and deployment of complex, highly scalable machine learning models and AI solutions that address critical business priorities.Technical Leadership: Serve as the principal technical lead on significant data science projects. Determine the analytical methods, techniques, and evaluation criteria required to achieve successful project outcomes.Complex Problem Solving: Tackle highly complex, multi-variable data issues. Apply in-depth professional knowledge and creative problem-solving techniques to uncover deep insights from massive, disparate datasets.Mentorship & Coordination: Act as a technical mentor and team lead for junior to mid-level data scientists (P1-P3). Coordinate the activities of other analytical personnel to ensure project milestones are met while maintaining high-quality code and modeling standards.Cross-Functional Networking: Build networks and collaborate deeply with key contacts outside your immediate area of expertise, including senior leaders in Data Engineering, Product Management, and Business Operations, to drive the adoption of data science solutions.Strategic Evaluation: Continuously evaluate the company's data capabilities and emerging AI/ML technologies. Recommend innovative tools and algorithmic approaches to keep the organization at the forefront of the industry.Insight Communication: Synthesize and present complex analytical findings to non-technical executive stakeholders, clearly articulating the business value and strategic implications of predictive models.All other duties assigned.Qualifications:Education: Bachelor's degree in Data Science, Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics, or a highly quantitative field. A Master's degree or Ph.D. is strongly preferred.Experience: Minimum of 8 years of related professional experience with a Bachelor's degree; OR 6 years of experience with a Master's degree; OR a PhD with 3 years of experience.Technical Skills: Expert-level proficiency in Python or R, and advanced SQL capabilities. Deep, hands-on expertise with advanced machine learning frameworks (e.g., TensorFlow, PyTorch, Keras, XGBoost). Extensive experience deploying models into production environments using cloud platforms (e.g., AWS SageMaker, GCP, Databricks). Strong understanding of MLOps, CI/CD pipelines, and version control.Knowledge & Application: Exhibits advanced experience and in-depth professional knowledge to resolve complex models and operational procedures. Works creatively and effectively to solve complex issues.Complexity & Problem Solving: Works on complex issues where analysis of situations or data requires an in-depth evaluation of variable factors. Exercises independent judgment in selecting methods, techniques, and evaluation criteria for obtaining optimal results.Collaboration & Interaction: Determines methods and procedures on new assignments and coordinates the activities of other personnel (acts as a Team Lead). Networks collaboratively with key contacts outside their own area of expertise to drive broad business impact.