JOB DESCRIPTION
Empower is looking for an experienced data scientist to join our fintech startup and own the Credit for our emerging business in Latin America, where we have a footprint in Mexico today. This role presents an exciting opportunity to be an early team member as we build a winning strategy. As part of the Credit and Data Science team, you will develop and iterate on risk models and credit policies that drive underwriting as a competitive advantage for Empower and launch innovative products that solve customer problems. This role will report to Empower’s Head of International Credit.
The ideal candidate is driven by a passion for leveraging data and analytics to fuel business growth and improve customer financial well-being. This individual will lead teams and workstreams that seek to understand consumer needs and behaviors and develop solutions to allow Empower to resiliently offer the right products. This role involves the additional challenge of solving problems for a new geography for Empower where frameworks will need to be adapted based on the available data and customer needs. The right candidate thrives on tackling complex challenges and is proficient in utilizing a wide range of technical tools to achieve impactful outcomes.
Empower is a remote-first company. We drive connectivity through regular company offsites. Travel for company offsites is expected at a minimum 2 times a year.
RESPONSIBILITIES
- Build new underwriting models from scratch for Empower’s Mexico businesses owning each part of the model deployment process
- Collaborate closely with Credit and Finance stakeholders to ensure the work drives meaningful business outcomes
- Build out frameworks, infrastructure, and controls to build, retrain, and deploy models with speed and high quality
- Work with Empower’s leadership team to build out strategy and growth plans while managing financial outcomes
- Partner with Mexico leaders in product, engineering, marketing, and finance to ensure that our data science solutions fit within the larger picture
- Hire talented team to staff new projects as the business grows
QUALIFICATIONS
- Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Business, Finance, Computer Science, or Mathematics
- 6+ years of industry experience in machine learning, statistical analysis, and/or predictive modeling with deep understanding of statistics and machine learning techniques, including regression, classification, clustering and optimization
- Strong skills Python and SQL; demonstrable experience with ML packages: scikit-learn, LightGBM, XGBoost, SparkML, etc.
- 2+ years working in financial services
- Experience solving credit problems in Latin American markets
- Eagerness to learn new tools and analytical methods, staying up to date with innovative trends and methodologies in the industry
- Exceptionally strong problem solving and communication with the ability to both get in the weeds and communicate to an executive audience
At Empower, we hire for people that push themselves to understand others and seek out ways to challenge their personal assumptions. Our hope is that by fostering such an environment, we strengthen our business and relationships by putting people first. We are committed to building a diverse, inclusive, and equitable workspace where everyone (regardless of age, education, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or any personal characteristics) feels like they belong. Even if your experience doesn’t exactly match up to our job description, you should feel empowered to apply regardless!
