Data Scientist - iwocaPay

Data Scientist - iwocaPay

Hybrid in London or Leeds, UK

We're looking for a Data Scientist to join our iwocaPay team

iwocaPay works with sellers to offer innovative Trade Credit and Buy-Now-Pay-Later (BNPL) solutions for business customers. Those sellers are essential to our success, as we need them to offer iwocaPay to their customers, who in turn use us to spread the cost of their purchase, for improving cash flow and operational flexibility.

The company

Fast, flexible finance empowers small businesses to manage their cash flow better and seize opportunities - making their business and the economy stronger as a whole. At iwoca, we do just that. We help businesses get the funds they need, when they need it, often within minutes. We've already made several billion in funding available to more than 100,000 businesses since we launched in 2012, and positioned ourselves as a leading Fintech in Europe.

Our mission is to finance one million businesses. We'll get there by continuing to make our finance ever more relevant and accessible to more businesses by combining cutting-edge technology, data science, and a 5-star customer service.

The function

iwoca's Data Scientists specialise in Supervised Machine Learning, Statistical Inference and Exploratory Statistics, focusing on tabular and time series data. Our work emphasises quantitative predictions through the analysis of conditional probabilities and expectations, using medium-sized datasets.

The team

At iwoca, we're proud to nurture an entrepreneurial spirit within our teams. This is especially true of iwocaPay, a fast-growing start-up within the business, now with a dedicated team of more than 30 people. With iwocaPay, we've created a trade credit solution that has already provided thousands of buyers across the UK with the flexibility to manage cash flow while growing their purchasing power. Our team continues to innovate and expand, driving iwocaPay's mission to make credit available where it's needed most.

The role

As a Data Scientist within our iwocaPay team, you'll develop insights for our credit assessment model. Your role will involve evaluating the model, identifying key areas for improvement, and using untapped features to enhance accuracy and reduce friction for customers.

You'll work collaboratively with Data Scientists across iwoca, sharing expertise with a peer group to deepen your knowledge and apply it to iwocaPay. Additionally, you'll design and analyse tests and build statistical models to help us reach a broader range of customers.

The Projects

In this role, you'll tackle a few high-impact projects within your first 90 days, designed to drive the evolution of iwocaPay's risk model and enhance our data capabilities:

1. Model Evaluation & Improvement: Begin by immersing yourself in our current model to assess its strengths and identify areas for enhancement. You'll focus on the model's relevance to iwocaPay and the data sources supporting it.

2. Data Feature Expansion: Conduct a detailed data assessment to identify new features that could improve model precision and reliability. This includes testing additional data points and exploring off-the-shelf alternatives to sensitive personal data, which add unnecessary friction to the loan application process.

3. Prototype Testing & Iteration: Start developing and testing initial model iterations, refining as you go. Investigate supplementary data sources, including ecommerce insights, to enrich the model's accuracy and expand its potential applications within iwocaPay.

4. Strategic Data Science Influence: Beyond immediate model improvements, you'll play a pivotal role in shaping iwocaPay's data science roadmap. By identifying emerging data science techniques and championing best practices, you'll guide how we apply data science to add deeper value across our offerings, setting the foundation for innovative, scalable solutions that drive future growth.

The requirements

Essential:

1. Strong problem-solving skills in probability and statistics, ideally from a quantitative background (e.g., Engineering, Mathematics, Physics, or similar fields).

2. Proficiency with data manipulation and modelling tools, e.g. pandas, statsmodels, R.

3. Experience with scientific computing and tooling, e.g. NumPy, SciPy, R, Matlab, Mathematica, BLAS.

4. Self-starter with ability to work autonomously and efficiently manage projects end-to-end.

5. Excellent communication skills, with the ability to adjust your communication style and technical detail based on the audience.

Bonus:

1. Experience building machine learning models from scratch (e.g. creating custom optimisers)

2. Advanced knowledge of stochastic processes and related mathematical techniques.

3. Experience with Bayesian analysis.

4. Experience with Python (our primary programming language).

5. Knowledge of financial concepts (e.g. calculations with deterministic cash flows).

The salary

We expect to pay from £70,000 - £100,000 for this role. But, we're open-minded, so definitely include your salary goals with your application. We routinely benchmark salaries against market rates, and run quarterly performance and salary reviews.

The culture

At iwoca, we prioritise a culture of learning, growth, and support, and invest in the professional development of our team members. We value thought and skill diversity, and encourage you to explore new areas of interest to help us innovate and improve our products and services.

The offices

We put a lot of effort into making iwoca a brilliant place to work:

1. Offices in London, Leeds, and Frankfurt with plenty of drinks and snacks

2. Events and clubs, like bingo, comedy nights, yoga classes, football, etc.

The benefits

1. Medical insurance from Vitality, including discounted gym membership

2. A private GP service (separate from Vitality) for you, your partner, and your dependents.

3. 25 days' holiday, an extra day off for your birthday, the option to buy or sell an additional five days of annual leave, and unlimited unpaid leave

4. A one-month, fully paid sabbatical after four years.

5. Instant access to external counselling and therapy sessions for team members that need emotional or mental health support.

6. 3% pension contributions on total earnings

7. An employee equity incentive scheme

8. Generous parental leave and a nursery tax benefit scheme to help you save money.

9. Electric car scheme and cycle to work scheme

10. Two company retreats a year, we've been to France, Italy, Spain, and further afield.

And to make sure we all keep learning, we offer:

1. A learning and development budget for everyone.

2. Company-wide talks with internal and external speakers.

3. Access to learning platforms like Treehouse.

Useful links:

1. iwoca benefits & policies

2. Interview welcome pack