Senior Data Scientist

About the role

We're on a mission to make affordable loans available to more people. Using the power of Open Banking, we have built state-of-the-art technology that allows us to look beyond traditional credit scores and offer fairer credit to people ignored by traditional lenders.

We have two parts of our business. On the consumer side, we have Abound. Abound has proven that our approach works at scale, with over £300 million lent to-date. While other lenders only look at your credit score, we use Open Banking to look at the full picture - what you earn, how you spend, and what's left at the end.

On the B2B side, we have Render. Render is our award-winning software-as-a-service platform that allows Abound to make better, less risky lending decisions. And less risky decisions mean we can offer customers better rates than they can usually find elsewhere. We're taking Render global so that more companies, from high-street banks to other fintechs, can offer affordable credit to their customers.

The data science team, currently 8 members, focuses on pricing, classification of open banking data and credit decisioning. All data scientists actively contribute to building Render, by being embedded in the tech team.

What you'll be doing:

1. Develop, implement and maintain advanced AI and machine learning models to improve credit decisioning, risk and affordability assessments.
2. Analyse large datasets of Open Banking data to extract insights on customer financial behaviour and affordability.
3. Take ownership and collaborate with cross-functional teams to transform data insights into pioneering solutions, addressing complex technical challenges that set new industry standards and drive product strategy and growth.
4. Design and implement scalable data analytics infrastructure to support Abound's rapid growth.
5. Contribute to the development and refinement of the Render technology platform.
6. Mentor junior data scientists and support their professional development.
7. Stay abreast of industry trends in AI, machine learning, and fintech to drive innovation.

Who you are:

1. You have an advanced degree (Master's or Ph.D.) in Data Science, Machine Learning, Statistics, or a related field.
2. You possess 3-5 years of experience in a data science role, preferably related to credit risk or finance.
3. You're proficient in SQL and Python.
4. You have a strong background in statistical modelling, machine learning algorithms, and data mining techniques (NLP is a plus).
5. You're passionate about leveraging AI and data to improve financial inclusion and access to fair credit.
6. You have excellent communication skills and can translate complex data insights for both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
7. You're adaptable, innovative, and thrive in a fast-paced, high-growth environment.
8. Experience with AWS is a plus.

At Abound, you'll join a dynamic team that's revolutionising the lending industry through innovative technology. As the company continues to grow rapidly and expand its operations, you'll have the opportunity to make a significant impact on financial inclusion while working with cutting-edge AI and Open Banking technologies.

What we offer:

• Everyone owns a piece of the company - equity.
• 25 days' holiday a year, plus 8 bank holidays.
• 2 paid volunteering days per year.
• One month paid sabbatical after 4 years.
• Employee loan.
• Free gym membership.
• Save up to 60% on an electric vehicle through our salary sacrifice scheme with Loveelectric.
• Team wellness budget to be active together - set up a yoga class, a tennis lesson or go bouldering.