Head of KYC Modeling

Block

10d

About The Position

At Block, we are building trusted financial products at global scale. As the Head of Know Your Customer (KYC) Modeling, you will lead the strategy, development, and execution of our KYC machine learning systems that power customer onboarding, monitoring, and regulatory compliance across Cash App and Square. This is a highly visible leadership role, shaping the foundation of how we manage customer risk, protect our platform, and meet regulatory expectations worldwide. You will partner closely with engineering, data science, compliance, product, and risk leaders to design, deploy, and continually improve advanced models and frameworks that safeguard Block's ecosystem, while enabling growth and access for millions of customers.

Requirements

10+ years of experience in risk, fraud, or compliance machine learning or data science leadership
Proven track record of driving cross-functional initiatives
Familiarity with concepts related to know your customer (KYC) and customer due diligence
Knowledge of leading machine learning and AI applications
Expertise in data analytics and visualization
Experience with risk management frameworks
Background in designing or building compliance or risk management systems
Experience owning operational metrics and reporting on them to management
Managed and scaled organizations, including building and maintaining a high-performing team through hiring and coaching

Responsibilities

Own the Customer Risk Rating Model:
Lead the design, development, and optimization of the core model that assesses customer risk from a KYC perspective.
Ensure the model informs product eligibility, transaction limits, and overall customer lifecycle decisions.
Drive innovation in predictive modeling while balancing business growth and regulatory obligations.
Establish Identity Resolution Frameworks:
Build and scale the framework for identifying accounts belonging to the same customer, a critical regulatory focus area.
Partner with compliance and engineering teams to deliver a robust, explainable, and auditable identity-matching solution.
Oversee the KYC Rules Engine:
Maintain and evolve the suite of KYC monitoring rules to ensure real-time detection of customer risk signals.
Continuously enhance rules for accuracy, coverage, and adaptability to changing fraud and regulatory landscapes.
Innovate New KYC Controls:
Design and implement new machine learning and rule-based controls for customer Identity Verification (IDV) flows.
Develop strategies to minimize friction for good customers while preventing abuse and ensuring compliance.
Leadership & Strategy:
Lead and grow a team of machine learning engineers dedicated to KYC.
Define long-term strategy for KYC ML across Block, aligning with Risk, Compliance, and Product roadmaps.
Represent Block with regulators, auditors, and external partners as the subject matter expert on KYC machine learning.