Staff Data Scientist, Risk and Fraud

Varo Bank • San Francisco, CA

2d

About The Position

Varo is seeking a Staff Data Scientist, Risk and Fraud, to be the technical cornerstone for fraud and risk prevention within their Data Science team. This high-impact, individual contributor role aims to transform fraud and risk operations from reactive measures to a state of engineering excellence. The position involves owning the fraud/risk domain, acting as the primary technical liaison for cross-functional partners, and establishing rigorous testing and data science standards. The role focuses on architecting the future of trust at Varo by providing senior technical leadership, streamlining modeling pipelines, mentoring talent, and bridging the gap between data architecture and non-technical fraud experts. The Staff Data Scientist will drive the execution and governance of subprime lending and payment risk products, reporting to the Head of Data Science.

Requirements

• Proven track record in financial industry fraud and/or risk modeling, ideally within subprime lending or high-volume payment environments.
• Advanced proficiency in Python, SQL, and the AWS stack, with a deep understanding of data architecture and MLOps.
• Exceptional ability to interface with non-technical stakeholders and regulatory bodies regarding model governance and compliance.
• Demonstrated experience implementing technical rigor from the ground up, including automated testing, documentation, and lifecycle management.
• Proficiency with AI-assisted coding tools to accelerate development and manage a broad scope of technical responsibilities.
• A track record of setting the bar for technical excellence, providing mentorship, and driving best practices for model validation and MRM compliance.
• Master’s or PhD in a quantitative field (Statistics, Data Science, Economics, CS) or equivalent practical experience.

Nice To Haves

• Prior fintech experience and/or experience with 0-to-1 product development or startup environments a plus.

Responsibilities

• Act as the primary technical lead for all fraud modeling and operations, operating with full independence to resolve complex issues and lead technical communications.
• Establish and implement robust testing protocols, model governance, and standard data science practices to ensure high-quality, compliant, and scalable outputs.
• Design, develop, and maintain advanced fraud models tailored for banking and subprime lending, utilizing expert-level proficiency in predictive modeling, statistical analysis, and machine learning (e.g., XGBoost, Deep Learning) to detect fraud/risk.
• Serve as the primary technical partner for the Fraud/Risk Strategy, Operations, and Engineering teams, ensuring model outputs are accurate, operationally feasible, and seamlessly integrated into production.
• Provide technical guidance and debugging support to junior team members, fostering a culture of technical excellence and reducing operational bottlenecks.
• Establish and oversee monitoring frameworks to track model performance, feature drift, and data integrity in real-time, defining model health to ensure performance against evolving fraud vectors and meet strict Model Risk Management (MRM) standards.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior