Staff Data Scientist

PayPal • San Jose, CA

34d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Company PayPal has been revolutionizing commerce globally for more than 25 years. Creating innovative experiences that make moving money, selling, and shopping simple, personalized, and secure, PayPal empowers consumers and businesses in approximately 200 markets to join and thrive in the global economy. We operate a global, two-sided network at scale that connects hundreds of millions of merchants and consumers. We help merchants and consumers connect, transact, and complete payments, whether they are online or in person. PayPal is more than a connection to third-party payment networks. We provide proprietary payment solutions accepted by merchants that enable the completion of payments on our platform on behalf of our customers. We offer our customers the flexibility to use their accounts to purchase and receive payments for goods and services, as well as the ability to transfer and withdraw funds. We enable consumers to exchange funds more safely with merchants using a variety of funding sources, which may include a bank account, a PayPal or Venmo account balance, PayPal and Venmo branded credit products, a credit card, a debit card, certain cryptocurrencies, or other stored value products such as gift cards, and eligible credit card rewards. Our PayPal, Venmo, and Xoom products also make it safer and simpler for friends and family to transfer funds to each other. We offer merchants an end-to-end payments solution that provides authorization and settlement capabilities, as well as instant access to funds and payouts. We also help merchants connect with their customers, process exchanges and returns, and manage risk. We enable consumers to engage in cross-border shopping and merchants to extend their global reach while reducing the complexity and friction involved in enabling cross-border trade. Our beliefs are the foundation for how we conduct business every day. We live each day guided by our core values of Inclusion, Innovation, Collaboration, and Wellness. Together, our values ensure that we work together as one global team with our customers at the center of everything we do – and they push us to ensure we take care of ourselves, each other, and our communities. Job Summary: We are seeking a Staff Data Scientist to join Global Fraud Prevention, owning fraud risk management for the Large Enterprise portfolio. This role supports new payment product launches, payment risk management, and checkout experience optimization across global markets, with a focus on the US and EU. You will drive data-driven risk strategies, automate decisioning, monitor and forecast fraud trends, and partner with internal and external stakeholders to balance growth, customer experience, and loss targets. Job Description: Essential Responsibilities: Lead and manage data science projects, ensuring timely delivery and alignment with business goals. Develop and maintain data models, algorithms, and reporting systems to support data analysis and decision-making. Analyze complex datasets to identify trends, patterns, and insights that drive strategic initiatives. Collaborate with cross-functional teams to understand data needs and provide actionable insights. Ensure data quality and integrity through regular audits and validation processes. Mentor and guide junior data scientists, fostering a culture of continuous learning and improvement. Additional Responsibilities & Preferred Qualifications: We are seeking for a Staff Data Scientist to join us as an exceptional problem solver with a passion for data insights and a relentless execution focus. This role task includes but not limited to managing new payment product launch, payment risk management and checkout experience enhancement for the Large Enterprise (LE) portfolio. This position resides in the Global Fraud Prevention organization that supports various business lines in optimizing risk and revenue to enable profitable business growth within risk appetite. Your work will focus on fraud risk management for LE segment, to support the business growth across world wide with key focus on the US and EU. This position will be the end-to-end owner of LE portfolio fraud risk management through data driven strategies and decision accuracy optimization, as well as the opportunity to build up automated system/algorithm to automate solutions for risk control. The work is fast paced and intellectually challenged to solve complex business problems. This role combines strategy, analytics, operational practices, and business insights into one. Day-to-day duties include data analysis, monitoring and forecasting, creating/implementing/automating risk rules and strategies, and communicating with global stakeholders to ensure we deliver the best possible customer experience while meeting loss rate targets. This role also includes direct communication with external partners about risk data integration as well as best practice on risk management.

Requirements

• 5+ years relevant experience and a Bachelor’s degree OR Any equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Strong analytical skills with hands on experience on predicative modeling, data mining, as well as analyzing large, multi-dimensional data sets
• Proven track record of driving results in a fast-paced and constantly changing environments
• Fluent in SQL/ R / Python/ Notebooks/ Teradata or other relational database languages is a must
• Polished communication and influence skills to collaborate with cross functional teams.
• Presenting in a clear and concise manner and reach alignment on how to execute risk strategies
• “Can-do” attitude, energetic personality, ability to work well under pressure in a fast-paced environment to meet deadlines
• Must handle multiple priorities with a strong attention to detail and should possess strong analytic and problem solving skills
• Excellent written, verbal, and presentation skills
• Data driven mindset with a Master’s or higher degree in any quantitative discipline such as Engineering, Computer Science, Statistics or Mathematics
• 8 years or plus working experience in Fintech/Payment industry/Risk Management/ consultancy

Nice To Haves

• Experience with one or multiple following will be highly desirable: Jupyter, Hadoop/Hive, BigQuery
• Experience in Advanced Analytics and Machine learning is a big plus

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage data science projects, ensuring timely delivery and alignment with business goals.
• Develop and maintain data models, algorithms, and reporting systems to support data analysis and decision-making.
• Analyze complex datasets to identify trends, patterns, and insights that drive strategic initiatives.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to understand data needs and provide actionable insights.
• Ensure data quality and integrity through regular audits and validation processes.
• Mentor and guide junior data scientists, fostering a culture of continuous learning and improvement.
• Design, develop and maintain data driven solutions for LE risk management.
• Makes sound decisions that balance risk, user experience and financial performance
• Develop automated system/process and algorithms that could streamline strategy/solution building process and generate good business results
• Guide and mentor junior team members on day-to-day delivery
• Partner with Product and Business Unit organization to meet Product launch roadmap deadlines as well as rising roadblocks
• Presentation to senior management within Risk and Business Unit, even external Partners on core strategy changes, integration requirement or risk management best practice
• Managing conversion rate, loss target and customer experience

Benefits

• At PayPal, we’re committed to building an equitable and inclusive global economy. And we can’t do this without our most important asset-you. That’s why we offer comprehensive, choice-based programs, to support all aspects of personal wellbeing—physical, emotional, and financial—delivering meaningful value where it matters most.
• We strive to create a flexible, balanced work culture with a holistic approach to benefits, including generous paid time off, healthcare coverage for you and your family, and resources to create financial security and support your mental health.

What This Job Offers

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