Staff Data Scientist

Self Financial • Austin, TX

12h

About The Position

Self Financial is a venture-backed, high-growth FinTech company focused on increasing economic inclusion and financial resilience by helping people build credit and savings. The Credit Analytics team builds predictive models that inform credit and lending decisions, using company data to develop models deployed in production. The team partners with Risk, Finance, Product, and Engineering to improve underwriting, pricing, and credit management.

The Staff Data Scientist will build predictive models, take them into production, and measure their business impact. This role works closely with engineering to integrate models into the decisioning engine and monitor them after launch. It also involves investigating model behavior, communicating measurable results, partnering with stakeholders to translate business questions into modeling recommendations, evaluating data vendors and tools, and helping set the team's technical standards through review and mentorship.

The position is based in Austin, Texas, with a hybrid or remote work arrangement. Candidates must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents; visa sponsorship is not available. New hires must pass a background check.

Requirements

• At least 8 years of professional data scientist experience.
• Strong Python skills and a record of building predictive models.
• Statistical rigor demonstrated by at least one accomplishment on the resume.
• Quantifiable business impact, with results expressed in dollars and percentages.
• Curiosity and persistence in understanding the context behind model results.
• Clear communication with technical and non-technical audiences.
• Experience taking models from development to production.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in credit and lending, with fintech experience identified as a plus.
• Experience working with third-party data vendors.
• Experience at a small or scaling company, owning work end to end.
• Comfort moving between hands-on modeling, stakeholder partnership, and mentoring.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and validate predictive models in Python to inform credit and lending decisions.
• Partner with engineering to deploy models into the decisioning engine and monitor them after launch.
• Investigate model behavior and underlying data until findings are supported by the available evidence.
• Measure and communicate the business impact of work in dollars and percentages.
• Work with Risk, Finance, Product, and other stakeholders to turn business questions into modeling problems and recommendations.
• Evaluate and work with the data vendors and tools used by the company.
• Set the team's technical bar through code and model review.
• Mentor other analysts and data scientists.

Benefits

• Generous health, dental, and vision insurance coverage.
• Employer-paid life and disability benefits and cost-containment resources.
• Hybrid work arrangement.
• Flexible vacation.
• Company performance-based bonuses.
• Paid parental leave.
• Company equity in the form of stock options.
• Education reimbursement program.
• Relocation bonus to move to Austin.
• Gym membership options through ClassPass or monthly reimbursement.
• Lunchdrop stipend.
• Paid parking.
• Employee resource group and inclusion opportunities.
• Team-building events and activities.
• Referral program.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed