Job Description
The Payments Foundation Models team is a new, high‑impact initiative within Visa’s Data Science organization. Based in Cambridge, UK, and working closely with global Visa engineering and product teams, the group’s mission is to build the next generation of payments‑focused foundation AI models. These models will power a range of premium Risk and Identity Solutions (RaIS) products, such as fraud scores, with the goal of generating more than 100M dollars in new revenue by FY2030 and may be extended into other domains such as credit risk modelling or agentic commerce personalization.
Role
Senior Data Scientist – Payments Foundation Models. Hands‑on technical role in the Individual Contributor track at the Consultant or Manager level, with scope to influence data science standards and practices while working on high‑impact, Visa‑scale systems.
* Develop, train, evaluate, document and disseminate Payments Foundation Models for use in data science and AI projects across Visa.
* Collaborate across the organization with engineering, data science, research, product and commercial teams to improve the quality, adoption and real‑world impact of models.
Responsibilities
* Collaborate with Product Managers and team members to align on highest‑value items.
* Coordinate work across multiple teams and, when needed, take on “tech lead” responsibilities for driving initiatives to completion.
* Identify risks and test assumptions before development.
* Perform end‑to‑end processing and modeling of large data sets.
* Train deep learning models using self‑supervised, supervised fine‑tuning or adaptation approaches.
* Ensure new models navigate model risk management processes and have high‑quality documentation and analytics products.
* Lead the deployment and maintenance of statistical models and algorithms.
* Collaborate with data engineers to identify and implement tooling improvements.
* Communicate insights to technical and non‑technical colleagues.
* Evangelize the benefits of deep learning models within Visa.
* Recruit Data Scientists within the team.
* Improve team processes and contribute to future strategy.
* Mentor junior members and manage their workload for high‑quality output.
* Develop a solid understanding of the fraud and financial crime industries.
This is a hybrid position. Expectation of days in office will be confirmed by your hiring manager. Visa requires at least 3 days in office.
Preferred Qualifications
* 5+ years of relevant work experience with a Bachelor’s Degree or at least 2 years with an advanced degree (Masters, MBA, JD, MD) or 0 years with a PhD, OR 8+ years of relevant experience.
* Advanced degree in Data Science, Computer Science, Physics, Mathematics, or related field.
* Strong background in machine learning, statistical modeling, and data engineering.
* Enthusiasm for bringing cutting‑edge deep learning models into production at Visa‑wide scales.
* Practical experience managing large‑scale datasets and conducting end‑to‑end analytics projects.
* Proficiency with programming languages such as Python or R, and familiarity with SQL and big data tools.
* Technical and analytical skills with the ability to pick up new technologies and concepts quickly.
* Problem‑solving skills (especially in data‑centric applications).
* Strong, clear, concise written and verbal communication skills.
* Ability to manage and prioritize personal workload.
* Excellent communication skills for technical and non‑technical stakeholders.
* Proven ability to lead cross‑functional projects and mentor junior team members.
* Ph.D. or other postgraduate qualification with strong mathematical background and knowledge of statistics.
* Experience with fraud detection, risk analytics, or financial crime prevention.
* Experience developing models within a model risk management framework.
* Experience with version control (e.g., git).
* Experience with PyTorch or another deep learning framework.
* Familiarity with training and serving artificial neural networks.
* Subject‑matter expertise in the banking and payments industry.
Equal Employment Opportunity
Visa is an EEO Employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or protected veteran status. Visa will also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with EEOC guidelines and applicable local law.
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