Staff Data Scientist

Earnest

. Own the end-to-end development and delivery of risk science systems, including credit risk scoring, default prediction, fraud detection, and collection scores .

Posted 11/11/2026full-timeRemote • California • United StatesLead💰 $216,000 - $262,000 per yearWebsite

Core Competencies

Role fit

Core Competencies

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Demonstrates expertise in credit risk modeling, including default prediction and fraud detection, while effectively communicating complex analytical findings to diverse stakeholders. Proven ability to lead cross-functional projects and mentor data scientists in a fast-paced financial services environment.

Highest-signal resume keywords

Credit Risk ModelingPython/R and SQLMachine Learning AlgorithmsModel Validation and BacktestingCloud Production Platforms

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills

Quantitative Risk ModelingCredit Risk AnalyticsFraud AnalyticsLoss ForecastingSurvival AnalysisGradient Boosted TreesLogistic RegressionRisk-Adjusted Return FrameworksModel Lifecycle ManagementAutomated Monitoring

Soft Skills

Strong Communication SkillsMentoring and Technical GuidanceInfluencing Stakeholders

Tools & Technologies

AWSGCPAzureLookerAirflowDbt

Industry Keywords

Consumer LendingFintechFinancial ServicesFCRAECOA/Fair Lending

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

AirflowAWSAzureCloudGoogle Cloud PlatformPythonSQL

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Own the end-to-end development and delivery of risk science systems, including credit risk scoring, default prediction, fraud detection, and collection scores
Lead the design, backtesting, and validation of credit risk models and loss forecasting frameworks
Serve as the internal subject matter expert on credit risk modeling, loss dynamics, and risk-based decisioning engines
Lead cross-functional risk modeling projects from conception through production deployment
Translate complex risk models, loss projections, and analytical findings for senior leadership, the Risk Committee, and non-technical stakeholders
Mentor and provide technical guidance to data scientists
Partner with Risk, Pricing, Product, Capital Markets, Engineering, Finance, and Compliance leadership
Oversee deployment of scalable, production-grade risk and fraud pipelines, including automated monitoring, stress testing, and alerting
Partner with the MRM team on model validation, fair lending analysis, model governance, and technical documentation

Requirements

What you’ll need

8+ years of experience in Python/R and SQL
7+ years of professional experience in quantitative risk modeling, credit risk analytics, fraud analytics, or applied data science
Master's/PhD in Economics, Statistics, Computer Science, Operations Research, or a related quantitative field
Prior experience in consumer lending, fintech, or financial services with direct technical ownership of credit underwriting or fraud models
Strong expertise in credit risk modeling, default prediction (PD, LGD, EAD), survival analysis, machine learning algorithms such as Gradient Boosted Trees and Logistic Regression, and risk-adjusted return frameworks
Deep proficiency in model lifecycle management, model validation, backtesting, and monitoring applied to credit or fraud risk environments
Proven track record of independently owning and delivering complex, cross-functional modeling initiatives end-to-end
Experience mentoring/managing junior data scientists and contributing to team-wide technical and governance standards
Strong communication skills with the ability to influence stakeholders and present technical concepts clearly to senior audiences
Solid understanding of financial metrics and consumer credit regulations such as FCRA and ECOA/Fair Lending
Experience with cloud production platforms such as AWS, GCP, or Azure
Proficiency with modern data engineering and analytics tooling such as Looker, Airflow, and dbt
Experience leveraging non-traditional data sources or LLM/NLP tools applied to underwriting, fraud detection, or document processing

Benefits

Comp & perks

Health, Dental, & Vision benefits plus savings plans
Mac computers + work-from-home stipend to set up your home office
Monthly internet and phone reimbursement
Employee Stock Purchase Plan
Restricted Stock Units (RSUs)
401(k) plan to help you save for retirement plus a company match
Robust tuition reimbursement program
$1,000 travel perk on each Earnie-versary to anywhere in the world
Competitive days of annual PTO
Competitive parental leave
Annual performance-based bonus
Equity