Lead Data Scientist - Fraud (Hybrid)
At a glance
Senior Data Science role at Enova International. Chicago · $106,000–$140,000 base.
dataroles summary, based on the employer's posting.
What you'll do
- Build and monitor fraud models and pattern-finding systems that catch new or changing activity across lending products
- Use Python and SQL to analyze large datasets and develop predictive models for fraud detection
- Review Fraud Operations investigation results, then adjust model features and detection methods to reduce false alerts and misses
- Analyze emerging fraud patterns and recommend changes to risk checks, verification, and operations
- Guide team members, align their work with business priorities, and help put fraud-focused AI applications into production
What you bring
- At least five years in analytics, applied machine learning, or quantitative modeling
- Direct experience in fraud analytics, fraud strategy, or risk modeling
- Advanced Python and SQL skills, with ownership of models from design through deployment and monitoring on transactional data
- A record of turning analysis into business strategy and explaining findings to senior stakeholders
- Prior experience mentoring colleagues, leading team initiatives, and setting priorities
Who this fits
This role suits a hands-on fraud data scientist who can lead colleagues while building and refining models. You’ll work in the Chicago hybrid schedule, with office days Tuesday through Thursday. You must be eligible to work in the United States; visa sponsorship is unavailable.
From the employer
We are interested in every qualified candidate who is eligible to work in the United States. However, we are not able to sponsor visas or take over sponsorship at this time.
About the role:
Staying a step ahead of fraudsters takes an inquisitive mind, an appetite to dig deeper, and the imagination to shed new light on how we fight fraud — and here, it all starts with data. As a Lead Data Scientist on Enova's Fraud Analytics team, you'll be the quantitative engine of our fraud prevention effort. You'll develop, enhance, and test the models and pattern-recognition pipelines that surface emerging fraud trends across our lending products — then work hand-in-hand with our Fraud Operations team, who investigate the individual applications your models flag. Their findings (the false positives and false negatives) come back to you to sharpen the identifying characteristics and pivot the approach. It's a fast, iterative loop, and you sit at the center of it.
The broader Enova Analytics department consists of 100 quantitative professionals dedicated to using the latest cutting-edge techniques to drive business value: providing customers with access to fast, trustworthy credit while managing risk. Our company-wide, data-driven culture means you spend less time presenting and more time on the fun part: crunching data.
Key responsibilities:
- Develop, deploy, and monitor models and pattern-recognition algorithms to detect emerging and shifting fraud trends across one or more lending products
- Write customized programs in Python for meaningful data analysis and predictive modeling, and query large, complex datasets in SQL
- Partner closely with Fraud Operations through the full detection loop — pulling data together, surfacing suspicious patterns, and incorporating their investigation results to refine features and reduce false positives/negatives
- Conduct ad hoc analysis on large, complex datasets to scope new or changing fraud trends and recommend risk, verification, and operational strategies
- Communicate findings clearly to cross-functional partners, provide requirements, and support implementation
- Help improve underwriting and verification processes from a fraud-risk perspective
- Apply AI in production applications to streamline fraud prevention processes
- Manage team members, and help coordinate their work with business priorities.
Requirements:
- 5+ years of experience in analytics, applied machine learning, or quantitative modeling
- Hands-on fraud experience required — fraud analytics, fraud strategy, or risk modeling, ideally in fintech or lending
- Advanced Python and SQL; experience owning models end-to-end — design through deployment and monitoring — on large-scale transactional data
- Track record of translating analysis into business strategy and communicating with senior stakeholders
- Previous leadership experience mentoring teammates, driving team initiatives, and shaping priorities.
Compensation:
The budgeted annual salary range for this position is $106,000 to $140,000. Actual annual salary will be determined based on qualifications, skills, experience, and level assessed during the hiring process and may fall outside of the range shown. Additional compensation for this role may include a bonus. All full-time employees are eligible to participate in Company benefits, described in more detail here.
Benefits & Perks:
- Our hybrid roles require in-office work Tuesday through Thursday, with remote flexibility on Mondays and Fridays. This schedule fosters collaboration, team connection, and strategic planning, enhancing communication and effectiveness to drive results.
- Health, dental, and vision insurance including mental health benefits
- 401(k) matching plus a roth option (U.S. Based employees only)
- PTO & paid holidays off
- Sabbatical program (for eligible roles)
- Summer hours (for eligible roles)
- Paid parental leave
- DEI groups (B.L.A.C.K. @ Enova, HOLA @ Enova, Women @ Enova, Pride @ Enova, South Asians @ Enova, APEX @ Enova, and Parents @ Enova)
- Employee recognition and rewards program
- Charitable matching and a paid volunteer day…Plus so much more!
About Enova
Enova International is a leading financial technology company that provides online financial services through our AI and machine learning-powered Colossus™platform. We serve non-prime consumers and businesses alike, while offering world-class technology and services to traditional banks—in order to create accessible credit for millions.
Being a values-driven organization is at the core of Enova’s success. We live our values by listening to our customers, challenging assumptions, thinking big, setting high expectations, and hiring and developing the best. Through our values and our commitment to making Enova an awesome place to work, we maintain an environment of inclusion and culture where our employees can thrive. You can learn more about Enova’s values and culture here.
It is our policy to provide equal employment opportunity for all persons and not discriminate in employment decisions by placing the most qualified person in each job, without regard to any other classification protected by federal, state, or local law. California Applicants: Click here to review our California Privacy Policy for Job Applicants.
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