Head Of Data Science & Credit Risk

About the Role

We're seeking a Head of Data Science & Credit Risk to lead our ML-driven underwriting strategy and build world-class risk models that power financial inclusion across Southeast Asia. This role combines deep data science expertise with credit risk leadership, owning the full lifecycle from model development to business impact. You'll lead a team of data scientists and risk analysts to create innovative underwriting solutions that balance growth with risk management.

About FINN

• 💳 Fast-growing Earned Wage Access FinTech founded in 2022
• 🚀 $10M ARR with proven product-market fit and explosive growth
• 🌏 Operations in Thailand, Philippines, and Indonesia with expansion underway
• 📊 50-person team building the future of financial access for underbanked workers

Key Responsibilities

ML & Model Development

• Design and implement advanced ML models for credit decisioning, fraud detection, and risk segmentation
• Lead development of next-generation underwriting algorithms using alternative data sources
• Build and deploy real-time scoring models that scale across multiple markets
• Champion model interpretability and fairness in AI-driven credit decisions
• Drive machine learning adoption across the organization - eg. experimentation on customer-value and monetization models, marketing attribution solutions.
• Establish MLOps best practices for model versioning, monitoring, and deployment

Credit Risk Leadership

• Develop comprehensive credit risk frameworks adapted to each market's unique dynamics
• Design approval strategies and risk thresholds that optimize for growth and portfolio health
• Create early warning systems for portfolio deterioration using predictive analytics
• Lead stress testing and expected credit loss modeling initiatives
• Partner with Finance on provisioning and capital allocation strategies

Team & Strategic Leadership

• Build and mentor a high-performing team of data scientists and risk analysts
• Drive data science roadmap aligned with business expansion goals
• Present risk insights and recommendations to executive team and board
• Establish partnerships with alternative data providers and credit bureaus
• Foster a culture of experimentation and data-driven decision making

Business Impact

• Optimize approval rates while maintaining target default rates
• Reduce time-to-decision through model automation
• Identify new customer segments and product opportunities through advanced analytics
• Support market expansion with localized risk models and regulatory compliance
• Drive unit economics improvement through sophisticated segmentation

What We're Looking For

Required

• 10+ years combined experience in data science/ML and consumer credit risk in FinTech, digital lending, or BNPL/EWA products
• Experience developing and managing credit policies and portfolios at scale - either multi-product, multi-market, or both
• Proven track record building and deploying production ML models as part of real-time or near-real-time decisioning pipelines with experimentation (A/B testing).
• Expertise in SQL/exploratory data analysis, and experience with cloud platforms (we use GCP BigQuery but direct/specific experience is not necessary)
• Experience building and leading technical teams while remaining hands-on
• Excellent communication skills to translate complex models to business stakeholders

Strongly Preferred

• Familiarity with Southeast Asian credit markets and alternative data sources
• Knowledge of MLFlow or similar production-grade model development deployment frameworks
• Broad understanding of regulatory requirements in various markets/regions (IFRS 9, local credit regulations)

What Makes You Successful

• Technical Excellence: Deep expertise in both classical statistics and modern ML
• Business Acumen: Ability to connect models to business outcomes and ROI
• Risk Mindset: Balance innovation with prudent risk management
• Leadership: Inspire teams while diving deep into technical challenges
• Adaptability: Thrive in fast-paced startup environment with evolving requirements

Why Join FINN?

• Massive Impact: Your models will directly enable financial access for many
• Greenfield Opportunity: Build our ML/risk capabilities from the ground up
• Cutting-Edge Tech: Work with modern ML stack and cloud-native infrastructure
• Rapid Growth: Join at the inflection point with clear path to scale
• Mission-Driven: Genuine social impact through financial inclusion

Compensation & Benefits

• Competitive salary based on experience and location
• Equity participation