Key Facts

Remote From:

Anywhere

Category: Credit Risk

Full time

Expert & Leadership (>10 years)

English

Hard Skills

Machine Learning Credit Risk Management Model Building Credit Control SQL (Programming Language) Emerging Market Debt MLflow

Other Skills

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Communication
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Leadership
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Adaptability

Roles & Responsibilities

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
Proven track record building and deploying production ML models
Excellent communication skills to translate complex models to business stakeholders

Requirements:

Design and implement advanced ML models for credit decisioning and fraud detection
Develop comprehensive credit risk frameworks adapted to each market's unique dynamics
Build and mentor a high-performing team of data scientists and risk analysts
Optimize approval rates while maintaining target default rates

Job description

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