Position Title: Head of Data Science & Credit Risk
Department: Data Science & Credit Risk
Location: Global
About FINN
FINN is a fintech company building simple and transparent products that improve financial well-being for underbanked employees. Our core offering gives people access to wages they have already earned, alongside tools to help them manage money better, build savings, access insurance, earn additional income, and use fairer financial services.
Founded in 2022, FINN is the largest player in the early wage access space in Southeast Asia and is expanding rapidly into new markets globally. We are looking for ambitious builders who take ownership, move fast, and want to shape products that create meaningful impact in people’s lives.
We’re seeking a Head of Data Science & Credit Risk to lead our ML-driven underwriting strategy and strengthen risk decisioning across Southeast Asia. In this role, you’ll combine deep data science expertise with credit risk leadership, owning the full lifecycle from model development to business impact. You’ll build and lead a team of data scientists and risk analysts, working closely with engineering, product, and finance to improve approval funnels, strengthen portfolio performance, and expand access to credit responsibly.
ML & Model Development
- Lead the design, testing, and deployment of ML models for credit decisioning, fraud detection, and risk segmentation.
- Develop underwriting algorithms that use alternative data sources to improve risk assessment and expand financial access.
- Build and deploy real-time or near-real-time scoring models that scale across multiple markets.
- Ensure models are interpretable, fair, and robust, with monitoring for accuracy, feature stability, and drift.
- Establish MLOps practices for model versioning, experimentation, deployment, and ongoing monitoring.
- Expand machine learning adoption across the business, including customer value, monetization, and marketing attribution.
Credit Risk Strategy & Monitoring
- Develop and manage credit risk frameworks, policies, and approval strategies adapted to each market.
- Set risk thresholds and customer segmentation strategies that balance growth, default rates, and portfolio health.
- Monitor key risk metrics, investigate significant changes, and establish early warning signals for portfolio deterioration.
- Simulate policy and model changes, support A/B testing, and refine strategies using performance data and business KPIs.
- Lead stress testing and expected credit loss modeling, partnering with Finance on provisioning and capital allocation.
- Support market expansion through localized risk models and policies aligned with applicable regulatory requirements.
Team & Strategic Leadership
- Build, lead, and mentor a team of data scientists and risk analysts while remaining hands-on with technical work.
- Own the data science and credit risk roadmap, aligning priorities with business growth and expansion plans.
- Communicate model performance, portfolio trends, and strategic recommendations to the executive team and board.
- Partner with engineering, product, and finance to translate analytical insights into measurable business outcomes.
- Evaluate and establish partnerships with alternative data providers and credit bureaus.
- Build a culture of experimentation, accountability, and data-driven decision-making.
Business Impact
- Improve approval rates while maintaining target default rates and responsible lending standards.
- Reduce time-to-decision through automated underwriting and scoring.
- Identify new customer segments and product opportunities through advanced analytics.
- Improve unit economics through risk segmentation and customer value modeling.
- Track the impact of model and policy changes, using feedback loops to improve performance over time.
Your Profile
Required:
- At least 10 years of combined experience in data science, machine learning, and consumer credit risk within fintech, digital lending, BNPL, or earned wage access.
- Experience developing and managing credit policies and portfolios at scale across multiple products, markets, or both.
- A proven track record of building, deploying, and monitoring production ML models within real-time or near-real-time decisioning pipelines.
- Hands-on experience with experimentation and A/B testing to evaluate model and policy changes.
- Strong statistical and mathematical skills, with expertise in both classical statistical methods and modern machine learning.
- Strong working knowledge of SQL and exploratory data analysis, alongside experience with cloud data platforms. We use GCP BigQuery, but experience with this specific platform is not required.
- Experience building and leading technical teams while remaining actively involved in model development and problem-solving.
- Strong communication skills, with the ability to explain complex models and credit risk concepts clearly to business stakeholders.
- Sound business judgment and the ability to connect technical decisions to growth, portfolio performance, and return on investment.
- An adaptable, proactive approach to working in a fast-paced startup environment.
Bonus:
- Familiarity with Southeast Asian credit markets, credit bureaus, and alternative data sources.
- Experience with MLflow or similar frameworks for production model development and deployment.
- Understanding of IFRS 9 and local credit regulations across multiple markets or regions.
What We Offer
- A competitive salary based on experience and location.
- Equity participation.
- Opportunities to learn, grow, and shape a growing data science and credit risk function.
- The opportunity to help redefine financial services for underbanked employees.
Why Join FINN?
- Meaningful Impact: Build models that expand financial access for underbanked employees.
- Greenfield Opportunity: Shape our ML and risk capabilities from the ground up.
- Modern Technology: Work with a modern ML stack and cloud infrastructure.
- Rapid Growth: Lead a core function as FINN scales into new markets.
- Mission-Driven Work: Help improve financial well-being through fairer, more accessible financial services.
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