Senior Data Scientist

Why USAA?

At USAA, we are dedicated to empowering our members to achieve financial security through competitive products, exceptional service, and trusted advice. We strive to be the #1 choice for the military community and their families.

Join a fulfilling career at USAA, where our core values—honesty, integrity, loyalty, and service—define our interactions with each other and our members. Be part of a mission that truly makes a difference.

The Opportunity

We offer a flexible work environment where you will be required to be in the office 4 days per week. This position is available in San Antonio, TX, Plano, TX, Phoenix, AZ, Colorado Springs, CO, Charlotte, NC, Chesapeake, VA, or Tampa, FL. Please note that relocation assistance is not available for this role.

The Senior Data Scientist - Identity Analytics will lead the development and implementation of advanced quantitative solutions aimed at enhancing USAA's capabilities to detect and prevent identity theft, account takeover, and various forms of fraud. Your responsibilities will encompass creating machine learning models and employing graph analytics to safeguard USAA and our members from these threats. Successful candidates will be expected to produce and execute the following tasks:

• Develop and continuously improve internal models for identity theft and authentication to minimize fraud losses and enhance member experiences.
• Collaborate closely with the Strategies team, Directors of Fraud Identity Analytics, and Model Users on prioritizing model builds.
• Partner with Technology to implement a Financial Crimes graph database strategy, including vendor selection and identifying business and data requirements.
• Use graph databases to analyze and trace criminal networks involved in fraud and related financial crimes, delivering substantial benefits.
• Identify fraud-dense networks to reduce losses and improve member interactions.
• Work with technology teams to integrate new data sources, enhancing predictive power and organizational performance.
• Generate insights for decision systems to enhance fraud targeting and model enhancement efforts.
• Drive innovation in modeling practices, including advanced methodologies like graph neural networks.
• Engage with the analytics community to share best practices and techniques.

What you'll do:

• Collect, interpret, and manipulate structured and unstructured data to facilitate advanced analytical solutions for the organization.
• Create scalable, automated solutions using machine learning, simulation, and optimization to deliver significant business insights.
• Select suitable modeling techniques considering data limitations and business needs.
• Develop and deploy models adhering to the Model Development Control (MDC) and Model Risk Management (MRM) frameworks.
• Assist peers in crafting technical documentation for knowledge retention and risk management.
• Evaluate business needs to recommend analytical projects that drive business value.
• Maintain a library of reusable, production-quality algorithms to ensure transparency and high-quality model development.
• Translate complex business requests into specific analytical questions, execute the analysis, and communicate results to non-technical stakeholders.
• Identify and manage project risks, addressing issues that may hinder success.
• Establish best practices for collaborating with Data Engineering and IT to deploy analytical assets in line with industry standards.
• Stay current with innovative techniques and seek opportunities to learn new methodologies.
• Mentor junior data scientists in analytics and model-building techniques.
• Participate in internal communities focused on evolving data science technologies and culture.
• Identify and manage risks associated with business activities in accordance with compliance policies.

What you have:

• Bachelor's degree in a quantitative field or equivalent experience in statistics, mathematics, or analytics.
• A minimum of 6 years in predictive analytics or data analysis.
• At least 4 years of experience in training and validating statistical and machine learning models.
• Proficiency in dynamic scripted languages (Python, R, etc.) for statistical analysis and AI/ML model development.
• Experience in writing clear, well-documented code.
• Strong capabilities in processing data from diverse structured/unstructured databases using SQL, NoSQL, etc.
• Ability to handle a range of data types, including delimited files and JSON/XML formats.
• Skill in conducting ad-hoc analytics using various statistical techniques.
• Understanding of regulatory implications related to modeling efforts.
• Advanced knowledge of supervised and unsupervised modeling concepts.
• Experience guiding and mentoring junior team members.
• Strong communication skills to convey analytical outcomes to non-technical stakeholders.

What sets you apart:

• US military experience or connection.
• Graduate degree in a quantitative subject area.
• Over 4 years of experience in model development related to fraud detection.
• More than 3 years of experience with graph databases and graph analytics.
• Experience in developing financial crime detection models.

Compensation: The salary for this role ranges from $143,320-$257,970.

USAA does not provide visa sponsorship for this position. Please refrain from applying if you may require immigration support.

Our salary assessment process ensures competitive compensation based on experience and market data. Actual salary may vary by location. Employees may also be eligible for performance-based incentives.

Benefits: USAA offers exceptional benefits prioritizing employee well-being, including medical, dental, and vision plans, a 401(k) plan, life insurance, parental benefits, and a generous paid time off program. We also support career development and continuing education to help you achieve your professional goals.

This job posting remains open until filled, so interested candidates are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.

USAA is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without discrimination.

If you are a USAA employee, please apply through the internal career site.

Find your purpose. Join our mission.

Join USAA, where we strive to support the financial security of our members—more than 13 million individuals from the military community and their families. By upholding the highest standards, we ensure that our values are reflected in our business activities and employee conduct.

USAA is an EEO/AA Employer committed to a fair and inclusive workplace.