Lead Data Scientist

Forward Financing; Canada; On-site; CAD 174,000 - 220,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision coverage

Flexible time-off policy

Paid parental leave

RRSP match

Wellness reimbursement

Annual professional development budget

Job summary

Forward Financing is seeking an experienced Machine Learning Engineer to design and implement advanced models for credit risk and fraud detection. You will lead data science projects from design to deployment, collaborating with cross-functional teams.

This role offers a competitive salary of CAD $174,000 - $220,000 and a potential 12% annual bonus, along with comprehensive benefits including flexible time-off and wellness reimbursement.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of hands-on model development experience.
• Deep experience in building credit risk models in the fintech industry.
• Strong foundation in statistics and machine learning.

Responsibilities

• Design and deploy advanced models for various business use cases.
• Lead end-to-end delivery of data science initiatives.
• Build and maintain production machine learning pipelines.

Skills

Model development using statistical techniques

Building credit risk models

Expert in Python

Expert in SQL

Project management skills

Education

Bachelor's degree in Financial/Applied Math

Tools

AWS

Git

Metaflow

Job description

Forward Financing is a financial technology company based in Boston, Massachusetts with team members throughout the United States, Dominican Republic, and Canada. The company is on a mission to unlock the capital that fuels small businesses across America and is recognized as a Best Place to Work by Built In Boston and certified as a Great Place To Work®.

In This Role You Will

• Design, develop and deploy advanced statistical or machine learning models for credit risk, pricing, collections, fraud, and other high‑impact business use cases that drive better data‑driven decisions
• Lead end‑to‑end delivery of data science initiatives from problem framing and model design through deployment, monitoring and ongoing maintenance
• Partner with cross‑functional teams including Portfolio Strategy, Engineering, Product, Underwriting, Sales and Collections to integrate models into our applications, and proactively identify and solve problems in critical business areas
• Define and set standards for model development, code quality, and documentation; guide technical design decisions across the team
• Act as a technical mentor to team members, fostering a culture of continuous learning and rigorous analytical standards
• Communicate complex technical concepts and business implications to both technical and non‑technical stakeholders
• Build and maintain production machine learning pipelines and monitoring systems to ensure models are reliable, scalable and continuously improving

Why You Should Apply

• Mission driven company: Forward is a trusted source of fast, flexible funding for small businesses that have often been underserved by traditional financing options. When you join the team, you will help ensure all small businesses have access to the financial support they need to succeed.
• Flexibility is a top priority: Our employees are empowered to choose where they want to work (whether that’s from home, in the office, or a combination of both) with flexible hours.

Role Requirements

• 8+ years of hands‑on model development and deployment experience using advanced statistical and machine learning techniques such as generalized linear models, gradient boosting and deep learning
• Deep experience in building and deploying credit risk models, especially underwriting models, in the fintech, lending or financial services industry is highly preferred
• Experience with real‑time models, decisioning engines, and production‑grade machine learning pipelines is preferred
• Expert in Python, SQL and Git
• Experience with workflow orchestration tools, such as Metaflow is preferred
• Experience deploying and managing models within a cloud platform (AWS, SageMaker)
• Strong foundation in statistics and machine learning, and knowledge of experimental design
• Excellent project management and communication skills
• Strong critical thinking and problem‑solving ability
• Nice to have experience: cloud data warehouses (e.g. Snowflake, Databricks), Arize, Metaflow, SageMaker, decision engines (e.g. Taktile), feature stores (e.g. Tecton)
• Bachelor's degree in Financial/Applied Math, Operations Research, Economics, and/or Statistics. Masters/PhD is a plus

Compensation

Annual Salary: $174,000 - $220,000 CAD

Annual Bonus: You have the potential to earn an additional 12% annual bonus

Total Rewards

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Flexible time‑off policy
• Paid parental leave
• RRSP match
• Wellness reimbursement
• Volunteering days
• Annual professional development budget
• Charitable donation match

Our Core Values

• Drive the Mission: We believe in financial opportunity for underserved small businesses. We say “yes” when others say “no.”
• Keep It Real: We value direct communication, candid feedback, and authenticity. We are an open book.
• Act With Kindness: We create an environment where caring is cool and helping is the norm. We do the right thing.
• Shoot for Extraordinary: We are inspired by innovative thinking and continuous improvement. We never settle for yesterday’s best.

Equal Opportunity Employment Information

It is the policy of Forward Financing to ensure equal employment opportunity without discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, religion, national origin, status, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital or domestic/civil partnership status, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or any other basis protected by law. We welcome and encourage applications from people with disabilities. Please let us know should you require any accommodations. As part of our commitment to a streamlined and equitable hiring experience, we use AI tools to assist with candidate screening and assessment.