Lead Machine Learning Engineer - Risk Decisioning

Cleo; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity top-ups

Hybrid work options

Pension - 6% matched (UK)

Private Medical Insurance

Online mental health support (Spill)

Sabbatical after 4 years

25 days annual leave + holidays

Job summary

Cleo is seeking a leader to drive the Risk Decisioning data science function, building and deploying production ML models that feed into our fintech product. You will manage ML engineers, set the roadmap, and work across data science, ML engineering, and product teams to scale impact.

This role requires extensive experience delivering ML systems, managing high-performing teams, and writing production-grade Python code.

Qualifications

• Proven track record leading ML teams to production.
• Experience delivering ML projects at scale.
• Strong Python coding for production systems.
• Ability to align ML roadmap with business goals.
• Excellent stakeholder communication.

Responsibilities

• Oversee ML engineers across squads and plan headcount.
• Drive model and product improvements from data.
• Own ML roadmap and ensure business impact.
• Collaborate with risk and product teams.

Skills

Lead ML teams

Production ML deployment

Python production code

ML roadmap ownership

Staying current with research

Tools

Kubernetes

Docker

OpenSearch

Vector databases

Job description

About Cleo

At Cleo, we’re not just building another fintech app. We’re embarking on a mission to fundamentally change humanity’s relationship with money. Imagine a world where everyone, regardless of background or income, has access to a hyper‑intelligent financial advisor in their pocket. That’s the future we’re creating.

Cleo is a rare success story: a profitable, fast‑growing unicorn with over $300 million in ARR and growing over 2x year‑over‑year. This isn’t just a job; it’s a chance to join a team of brilliant, driven individuals who are passionate about making a real difference.

We have an exceptionally high bar for talent, seeking individuals who are not only at the top of their field but also embody our culture of collaboration and positive impact.

If you’re driven by complex challenges that push your expertise, the chance to shape something truly transformative, and the potential to share in Cleo’s success as we scale, while growing alongside a company that’s scaling fast, this might be your perfect fit.

Follow us on LinkedIn to keep up to date with new product features and insights from the team.

About The Role

You’ll join the existing Risk Decisioning data science function here at Cleo; a thoughtful and collaborative team of ML engineers, analysts, and data engineers with significant industry experience that is at the heart of everything we do at Cleo. You’ll build and deploy production models that developers will feed directly into the product.

This position is essential in the expansion of both product and business. We are highly data‑driven, whether that be understanding natural language, deriving insights from financial data, or determining which financial product is best suited to a user. We have interesting problems to solve on an ever‑increasing scale.

You’ll be working on a hugely impactful workstream, focused on the machine learning that underpins our Risk Decisioning feature.

Check out this blog on Isabelle's journey in ML at Cleo.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Understanding core problems faced by our Risk Decisioning team and coordinating the ML function’s contribution to solving them.
• Finding opportunities for model and product improvements in Cleo’s extensive datasets of customer behaviour.
• You’ll be responsible for people management of the ML engineers in your squads, coaching and developing them to deliver on the roadmap.
• You’ll build out the headcount plan and will be responsible for all hiring and team development within your area to support our growth.

About You

• Extensive experience building and deploying Machine Learning models to production.
• Experience managing and developing high performing teams of data scientists and ML engineers.
• Habits of keeping abreast of the latest research and experimenting productively with new technologies.
• Experience owning an ML roadmap, driving new ideas through to seeing business impact.
• Ability to write production quality Python code and a willingness to be somewhat hands‑on.

Nice to haves

• Domain knowledge of traditional risk models.
• A strong ability to communicate findings to non‑technical stakeholders in a concise and engaging manner.
• Experience with containers and container orchestration: Kubernetes, Docker, and/or Mesos.
• Experience using vector databases such as OpenSearch.

The recruitment process

1. Interview with a Recruiter (30 mins)
2. Interview with the Hiring Manager (30 mins)
3. Python Programming Interview (45 mins)
4. Whiteboard Interview (60 mins)
5. Management Skills Interview (60 mins)

What do you get for all your hard work?

• A competitive compensation package (base + equity) with 3‑yearly reviews, aligned to our termly OKR planning cycles.
• The salary bandings for this position are:
• UK Hybrid: £120,000 – £150,000
• UK Remote: £110,400 – £133,400
• Europe: €126,000 – €152,250
• Work at one of the fastest-growing tech startups, backed by top VC firms, Balderton & EQT Ventures.
• A clear progression plan. We want you to keep growing. That means trying new things, leading others, challenging the status quo and owning your impact. Always with our complete support.
• Flexibility. We can’t fight for the world’s financial health if we’re not healthy ourselves. We work with everyone to make sure they have the balance they need to do their best work.
• Work where you work best. We’re a globally distributed team. If you live in London we have a hybrid approach, we’d love you to spend one day a week or more in our beautiful office. If you’re outside of London, we’ll encourage you to spend a couple of days with us a few times per year. And we’ll cover your travel costs, naturally.
• Company‑wide performance reviews every 4 months.
• Generous pay increases for high‑performing team members.
• Equity top‑ups awarded across all levels in performance reviews.
• 25 days annual leave a year + public holidays (+ an additional day for every year you spend at Cleo, up to 30 days).
• 1 month paid sabbatical after 4 years at Cleo.
• 6% employer‑matched pension in the UK.
• Private Medical Insurance via Vitality, dental cover, and life assurance.
• Online mental health support via Spill.
• Enhanced parental leave.
• Workplace Nursery Scheme.
• Paid for access to multiple AI platforms (ChatGPT, Codex, Claude).
• Access to the latest AI coding models.
• Pick your kit - choose between a Windows or an Apple computer.
• Regular socials and activities, online and in‑person.
• And many more!

We strongly encourage applications from people of colour, the LGBTQ+ community, people with disabilities, neurodivergent people, parents, carers, and people from lower socio‑economic backgrounds.

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