Senior Associate Data Science

NPCI; Mumbai; On-site; INR 4,000,000 - 7,000,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive medical insurance

Wellness program

Relocation support

Job summary

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) invites applications for an Agentic AI Data Scientist in its Market Innovation division. The role focuses on building next-generation AI systems for India's digital payments ecosystem, combining classical ML with cutting-edge AI architectures, including LLMs and graph-based approaches.

You will collaborate with top academic partners and cross-functional teams to deliver robust, low-latency AI solutions at scale.

Qualifications

• Strong in supervised & unsupervised learning and statistical modeling.
• Experience with NN, CNN, Transformers, GANs.
• Proficiency with Graph AI and LLM-related workflows.
• Hands-on with PyTorch/PyTorch Geometric and CUDA.
• Experience deploying ML models into production environments.

Responsibilities

• Develop and deploy ML/DL models (logistic regression, RF, XGBoost, NN).
• Work on graph-based fraud detection and privacy-preserving AI systems.
• Build and integrate agentic AI capabilities (LLMs, RAG, MCPs).
• Design scalable ML pipelines and APIs for production use.
• Monitor model performance and optimize latency and throughput.

Skills

ML/DL

Graph AI

Generative AI

PyTorch

TensorFlow

GNNs

Model Deployment

Education

PhD preferred

B.Tech/M.Tech/MSc/MCA

Tools

PyTorch Geometric

CUDA

API Development

GPU Optimization

Job description

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) | Full Time

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is a pivotal institution in India's digital payments ecosystem, established by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA). It operates under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, and is incorporated as a “Not for Profit” company under Section 25 of the Companies Act 1956 (now Section 8 of the Companies Act 2013). NPCI is dedicated to building world‑class digital payment infrastructure through innovative and efficient retail payment platforms. As an Equal Opportunity Employer, NPCI is committed to fostering an inclusive workplace culture, with zero tolerance for discrimination based on race, ethnicity, disability, gender identity, or sexual orientation, including support for the LGBTQ+ community.

Our Culture

TheNPCIWAY –OurGuidingPrinciples

At NPCI, we foster a culture of Inclusion, Innovation, and a High-Performance Workplace .

The NPCIWAY isnotjustaframework - it’sasharedcommitmentbyevery individual to align with our evolving business needs, dynamic market conditions, and workforce expectations.

FiveTenetsoftheNPCIWAY

• ForwardThinkingMind-Set


• CustomerFirst


• LeadWith Purpose


• PassiontoDeliver


• AllSucceedTogether

Employee Perks and Benefits

Insurance&Wellness:

• ComprehensiveCoverage :Medical,accidental,andlifeinsurance.


• Employee Assistance Program : Onsite medical center, financial/legal counselling, mental wellness.


• AnnualWellnessBouquet :Holisticwellbeingsupport

Family &Childcare:

• ParentalLeave :Inclusivematernityandpaternityleave.


• Nanny at home Support: Assistance for Working Parents

Mobility&Lifestyle:

• MobilityBenefits :Relocation,transfers,andtravelsupport.


• HomeLoanInterestSupport :Upto50%reimbursement*


• MobileReimbursement :Newhandsetevery2years.


• CarLease,SalaryAdvance,SubsidizedMeals.


• Reward&RecognitionProgram.


• TechnologyInnovation: PatentsandIPRightspolicy.

RetirementPlanning:

• ProvidentFund(PF) and Gratuity Contributions .

Why Join Us

At NPCI, you’ll be part of a purpose-driven organization shaping the future of digital payments in India and beyond. NPCI offers a unique opportunity to work on cutting‑edge projects that directly impact millions. We foster a culture of innovation, inclusion, and high performance, where every individual is empowered to lead with purpose and deliver with passion. With a strong focus on employee wellbeing, continuous learning, and collaborative success, NPCI is more than just a workplace - it’s a platform to grow, contribute, and make a meaningful difference.

You will be part of NPCI’s Market Innovation team, working at the intersection of advanced machine learning, deep learning, graph AI, and Generative AI to build next-generation intelligent systems for India’s digital payments ecosystem.

This role focuses on solving India-scale problems such as fraud detection, mule/AML risk modeling, transaction intelligence, and conversational AI, using both classical ML and cutting‑edge AI architectures (LLMs, GNNs, Transformers, Agentic AI systems).

You will design end‑to‑end AI systems—from problem formulation, feature engineering, and model development to GPU‑accelerated optimization and production deployment, ensuring low latency, scalability, and robustness.

The role offers a unique opportunity to work on:

• Graph-based fraud detection systems


• Agentic AI & LLM-powered platforms (RAG, MCP, workflows)


• GPU/CUDA optimized AI pipelines


• Privacy-preserving and federated AI systems

You will collaborate with top academic institutions (IITs/IISc) and cross‑functional teams to push the boundaries of applied AI in financial systems.

• Job Title: Agentic AI Data Scientist


• Division: NPCI Data Analytics – Market Innovation


• Education: B.Tech / M.Tech / MSc / MCA (PhD preferred) in CS, AI, DS, Mathematics or related field


• Experience Required: 3 to 6 Years


• Employment Type: Full-time


• Role Type: Permanent

Key Responsibilities

Machine Learning & Advanced Modeling

• Develop and deploy ML/DL models (Logistic Regression, RF, XGBoost, NN, CNN, Transformers, GANs)


• Work on imbalanced datasets using advanced sampling and cost-sensitive learning

Graph AI & Advanced Systems

Generative AI & Agentic Systems

• Build LLM-powered applications (chatbots, complaint intelligence, document analysis)

Implement

• Agentic workflows & MCP (Model Context Protocols)


• Prompt engineering & LLM fine-tuning


• Perform EDA, feature engineering (temporal, behavioral, aggregated features)


• Work with structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data


• Latency & throughput


• GPU performance (CUDA-based optimization)

Use libraries such as

• Design custom loss functions (weighted BCE, cost-sensitive)

Apply business-aligned metrics

• Precision@K, Recall, ROC-AUC, PR-AUC


• Use robust validation techniques (cross-validation, time-based splits)

Deployment & Production Systems

• Integrate models into batch and real‑time production systems


• Design scalable ML pipelines & APIs

Monitor

• Performance stability


• Business impact


• Work with data engineers, product teams, and business stakeholders


• Contribute to research, innovation, and academic collaborations


• Stay updated on latest AI advancements (LLMs, Graph AI, Federated Learning)

Requirements

Required Technical Skills

Core ML & Data Science

Strong in:

• Supervised & unsupervised learning


• Statistical modeling (Logistic Regression, DA)


• Tree models (RF, XGBoost, LightGBM)


• NN, CNN, Transformers, GANs

Generative AI & LLM Stack

Hands‑on experience with:

• Prompt engineering, fine‑tuning


• Agent frameworks & MCPs

Graph AI

Experience with:

• GNN, GCN, GAT


• Graph-based fraud detection


• Network analytics

Programming & Tools

Strong proficiency in:

Frameworks:

• PyTorch / TensorFlow


• PyTorch Geometric

Key Skills and Experience Required

Strong foundation in:

• Mathematics, probability, statistics


• Data structures & algorithms

Experience with:

• Imbalanced datasets & sampling techniques


• Custom loss functions & business metrics

Knowledge of

Strong:

• Problem‑solving ability


• Ability to translate business problems into scalable AI systems

Good-to-Have Skills & Experience

Experience in:

• Payments / fintech / banking domain

Exposure to

• Graph analytics on transactional data


• Federated learning & privacy‑preserving AI


• Real‑time streaming systems

Research experience

• Publications in ML/AI conferences or journals

Ability to

• Design AI models inspired by mathematics/physics principles