Applied ML Manager - Lead Fraud & Identity Models

SentiLink; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 200,000 - 250,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance for you and dependets

401(k) plan with employer match

Flexible paid time off

Regular company‑wide in‑person events

Home office stipend

Job summary

SentiLink builds fraud detection and identity verification models that underpin the US financial system. As Applied ML Manager, you will own a core area end to end and lead a team of 4 scientists, growing to 6 by 2026, coaching, reviewing code, and contributing hands‑on where it matters most.

Data science drives product decisions here, with a growth path into strategic leadership across product and ML domains. We apply AI across products, with a strong stance on safety and data governance.

Qualifications

• 6+ years of industry experience applying machine learning or statistics to real‑world problems, including 3+ years directly managing ML or data science teams.
• Experience leading ML or DS teams in fraud, identity, fintech, banking, or risk domains.
• Strong production ML deployment experience and production‑quality Python code.
• Demonstrated ability to scope solutions quickly with standard tooling and deep dive when needed.
• Comfortable working end to end with measurable business impact and governance constraints.
• Legally authorized to work in the United States and reside in the U.S.

Responsibilities

• Directly manage a team of applied ML scientists, 4 today and growing to 6 by end of 2026.
• Own execution for your area: priorities, delivery, and results.
• Coach and mentor team members, review code, and contribute hands‑on where it matters.
• Partner with senior leadership, Product, Engineering, and Risk to prioritize work.
• Communicate progress, tradeoffs, and results clearly to stakeholders.
• Develop and improve fraud detection and identity models across the full lifecycle.
• Research emerging fraud patterns and design analyses that inform product decisions.
• Lead AI and AI governance initiatives to ensure safety and responsible deployment.

Skills

ML leadership

Team management

Fraud domain

Production ML

Python coding

Data governance

Education

PhD/MSc in CS/Stats/Math

Bachelor's/Master's/PhD in quantitative field

Tools

Python

PostgreSQL

AWS

XGBoost

scikit-learn

pandas

Elasticsearch/OpenSearch

Neo4j

MLflow

Flyte

LLM tooling

Job description

SentiLink builds fraud detection and identity verification models that underpin the US financial system. As Applied ML Manager, you will own a core area end to end and lead a team of 4 scientists, growing to 6 by 2026, coaching, reviewing code, and contributing hands‑on where it matters most.

Data science drives product decisions here, with a growth path into strategic leadership across product and ML domains. We apply AI across products, with a strong stance on safety and data governance.