Data Scientist

Plaid; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 191,000 - 263,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

401(k)

Job summary

Plaid is transforming how people interact with their finances through a data-first approach. The Senior Data Scientist for Network Value (Credit) will shape product strategy, partner with product managers and engineers, and drive data-driven decisions to grow Plaid’s consumer network.

You will translate business questions into analytics projects, build dashboards and KPIs, and run experiments to improve product performance and user experience.

Qualifications

• 5–8+ years of experience as a Data Scientist or in an analytics role.
• Experience as a product data scientist for consumer-facing products.
• Experience with experimentation and strategic insight generation in a product environment.
• Strong SQL skills and ability to drive stakeholder-aligned metrics.
• Experience building data pipelines with Airflow and dbt.
• Strong communication skills for cross-functional partners.

Responsibilities

• Translate business questions into analytics projects and measurable outcomes.
• Create and maintain dashboards, core metrics, OKRs, and KPIs for Credit product.
• Support feature launches through experiments and data-driven decisions.
• Partner on data pipelines and scalable reporting using SQL, Python, Redshift, Databricks, notebooks.

Skills

SQL

Python

Airflow

dbt

Experimentation

Stakeholder comms

Tools

Redshift

Databricks

Notebooks

Job description

Senior Data Scientist - Network Value (Credit)

We believe that the way people interact with their finances will drastically improve in the next few years. We’re dedicated to empowering this transformation by building the tools and experiences that thousands of developers use to create their own products. Plaid powers the tools millions of people rely on to live a healthier financial life. We work with thousands of companies like Venmo, SoFi, several of the Fortune 500, and many of the largest banks to make it easy for people to connect their financial accounts to the apps and services they want to use. Plaid’s network covers 12,000 financial institutions across the US, Canada, UK and Europe. Founded in 2013, the company is headquartered in San Francisco with offices in New York, Seattle, Washington D.C., Raleigh, London, and Amsterdam.

Role Overview

The Network Value Data Science team is helping Plaid build an industry-leading fintech consumer network with best-in-class products and user experiences. We are a product analytics team embedded in key product areas across Plaid. We support some of Plaid’s most important OKRs and help execute on product roadmaps. We translate ambiguous product questions into tractable analysis, serve as analytical thought partners throughout the org, identify opportunities to build better products, and champion a data-first decision-making approach everywhere we go.

You’ll be a Data Scientist supporting Credit, a critical product area within Plaid’s Network Value portfolio. You’ll become a data and analytical thought partner to product managers, engineers, and cross-functional stakeholders, helping shape Credit product strategy, improve product performance and user experience, and grow Plaid’s consumer network. You’ll translate business questions into analytics projects, perform ad-hoc and strategic analysis, improve visibility into core systems through data modeling and dashboarding, create OKRs and KPIs tied to business goals and user experiences, and support feature-shipping decisions through experimentation. You’ll also work with SQL, Python, Redshift, Databricks, notebooks, dbt, and Airflow to enable trustworthy analytics and scalable reporting.

Today, Plaid’s Credit business primarily supports income and asset verification solutions. As cash flow data becomes an increasingly important tool across the lender lifecycle - from acquisition through servicing - you’ll help build cash-flow-based products that enable lenders to approve more borrowers, reduce losses, and reach new segments.

What excites you

• Champion a data-first approach to decision-making across Plaid and help teams use evidence to set direction.
• Partner closely with product managers, engineers, and other stakeholders to define problems, shape product strategy, and execute against roadmaps.
• Translate ambiguous business and product questions into clear analytics projects, decision frameworks, and measurable outcomes.
• Perform ad-hoc and strategic analyses that identify opportunities to improve product performance, user experiences, and business results.
• Build and maintain data models, dashboards, core metrics, OKRs, and KPIs that improve visibility into Credit’s systems and quantify progress against goals.
• Design and analyze experiments that inform feature launches, iteration, and ship decisions.
• Partner on dbt- and Airflow-powered data pipelines and use SQL, Python, Redshift, Databricks, and notebooks to create reliable, scalable analytics.
• Identify novel ways to influence top-line OKRs and help stakeholders make thoughtful prioritization, roadmapping, and execution decisions.
• Over the next year, shape Credit product strategy, improve product performance and user experience, and contribute to growth of Plaid’s consumer network.

What excites us

Must-have Qualifications

• 5–8+ years of experience as a Data Scientist or in a related analytics or data-focused role.
• Experience as a product data scientist helping grow an early-stage or consumer-facing product, ideally from 0 to 1.
• Experience with experimentation, ad-hoc analysis, and strategic insight generation in a product environment.
• Strong SQL skills and experience creating metrics that drive alignment and decision-making with stakeholders.
• Experience driving data-informed performance improvements for user-facing products.
• Experience building or partnering closely on data pipelines using tools such as Airflow and dbt.
• A track record of identifying novel ways to impact a top-line OKR and influencing stakeholders on prioritization, roadmapping, and/or execution.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to explain analytical methods, tradeoffs, and recommendations to product managers, engineers, and other cross-functional partners.

Nice-to-have Qualifications

• Fintech experience, including experience working with raw fintech or financial transaction data.
• Experience with causal inference or machine learning.
• Python proficiency.

Our mission at Plaid is to unlock financial freedom for everyone. To support that mission, we seek to build a diverse team of driven individuals who care deeply about making the financial ecosystem more equitable. We recognize that strong qualifications can come from both prior work experiences and lived experiences. We encourage you to apply to a role even if your experience doesn't fully match the job description. We are always looking for team members that will bring something unique to Plaid!

Plaid is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and values diversity at our company. We do not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, ethnicity, religion or religious belief, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, sexual stereotypes, age, military or veteran status, disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state, and local laws. Plaid is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities in our recruiting process. If you need any assistance with your application or interviews due to a disability, please let us know at [e-mail].

Please review our Candidate Privacy Notice here.

Additional compensation in the form(s) of equity and/or commission are dependent on the position offered. Plaid provides a comprehensive benefit plan, including medical, dental, vision, and 401(k). Pay is based on factors such as (but not limited to) scope and responsibilities of the position, candidate's work experience and skillset, and location. Pay and benefits are subject to change at any time, consistent with the terms of any applicable compensation or benefit plans.

Compensation Range: $190.8K - $262.8K