Lead Data Scientist, Fraud & AI Detection at Scale

WebHosting; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 215,000 - 270,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity plan

Job summary

Cloudflare in New York City is seeking a senior leader for detection research and ML engineering to build scalable models that identify automated, fraudulent, and malicious activity. The role emphasizes rapid iteration, collaboration with cross-functional teams, and strong data-driven decision making.

The ideal candidate has 8–10 years in DS/ML/Software Eng, deep Python/SQL production experience, and a pragmatic, impact-focused approach to complex problems in a fast-moving environment.

Qualifications

• Fraud and bots at scale experience.
• Strong fundamentals in statistics, ML, and AI.
• 8–10 years of professional experience in Data Science, ML Engineering, or Software Engineering.
• Able to make decisions with incomplete information.
• Proficient in Python and SQL in production environments.
• Comfortable handling ground-truth ambiguity.
• Pragmatic about complexity; avoid over-engineering.
• Disciplined in writing clean, maintainable code.
• Able to connect work to business impact and communicate clearly.

Responsibilities

• Lead the research, design, and evaluate detection models that identify automated, fraudulent, and malicious activity across Internet-scale data
• Mentor others in how to uncover patterns and behaviors that distinguish adversaries from legitimate users.
• Own the detection measurement framework, defining metrics and evaluation strategies for problems where ground truth is noisy, delayed, or contested.
• Drive adoption of promising AI/ML techniques and represent Cloudflare in the broader research community.
• Drive cross-functional partnerships with ML Engineers, Data Engineers, and Product; Influence roadmaps and align detection strategy with company priorities.
• Shape long-term detection strategy, identifying gaps and opportunities that span multiple product areas.

Skills

Fraud/bot detection

Python

SQL

Machine learning

Data science

Ambiguity handling

Production-grade code

Impact communication

Job description

Cloudflare in New York City is seeking a senior leader for detection research and ML engineering to build scalable models that identify automated, fraudulent, and malicious activity. The role emphasizes rapid iteration, collaboration with cross-functional teams, and strong data-driven decision making.

The ideal candidate has 8–10 years in DS/ML/Software Eng, deep Python/SQL production experience, and a pragmatic, impact-focused approach to complex problems in a fast-moving environment.