Senior Data Scientist - Enterprise Credit

Bank of America; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 125,000 - 188,000; Full time

Job summary

Bank of America is seeking a senior data scientist to coordinate and optimize data analysis for revenue opportunities and risk management strategies. You will work with lines of business, deploy advanced analytics, and mentor junior data scientists while delivering practical, scalable AI solutions.

The role requires 5+ years in data science, strong Python/SQL skills, experience with NLP/LLM, and the ability to lead cross-functional teams in a regulated financial environment.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of work experience in a Data Science role or related field.
• Proven ability in learning and strong programming (Python, SQL) skills.
• Strong interest in using data for business insight and experience in building and deploying models.
• Strong desire to learn and willingness to acquire needed knowledge and skills.
• Demonstrated project management skills, including ability to prioritize, meet deadlines and follow through on completion of high-profile projects or initiatives.
• Positive attitude, willingness to collaborate, strong work ethic, and demonstrated personal initiative.
• Organized; able to effectively prioritize and balance multiple efforts in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to lead and influence stakeholders across multiple levels and organizations, aligning technical teams and business stakeholders to deliver actionable insights.
• Ability to identify and remediate risks in a timely manner.
• Ability to navigate the enterprise / source information across multiple functions.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• General knowledge of Enterprise Credit businesses, processes, systems, and policies.
• Experience building and implementing Natural Language Processing (NLP) solutions from scratch.
• Experience using Python packages such as: pandas, NumPy, scikit-learn, spaCy, NLTK, PyTorch, TensorFlow or other advanced scientific/ML/NLP Python packages.
• Hands‑on experience with Large Language Models (LLMs), including prompt engineering, fine‑tuning, or parameter‑efficient adaptation (e.g., LoRA, adapters) for enterprise use cases (e.g., document understanding, semantic search, summarization, or decision support).
• Strong understanding of modern NLP architectures, including transformers, embeddings, attention mechanisms, and vector similarity search.
• Demonstrated experience operationalizing NLP/ML solutions, including model validation, monitoring, drift detection, and iterative improvement post‑deployment.
• Strong understanding of model risk, bias, explainability, and governance considerations, especially in regulated financial environments.
• Ability to document assumptions, limitations, and controls for NLP and generative AI solutions in a manner suitable for senior stakeholders and risk partners.
• Experience mentoring junior data scientists, providing technical guidance on NLP, modeling best practices, and code quality.

Responsibilities

• Coordinates data collection, trend identification, and pattern recognition to drive decision making and data insights.
• Communicates how enterprise information products answer material banking questions leading to decisions.
• Applies agile practices for project management, solution development, deployment, and maintenance.
• Oversees technical documentation capturing business requirements and specifications for analytical solutions.
• Reviews work products for quality and timeliness of models, data science products, and visualizations.
• Identifies potential risks and develops controls to mitigate them.
• Keeps up-to-date with advances in data science and AI to support business analytics.
• Evaluates Proofs of Concepts for Enterprise Credit using emerging AI technologies; assesses feasibility and value.

Skills

Python

SQL

Data analysis

Leadership

Communication

Education

High School Diploma or equivalent

Graduate degree in Data Science

Tools

Pandas

NumPy

scikit-learn

TensorFlow / NLP packages

Job description

Job Description

At Bank of America, we are guided by a common purpose to help make financial lives better through the power of every connection. We do this by driving Responsible Growth and delivering for our clients, teammates, communities and shareholders every day. Being a Great Place to Work and providing a culture of caring is core to how we drive Responsible Growth. We are intentional about fostering an inclusive workplace where every teammate has the opportunity to succeed, build a career and contribute to our shared success. This includes attracting and developing exceptional talent, recognizing and rewarding performance, and supporting our teammates’ physical, emotional, and financial wellness through affordable, competitive and flexible benefits. We value the unique perspectives individuals bring from all backgrounds and career paths - whether shaped by military service, community college education, or a wide range of work and life experiences. These journeys foster resilience, leadership and innovation, strengthening our workforce and positively impact the communities we serve. Bank of America is committed to an in-office culture that supports collaboration, engagement, and career development. Our approach includes clear in-office expectations, while providing an appropriate level of flexibility based on role-specific responsibilities and business needs. At Bank of America, you can build a successful career with opportunities to learn, grow, and make an impact. Join us!

Job Description

This job is responsible for coordinating, reviewing, and optimizing data analysis to create revenue generating opportunities, and overseeing the development of effective risk management strategies. Key responsibilities include working with lines of business to identify and diagnose problems, utilizing sophisticated analytics, and deploying advanced techniques to devise solutions, and clearly communicating recommendations based on findings.

Job expectations include demonstrating leadership, influence, accountability, and a commitment to fostering responsible growth for the enterprise.

Responsibilities

• Coordinates and reviews data collection, trend identification, and pattern recognition, using advanced techniques to drive decision making and identification of data driven insights
• Contributes to the adoption of enterprise information products through communicating in a clear manner how enterprise information products answer material banking questions leading to decisions and actions
• Applies agile practices for project management, solution development, deployment, and maintenance
• Provides oversight and support of technical documentation, capturing the business requirements, and specifications related to the developed analytical solution, and implementation in production
• Reviews work products to ensure adequate quality and timeliness of work deliverables such as quantitative models, data science products, data analysis reports, or data visualizations, while exhibiting the ability to work independently and in a team environment
• Mitigates risk by identifying potential issues and developing controls
• Possesses deep knowledge and subject-matter expertise of the latest advances in the fields of data science and artificial intelligence to support business analytics
• Evaluating Proof of Concepts for Enterprise Credit Business Cases leveraging emerging AI technologies, ensuring alignment with strategic priorities and assessing feasibility, scalability, and value across the model portfolio.
• Supporting Bank policy for Artificial Intelligence models and ensuring risks associated with advanced techniques are identified and mitigated
• Mentoring junior data scientists and analysts, fostering a culture of continuous learning and innovation.

Required Qualifications

• 5+ years of work experience in a Data Science role or related field.
• Proven ability in learning and strong programming (Python, SQL) skills.
• Strong interest in using data for business insight and experience in building and deploying models.
• Strong desire to learn and willingness to acquire needed knowledge and skills.
• Demonstrated project management skills, including ability to prioritize, meet deadlines and follow through on completion of high-profile projects or initiatives.
• Positive attitude, willingness to collaborate, strong work ethic, and demonstrated personal initiative.
• Organized; able to effectively prioritize and balance multiple efforts in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to lead and influence stakeholders across multiple levels and organizations, aligning technical teams and business stakeholders to deliver actionable insights.
• Ability to identify and remediate risks in a timely manner.
• Ability to navigate the enterprise / source information across multiple functions.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• General knowledge of Enterprise Credit businesses, processes, systems, and policies.
• Experience building and implementing Natural Language Processing (NLP) solutions from scratch.
• Experience using Python packages such as: pandas, NumPy, scikit-learn, spaCy, NLTK, PyTorch, TensorFlow or other advanced scientific/ML/NLP Python packages.
• Hands‑on experience with Large Language Models (LLMs), including prompt engineering, fine‑tuning, or parameter‑efficient adaptation (e.g., LoRA, adapters) for enterprise use cases (e.g., document understanding, semantic search, summarization, or decision support).
• Strong understanding of modern NLP architectures, including transformers, embeddings, attention mechanisms, and vector similarity search.
• Demonstrated experience operationalizing NLP/ML solutions, including model validation, monitoring, drift detection, and iterative improvement post‑deployment.
• Strong understanding of model risk, bias, explainability, and governance considerations, especially in regulated financial environments.
• Ability to document assumptions, limitations, and controls for NLP and generative AI solutions in a manner suitable for senior stakeholders and risk partners.
• Experience mentoring junior data scientists, providing technical guidance on NLP, modeling best practices, and code quality.

Desired Qualifications

• 6-10+ years of work experience in Data Science or related field.
• Proven ability to integrate NLP solutions with structured and unstructured enterprise data sources, including APIs, databases, document stores, and search indices.
• Experience working with model inputs and outputs at scale, including chunking strategies, embedding pipelines, and latency/performance tradeoffs in production systems.
• Experience designing multi‑step or agentic workflows, where NLP models reason across tools, data sources, or intermediate outputs to complete complex tasks (e.g., retrieval‑augmented generation, planning‑execution loops).
• Demonstrated success applying NLP or LLM‑based solutions to document‑heavy domains such as credit, risk, compliance, policy interpretation, or underwriting.
• Experience supporting proof‑of‑concept to production transitions, balancing research innovation with enterprise scalability and controls.
• Graduate degree in Data Science, Engineering, Computer Science, Quantitative Theory and Methods, Statistics, Mathematics, Management Science, Economics, Econometrics, Operational Research, Mathematics joint Political Science, or other similar quantitative discipline.

Skills

• Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning
• Business Acumen
• Presentation Skills
• Project Management
• Technical Documentation
• Candidate Screening
• Data Visualization
• Policies, Procedures, and Guidelines Management
• Risk Management
• Written Communications
• Adaptability
• Career Path Design
• Consulting
• Performance Management
• Workforce Opportunity Management

Minimum Education Requirement: High School Diploma / GED / Secondary School or equivalent

Shift: 1st shift (United States of America)

Hours Per Week: 40

Pay Transparency details US - IL - Chicago - 110 N Wacker Dr - Bank Of America Tower Chicago (IL4110)

Pay and benefits information Pay range $125,000.00 - $187,500.00 annualized salary, offers to be determined based on experience, education and skill set. Discretionary incentive eligible

This role is eligible to participate in the annual discretionary plan. Employees are eligible for an annual discretionary award based on their overall individual performance results and behaviors, the performance and contributions of their line of business and/or group; and the overall success of the Company.

Benefits: This role is currently benefits eligible. We provide industry-leading benefits, access to paid time off, resources and support to our employees so they can make a genuine impact and contribute to the sustainable growth of our business and the communities we serve.

Privacy Statement: https://careers.bankofamerica.com/en-us/privacy-notice

At Bank of America, we are guided by a common purpose to help make financial lives better through the power of every connection. Responsible Growth is how we run our company and how we deliver for our clients, teammates, communities and shareholders every day. One of the keys to driving Responsible Growth is being a great place to work for our teammates around the world. We’re devoted to being a diverse and inclusive workplace for everyone. We hire individuals with a broad range of backgrounds and experiences and invest heavily in our teammates and their families by offering competitive benefits to support their physical, emotional, and financial well-being. Bank of America believes both in the importance of working together and offering flexibility to our employees. We use a multi‑faced approach for flexibility, depending on the various roles in our organization. Working at Bank of America will give you a great career with opportunities to learn, grow and make an impact, along with the power to make a difference. Join us!

Partnering Locally Learn about some of the ways Bank of America is making a difference in the communities we serve. Global Impact Learn about the six areas that guide Bank of America’s efforts to help make financial lives better for customers, clients, communities and our teammates. Opportunity and Inclusion Each employee brings unique skills, background and opinions. We see opportunity and inclusion as our platform for innovation and a key component in our success. Our Values Learn about our four values that represent what we believe. Pay Transparency: https://careers.bankofamerica.com/en-us/pay-transparency