Senior Specialist - Data Science

Ally Financial; Detroit (MI); Hybrid; USD 85,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Signing bonus

Relocation assistance

Equity

Job summary

Ally Financial is seeking a Senior Specialist - Data Science to apply advanced analytics, ML, and Generative AI techniques across the enterprise. You will collaborate with stakeholders to translate business needs into scalable AI solutions, develop rigorous evaluation frameworks, and drive responsible AI governance.

The role emphasizes productionization, MLOps practices, and mentorship within a broad data science program.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a quantitative field and 3+ years in data science or related area.
• Hands-on experience with Generative AI, LLMs, and prompt engineering.
• Proficiency in Python and ML libraries; strong data wrangling and analytics.
• Experience deploying ML/AI in production with monitoring and governance.

Responsibilities

• Analyze large datasets to identify patterns and insights for business problems.
• Design, develop, and evaluate ML models with proper validation and monitoring.
• Build Generative AI solutions using foundation models, embeddings, and RAG techniques.
• Collaborate with business and tech teams to translate analytics into actionable recommendations.

Skills

Analytical thinking

Communication skills

Problem solving

Team collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Data Science, CS, Stats, Math, Engineering, or equivalent

Master's degree in relevant quantitative discipline

Tools

Python

SQL

scikit-learn

PyTorch

TensorFlow

AWS

Azure

GCP

MLOps

RAG

Embeddings

Job description

Ally and Your CareerAlly Financial only succeeds when its people do - and that’s more than some cliché people put on job postings. We love this stuff! We see our people as, well, people - with interests, families, friends, dreams, and causes that are all important to them. Our focus is on the health and safety of our teammates as well as work-life balance and diversity and inclusion. From generous benefits to a variety of employee resource groups, we strive to build paths that encourage employees to stretch themselves professionally. We want to help you grow, develop, and learn new things. You’re constantly evolving, so shouldn’t your opportunities be, too?Work Schedule : Ally designates roles as (1) fully on-site, (2) hybrid, or (3) fully remote. Hybrid roles are generally expected to be in the office a certain number of days per week as indicated by your manager. Your hiring manager will discuss this role's specific work requirements with you during the hiring process. All work requirements are subject to change at any time based on leader discretion and/or business need.The OpportunityThe Senior Specialist - Data Science is responsible for applying advanced data science, machine learning, and Generative AI techniques to solve complex business problems and enable AI-powered capabilities across the enterprise. This role will transform complex data into meaningful insights and develop, evaluate, and deploy analytical and AI solutions that support Ally Vision.The ideal candidate combines strong expertise in data analysis, statistical methods, machine learning, and programming with experience applying Generative AI and large language models (LLMs) to real-world business problems. This individual will partner closely with business and technology stakeholders to identify opportunities, translate business needs into analytical solutions, and ensure models and AI applications are accurate, scalable, responsible, and effective.The Work ItselfData Science & Advanced Analytics: Analyze large and complex datasets using statistical, machine learning, and advanced analytical techniques to identify patterns, generate insights, and solve business problems.Machine Learning Model Development: Design, develop, evaluate, and optimize machine learning models using appropriate statistical and ML methodologies, including feature engineering, model validation, performance testing, and ongoing monitoring.Generative AI & LLM Solutions: Develop and evaluate Generative AI solutions using foundation models, including prompt engineering, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), embeddings, semantic search, and agentic AI techniques where appropriate.Model Evaluation & Experimentation: Develop rigorous evaluation frameworks and experimentation approaches to measure model quality, accuracy, relevance, safety, and business impact. Evaluate alternative approaches and communicate technical trade-offs and recommendations.Data Preparation & Feature Engineering: Acquire, cleanse, transform, and integrate structured and unstructured data from multiple sources to support analytical modeling and AI solutions.Productionization & MLOps: Partner with engineering teams to deploy data science and AI solutions into production environments and support model lifecycle management, monitoring, reproducibility, performance optimization, and scalability.Business Partnership: Collaborate with business and technology partners to define problems, identify appropriate data science approaches, translate analytical findings into actionable recommendations, and communicate complex concepts to technical and non-technical audiences.Responsible AI & Governance: Apply appropriate controls and governance practices related to model risk, explainability, data privacy, security, bias, and responsible use of AI.Technical Leadership: Mentor less-experienced data scientists, contribute to technical design and methodology decisions, and help establish reusable data science, machine learning, and AI best practices.The Qualifications We’re Looking For :Minimum Qualifications3+ years of relevant experience.Bachelor's degree in Data Science, Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics, Engineering, or equivalent.Preferred Qualifications3+ years of experience in data science, machine learning, advanced analytics, or a related quantitative field, with advanced programming skills in Python and common data science/ML libraries.Master's degree in relevant quantitative discipline.Experience with SQL and large, complex datasets, including preparing, transforming, and analyzing structured and unstructured data.Experience applying statistical analysis, predictive modeling, machine learning, feature engineering, experimentation, and model evaluation to solve complex business problems.Hands-on experience developing or evaluating Generative AI and LLM-based solutions, including RAG, embeddings, semantic search, prompt engineering, and/or agentic AI.Experience with data science and machine learning frameworks such as scikit-learn, PyTorch, or TensorFlow, as well as integrating internally hosted or third-party foundation models.Experience working within AWS, Azure, or GCP, with familiarity deploying analytical, machine learning, or AI solutions and applying MLOps/LLMOps practices such as monitoring, versioning, reproducibility, and observability.Knowledge of Responsible AI, model governance, data privacy, security, and appropriate handling of sensitive data and PII.Strong analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills, with the ability to translate complex analytical findings into meaningful business insights and provide technical guidance to other data scientists or analysts.How We'll Have Your BackAlly's compensation program offers market-competitive base pay and pay-for-performance incentives (bonuses) based on achieving personal and company goals. Our Total Rewards program includes industry-leading compensation and benefits plus additional incentives that are designed to meet your needs and those of your family so you can get the most out of your career and your life, including:Time Away: Program starts at 20 paid time off days in addition to 11 paid holidays and 8 hours of volunteer time off yearly (time off days are prorated based on start date and program varies based on full or part-time status and management level).Planning for the Future: plan for the near and long term with an industry-leading 401K retirement savings plan with matching and company contributions, student loan pay downs and 529 educational save up assistance programs, tuition reimbursement, employee stock purchase plan, and financial learning center and financial coach access.Supporting your Health & Well-being: flexible health and insurance options including medical, dental and vision, employee, spouse and child life insurance, short- and long-term disability, pre-tax Health Savings Account with employer contributions, Healthcare FSA, critical illness, accident & hospital indemnity insurance, and a total well-being program that helps you and your family stay on track physically, socially, emotionally, and financially.Building a Family: adoption, surrogacy and fertility assistance as well as paid parental and caregiver leave, Dependent Day Care FSA back-up child and adult/elder care days and childcare discounts.Work-Life Integration: other benefits including Mentally Fit Employee Assistance Program, subsidized and discounted Weight Watchers program and other employee discount programs.Other Compensations: depending on the role for which you are considered, you may be eligible for travel allowances, relocation assistance, a signing bonus and/or equity.To view more detailed information about Ally’s Total Rewards, please visit this link: https://www.ally.com/content/dam/pdf/corporate/ally-total-rewards-snapshot.pdfWho We Are :Ally Financial is a customer-centric, leading digital financial services company with passionate customer service and innovative financial solutions. We are relentlessly focused on \"Doing it Right\" and being a trusted financial-services provider to our consumer, commercial, and corporate customers. For more information, visit www.ally.com .Ally is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy status, marital status, military or veteran status, genetic disposition or any other reason protected by law.In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if after review of the position expectations, you believe that you may need a medical accommodation to fulfill the duties of this role, please email [e-mail] with details of your accommodation request.Base Pay Range$85,000.00 - $150,000.00An individual's position in the range is determined by the specific role, the scope and responsibilities of the role, work experience, education, certification(s), training, and additional qualifications. We review internal pay, the competitive market, and business environment prior to extending an offer.Incentive Compensation:This position is eligible to participate in our annual incentive plan.