Software Engineering - Lead Data Scientist

FICO; Oregon; Hybrid; USD 105,000 - 165,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Inclusive culture

Competitive compensation

Professional learning opportunities

Work-life balance

Employee resource groups

Social events

Job summary

FICO is seeking a Lead Data Scientist to build and run ML and Generative AI solutions for consumer applications. You will construct data pipelines, develop models, deploy them to AWS, monitor performance, and retrain as needed. You will also set ML engineering best practices and mentor engineers.

The role emphasizes production-quality data engineering, experimentation, and collaboration with product, marketing, and InfoSec to ensure secure, compliant data handling.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Statistics, or related field.
• Strong Python for data engineering and ML (pandas, NumPy, scikit-learn, PySpark).
• Experience building data pipelines and processing large datasets with Spark/Redshift.
• Hands-on experience with ML frameworks (XGBoost, TensorFlow, PyTorch).
• Experience operationalizing ML models (deployment, monitoring, retraining, CI/CD).
• Experience with AWS services (S3, Glue, Lambda, Bedrock).
• Experience with LLMs (Claude, OpenAI GPT) and Generative AI production use.
• Knowledge of statistics, experimental design, hypothesis testing.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain Python data pipelines ingesting, cleaning, transforming large datasets.
• Develop ML models (propensity, churn, segmentation, forecasting) from framing to evaluation.
• Deploy models to production in AWS with monitoring and retraining.
• Design, evaluate, and improve LLM prompts; integrate Generative AI into apps.
• Lead design reviews, code reviews, and mentor engineers/analysts.
• Collaborate with product/marketing to measure business impact via experiments.
• Ensure secure, compliant handling of sensitive consumer data.

Skills

Python for data engineering

Pandas/NumPy

scikit-learn

PySpark

SQL

AWS

CI/CD

Docker

LLMs

Prompt design

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in CS/Data Science/Statistics

Tools

Spark

Redshift

SageMaker

MLflow

Airflow/Step Functions

Job description

FICO (NYSE: FICO) is a leading global analytics software company, helping businesses in 100+ countries make better decisions. Join our world-class team today and fulfill your career potential!

The Opportunity

The myFICO (Scores B2C) engineering team is seeking a Lead Data Scientist to build and run machine learning and Generative AI solutions in our consumer applications. This lead-level software engineering role builds the data pipelines that prepare large datasets for modeling, develops ML models and puts them into production with monitoring and retraining, and measures business impact through experimentation. You will also set ML engineering best practices for the team.

What You’ll Contribute

Build and maintain Python data pipelines that ingest, clean, and transform large datasets into reliable, analysis-ready data and ML features. Profile and validate data, and put quality checks in place so models and analyses can be trusted. Develop machine learning models, such as propensity, churn, segmentation, and forecasting, from problem framing through evaluation. Deploy models to production in AWS for batch and real-time scoring, monitor performance and drift, and automate retraining. Design, evaluate, and improve LLM prompts, and integrate Generative AI capabilities into existing applications. Design and analyze A/B tests to measure business impact, and explain results to product and marketing partners. Lead design discussions and code reviews, mentor engineers and analysts, and set ML engineering best practices. Partner with database engineering, product management, and InfoSec to build secure, compliant solutions that handle sensitive consumer data responsibly. Use AI coding assistants and agentic workflows, such as Claude Code, Cursor, and GitHub Copilot, to accelerate delivery while reviewing and refining their output.

What We’re Seeking

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Statistics, or a related field, with demonstrated experience in data science, machine learning engineering, or applied AI, including models running in production. Strong Python for data engineering and ML (pandas, NumPy, scikit-learn, PySpark), with comfort working in Jupyter notebooks. Proven experience building data pipelines and processing large datasets with Spark, Redshift, or similar technologies, plus expert SQL skills for complex queries on large datasets. Hands‑on experience with ML frameworks such as XGBoost, TensorFlow, or PyTorch. Experience operationalizing ML models, including deployment, monitoring, retraining, and CI/CD (SageMaker, MLflow, Docker, or similar), and running data and ML workloads in AWS (S3, Glue, Lambda, Bedrock, or similar). Experience with LLMs (Claude, OpenAI GPT, or similar), including prompt design, evaluation, and deploying Generative AI solutions in production. Strong grounding in statistics, experimental design, and hypothesis testing. Production ownership, including code review, release management, and mentoring, with the ability to explain technical results to non-technical partners. Experience with RAG workflows, vector stores, MCP server integrations, LLM fine-tuning, workflow orchestration (Airflow, Step Functions), or regulated consumer data such as credit and financial services is a plus.

Our Offer to You

• An inclusive culture strongly reflecting our core values: Act Like an Owner, Delight Our Customers and Earn the Respect of Others.
• The opportunity to make an impact and develop professionally by leveraging your unique strengths and participating in valuable learning experiences.
• Highly competitive compensation, benefits and rewards programs that encourage you to bring your best every day and be recognized for doing so.
• An engaging, people-first work environment offering work/life balance, employee resource groups, and social events to promote interaction and camaraderie.

The targeted base pay range for this role is: $105,000 to $165,000 with this range reflecting differences in candidate knowledge, skills and experience.

Why Make a Move to FICO?

At FICO, you can develop your career with a leading organization in one of the fastest-growing fields in technology today - Big Data analytics. You’ll play a part in our commitment to help businesses use data to improve every choice they make, using advances in artificial intelligence, machine learning, optimization, and much more.

FICO makes a real difference in the way businesses operate worldwide:

• Credit Scoring - FICO Scores are used by 90 of the top 100 US lenders.
• Fraud Detection and Security - 4 billion payment cards globally are protected by FICO fraud systems.
• Lending - 3/4 of US mortgages are approved using the FICO Score.

Global trends toward digital transformation have created tremendous demand for FICO’s solutions, placing us among the world’s top 100 software companies by revenue. We help many of the world’s largest banks, insurers, retailers, telecommunications providers and other firms reach a new level of success. Our success is dependent on really talented people - just like you - who thrive on the collaboration and innovation that’s nurtured by a diverse and inclusive environment. We’ll provide the support you need, while ensuring you have the freedom to develop your skills and grow your career. Join FICO and help change the way business thinks!

Learn more about how you can fulfil your potential atFICO promotes a culture of inclusion and seeks to attract a diverse set of candidates for each job opportunity. We are an equal employment opportunity employer and we’re proud to offer employment and advancement opportunities to all candidates without regard to race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, pregnancy, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. Research has shown that women and candidates from underrepresented communities may not apply for an opportunity if they don’t meet all stated qualifications. While our qualifications are clearly related to role success, each candidate’s profile is unique and strengths in certain skill and/or experience areas can be equally effective. If you believe you have many, but not necessarily all, of the stated qualifications we encourage you to apply.

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