Senior Machine Learning Engineer (Research Scientist) - Fraud

Plaid
New York, Seattle, San Francisco
Workplace: HybridFull timeUSD 228,960 - 315,360 annuallyFunction: Data Science & Machine LearningExperience: 2-4 yearsEducation: phdSkills: ["Communication","Research leadership","Scientific rigor","Collaboration","Experiment design"]

Lead applied research to develop next-generation fraud detection models across relational graphs, sequential events, images, and video data. Design rigorous experiments and evaluation methods that reflect real-world fraud dynamics, using approaches like Graph Neural Networks and transformer-based foundation models. Partner with machine learning engineers to translate research into production-ready solutions, and share findings to raise the bar for fraud ML across Plaid’s network.

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Plaid
Plaid
2 hours ago

Senior Machine Learning Engineer (Research Scientist) - Fraud

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Source: Company careers pageValidated by: Fursa AI
Last checked: 1 hour agoStatus: Live

Job Summary

Lead applied research to develop next-generation fraud detection models across relational graphs, sequential events, images, and video data. Design rigorous experiments and evaluation methods that reflect real-world fraud dynamics, using approaches like Graph Neural Networks and transformer-based foundation models. Partner with machine learning engineers to translate research into production-ready solutions, and share findings to raise the bar for fraud ML across Plaid’s network.
Location: New York, Seattle, San Francisco
Workplace: Hybrid
Employment Type: Full time
Job Function: Data Science & Machine Learning
Seniority: Mid level

Key Responsibilities

  • •Research and prototype state-of-the-art approaches across graph machine learning, sequential modeling, and multimodal learning for fraud detection.
  • •Own and execute a research roadmap that translates ideas and prototypes into production solutions with measurable impact.
  • •Publish and share applied research, collaborating cross-functionally across Data, Product, and Engineering.
  • •Translate research into production-ready solutions in close partnership with Machine Learning Engineers.
  • •Leverage Plaid’s network-level financial data to uncover fraud signals and improve detection while minimizing friction for legitimate users.

Pay and Benefits

Salary: USD 228,960 - 315,360 annually
Perks:Health InsuranceDentalVision401k

Key Requirements

  • •PhD in Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Computer Science, Statistics, Applied Mathematics, or a closely related field (or equivalent research experience).
  • •2–4+ years of relevant industry or research lab experience, ideally post-PhD, with research leadership and translation of research into measurable impact.
  • •Demonstrated scientific rigor, with strong written and verbal communication skills for complex findings.
  • •Strong proficiency in Python and experience building high-quality research prototypes that can inform or transition into production systems.
  • •Experience translating innovative ideas into production solutions with measurable product or customer impact.
Experience:2-4 yearsResearch lab
Education:PhD / Doctorate
Skills:CommunicationResearch leadershipScientific rigorCollaborationExperiment design
Tech Stack:PythonGraph Neural NetworksTransformerMultimodal learning

Company Brief

Plaid
Provides APIs that enable applications to connect with users’ bank accounts, verify financial data, and power payment and account verification workflows for fintechs and financial services companies.
Industry: Fintech Infrastructure
Company Size: Enterprise (1,001+ employees)
Growth: Scaleup
Valuation: Unicorn (USD 1B+)
Funding: Series D
Headquarters: San Francisco, United States
Founded: 2013
WebsiteLinkedIn