Senior Data Scientist - Data Foundations & AI

Engineering

New York

We build simple yet innovative consumer products and developer APIs that shape how everybody interacts with money and the financial system.

We believe that the way people interact with their finances will drastically improve in the next few years. We’re dedicated to empowering this transformation by building the tools and experiences that thousands of developers use to create their own products. Plaid powers the tools millions of people rely on to live a healthier financial life. We work with thousands of companies like Venmo, SoFi, several of the Fortune 500, and many of the largest banks to make it easy for people to connect their financial accounts to the apps and services they want to use. Plaid’s network covers 12,000 financial institutions across the US, Canada, UK and Europe. Founded in 2013, the company is headquartered in San Francisco with offices in New York, Washington D.C., London and Amsterdam.

The Data Foundation & AI team builds advanced ML/AI models and applications that enable product teams to deliver intelligence at scale. We design infrastructure and abstractions that make AI development faster, more reliable, and more impactful. From embeddings and representation learning to applied AI systems, our work provides the building blocks for the next generation of financial services on Plaid.

You’ll be a Senior Data Scientist on the Data Foundation & AI team at Plaid. In this role, you will define and operationalize quality measurement across our enrichment and AI systems, ensuring our products deliver reliable, high-impact outcomes for customers. You’ll own and evolve evaluation frameworks, investigate customer-facing quality issues, and build automation to accelerate iteration and improvement cycles. Partnering closely with product and engineering, you’ll use data-driven insights to inform roadmap decisions and raise the bar for quality across our AI-powered experiences.

Responsibilities

Defining quality metrics that shape product direction
Turning ambiguous customer complaints into structured investigations
Building evaluation systems that scale
Measuring AI system effectiveness in a principled way
Automating workflows using modern AI tools
Influencing roadmap decisions through data

Qualifications

5+ years of experience in data science or analytics roles
Experience defining evaluation and metrics frameworks
Strong SQL and Python skills
Experience investigating ambiguous problems end-to-end
Ability to operate independently and influence stakeholders
Clear communication of trade-offs and insights
Experience evaluating AI or ML systems is a plus
Ability to thrive in a collaborative environment, working with both technical and non-technical partners to drive measurable outcomes

$174,000.00 - $260,400.00 per year

The target base salary for this position ranges from $174,000/year to $260,400 in Zone 1. The target base salary will vary based on the job location.

Our geographic zones are as follows:

Zone 1 - New York City and San Francisco Bay Area

Zone 2 - Los Angeles, Seattle, Washington D.C.

Zone 3 - Austin, Boston, Denver, Houston, Portland, Sacramento, San Diego

Zone 4 - Raleigh-Durham and all other US cities

Additional compensation in the form(s) of equity and/or commission are dependent on the position offered. Plaid provides a comprehensive benefit plan, including medical, dental, vision, and 401(k). Pay is based on factors such as (but not limited to) scope and responsibilities of the position, candidate's work experience and skillset, and location. Pay and benefits are subject to change at any time, consistent with the terms of any applicable compensation or benefit plans.

Our mission at Plaid is to unlock financial freedom for everyone. To support that mission, we seek to build a diverse team of driven individuals who care deeply about making the financial ecosystem more equitable. We recognize that strong qualifications can come from both prior work experiences and lived experiences. We encourage you to apply to a role even if your experience doesn't fully match the job description. We are always looking for team members that will bring something unique to Plaid!

Plaid is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and values diversity at our company. We do not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, ethnicity, religion or religious belief, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, sexual stereotypes, age, military or veteran status, disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state, and local laws. Plaid is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities in our recruiting process. If you need any assistance with your application or interviews due to a disability, please let us know at accommodations@plaid.com.

Please review our Candidate Privacy Notice here.

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