Job Posting:  Lead Data Scientist

Location: Toronto and Vaughan, Ontario (in Office)
Company: SCORE Statistical Consulting Inc. (www.scorestat.com)

Position Overview

We are seeking a strategic and hands-on Lead Data Scientist to drive innovation and partner with high-value enterprise clients in financial services, private sector industries, and select public sector organizations. In this key leadership role, you will develop and manage advanced payment probability models, oversee model validations, and provide data-driven insights that enhance financial decision-making for our clients.

This role requires a blend of technical expertise, business acumen, and leadership to ensure our solutions meet market demands and provide maximum value by applying analytical concepts to business solutions. You will collaborate with a team of data scientists and senior executives and help enterprise clients harness data science to optimize credit risk, payment probability, and fraud detection strategies.

Key Responsibilities

Data Science Leadership

• Lead the development, enhancement, and deployment of advanced payment probability models for financial institutions, government agencies, and organizations managing accounts receivables.
• Oversee the full model lifecycle from conception and validation to optimization and implementation.
• Ensure models are robust, scalable and aligned with industry best practices during development, validation, and deployment, and maintain the highest standards of quality and performance.
• Define and track key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure model accuracy, efficiency, and business impact.
• Remain curious when monitoring, refining, and adapting models to improve performance and stay aligned with changing market conditions.
• Stay ahead of emerging trends and technologies to continuously enhance our data science capabilities, and drive innovation by analyzing and presenting potential machine learning, AI, and advanced statistical techniques to be integrated into our modeling frameworks.

Client Partnership & Consulting

• Act as a trusted advisor to clients and partners, providing strategic guidance on leveraging predictive models to optimize financial decision-making.
• Work closely with executive stakeholders, data teams, and business leaders to understand their challenges and deliver tailored, data-driven solutions.
• Present tangible and well thought out insights and recommendations to senior leadership, translating complex technical concepts into clear, measurable, and actionable business strategies.
• Provide consulting and strategic guidance on credit risk, payment probability, and fraud detection solutions.

Teamwork & Collaboration

• Collaborate with a team of data scientists, consultants and technology experts, fostering a culture of excellence and continuous learning.
• Promote cross-functional collaboration with product development, technology, and client success teams to ensure alignment between data science initiatives and business objectives.
• Create and maintain the applicable internal and client-facing documentation to support the full sales and delivery lifecycle and technical projects to deliver models and results.
• Ensure data integrity, consistency, and compliance with internal policies, industry regulations and data privacy standards.

Delivery Excellence

• Excellent organizational and time-management skills with the ability to manage many / multiple tasks or initiatives simultaneously.
• Proven ability to independently create high quality client-facing documentation and presentations based on a diligent attention to detail, as well as lead workshops with clients and senior executives.
• Strong desire to support the corporate strategy, delivery roadmap and operations by learning how we operate and reinforcing our approach with all members of the team as we work together to meet business goals.

What You Bring

Education

• Master's or Ph.D., or Undergraduate Degree in Data Science, Computer Science, Statistics, Applied Mathematics, or a related field.

Technical Expertise & Industry Knowledge

• Minimum 5-7 years of experience in data science, with a focus on predictive modeling, machine learning, and AI techniques.
• Minimum 3-5 years of experience in a project leadership role requiring a high level of collaboration and cross-functional teamwork, with clear examples of successfully delivering (or the ability to deliver) on the four (4) key responsibilities above.
• Proven track record in building and deploying predictive models, specifically in financial services (e.g., credit scoring, payment probability, fraud detection), and where previous experience with financial institutions or in the payments industry is strongly preferred.
• Exemplary analytical problem-solving skills, including solid statistics foundation, strong business judgment, ability to navigate ambiguity, and identify and synthesize insights from analysis.
• Proficiency in Python, R, SQL, and experience with machine learning frameworks such as TensorFlow, Scikit-learn, PyTorch.
• Experience with SAS, SPSS and visualization tools.

Our Total Rewards Package

Total rewards include a competitive base salary with performance-based compensation aligned to individual and company success, and a full range of health and well-being benefits.

Think you would be a good fit for our Lead Data Scientist position? We want to hear from you!

About Us

SCORE is a trusted partner in financial services, providing strategic advisory consulting and data-driven solutions that deliver clients a competitive edge in risk and recoveries. Our decision science helps Canada’s largest lenders automate accounts receivable management, optimizing processes and maximizing returns.

We’re seeking a candidate who understands the consumer lending lifecycle, values client success, and leverages data and analytics to drive innovation. Join the SCORE team and help set industry benchmarks while delivering exceptional results.

Interview Process
We’ll reach out to candidates of interest to schedule an interview. We do our best to communicate outcomes to all applicants by email or phone call.

Accommodation

We welcome applications from all qualified individuals, including, but not limited to women, persons with disabilities, visible minorities (racialized), Indigenous Peoples and persons of any gender identity and sexual orientation. We are committed to a positive, supportive and inclusive environment. Please let us know if you would like to request accommodation during any part of the recruitment process.

Hiring Process

Candidates must be legally eligible to work in Canada. Proof of permanent residency or Canadian citizenship is a condition of employment. The successful candidate will be required to undergo local police check and a federal background check (including criminal and credit history) upon hire and on an annual basis thereafter.