Staff Data Scientist

Join us to build a more rewarding financial future for all Canadians

At Neo, we’re on a mission to build a more rewarding financial future for all Canadians. Life at a rapidly scaling tech startup isn’t for everyone. It’s complex, fast-paced, high-pressure, but also incredibly fulfilling. Since its founding in 2019, Neo has gained incredible traction and is one of the fastest-growing fintech companies in Canada.

• #1 on Deloitte’s Technology Fast 50 for 2023, 2024, and 2025 — the first company ever to achieve a three-peat at the top!

• #1 Fastest Growing Company in Canada for 2024 by Globe & Mail

• Top-ranked mobile apps and credit cards

• Team of 500+ people

• 1M+ customers

• 10K+ retail partners
  
  

The Role

We're looking for a Staff Data Scientist to lead technical strategy and execution across our data science function. In this role you will own end-to-end model development — from problem framing and feature engineering through to production validation and performance monitoring — across credit risk, fraud, and marketing. You'll mentor and develop a team of data scientists, shape the DS vision, and collaborate closely with business and executive stakeholders to identify and prioritize high-value opportunities.

This is a high-impact, senior individual contributor role. You'll own model quality and outcomes end-to-end — ensuring the models we build are rigorous, trustworthy, and commercially impactful. Because we operate in a regulated financial services environment, that standard extends beyond predictive accuracy — models must be reproducible, auditable, and built with the governance rigour that regulators and internal risk functions require.

We're looking for someone who brings deep technical range — spanning classical ML, neural approaches, and causal inference — alongside the leadership and communication skills to drive alignment across technical and business teams. On-site, Calgary, AB.

What You'll Do

• Lead technical strategy and end-to-end delivery of ML models across credit risk, fraud, and marketing — spanning both batch and real-time inference use cases

• Develop and evaluate neural network architectures (e.g., embeddings, sequential models) as complements to tree-based models, improving prediction accuracy where tabular approaches have limits

• Apply causal inference techniques to measure treatment effects, improve decision-making, and move beyond correlational models

• Build models to enterprise-grade standards: modular, well-tested code; reproducible pipelines; thorough documentation; and governance artifacts (model cards, validation reports, audit trails) that meet the reliability and compliance requirements of a regulated financial services environment

• Champion model explainability and business trust via SHAP insights and clear communication with senior stakeholders

• Manage the technical development of data scientists — guide complex projects, lead code reviews, and drive knowledge sharing across the team

• Collaborate with business and executive leaders to identify and prioritize high-value DS initiatives

• Drive an AI-first way of working — leveraging AI coding tools (e.g. Cursor, Claude Code) heavily across the DS workflow, from exploration and feature engineering to code review and documentation, and driving adoption across the team

What You Bring

Required

• 10+ years deploying production ML, driving commercial outcomes, and leading technical teams

• Background in credit risk, fraud detection, or marketing ML in financial services

• Deep proficiency in Python (pandas, polars, scikit-learn) and SQL; hands-on experience with Snowflake and/or Databricks, and familiarity with dbt

• Tree-based model expertise: XGBoost, LightGBM, CatBoost — hyperparameter tuning, custom objectives, and SHAP-based explainability

• Hands-on neural network development (PyTorch or TensorFlow) — embedding models, sequential architectures, and hybrid approaches to extend tree-based model performance

• Cloud experience (AWS, GCP, or Azure)

• Familiarity with MLOps processes and tooling — CI/CD for ML, model versioning, experiment tracking, and deployment pipelines

• Proven track record managing and mentoring DS teams of 5+ members

• Strong communication and executive stakeholder management skills

• Hands-on experience with AI-powered development tools (Cursor, Claude Code) and a demonstrated habit of integrating them deeply into day-to-day data science work

• Familiarity with model governance, audit trails, and compliance requirements for regulated ML

Nice to Have

• Experience with causal inference frameworks (e.g., DoWhy, EconML) applied to business decision-making

• AWS experience (e.g. ECS, SageMaker)

🚀 Total Rewards Overview

As Neo continues to grow, we’re committed to offering a competitive, market-leading rewards program that reflects the impact our team members make. In addition to salary, our program includes both short and long-term incentives, empowering employees to share directly in our momentum today and in the meaningful value we create for years to come.

• Salary: We provide a strong base salary aligned with market ranges, along with the flexibility to tailor your mix of cash and equity to match your longer term goals. Final compensation is based on your skills, experience, and scope. For exceptional talent, we’re prepared to go above and beyond.

• Equity Ownership: At Neo, you don’t just work here, you own a piece of what we’re building. As a full-time team member, you share directly in the upside of one of Canada’s fastest-growing companies. When we win, you win — with real ownership and meaningful long-term wealth-building potential tied to our success.

• Short Term Incentive Plans (STIP): Our performance-based bonus program is tied directly to company KPIs. When we execute and deliver results, you’re rewarded with payouts that scale based on both company performance and your individual impact.

What does life as an Owner at Neo Include?

🇨🇦 You will redefine the financial landscape with top talent in Canada to help everyday Canadians win, and grow quickly while doing it

📈 Ownership structure that enables you to share in our path to victory

🏅Earn BIG with our short term incentive plans (STIP)

👥 Collaborating with the brightest minds to build something meaningful, united by a shared commitment to innovation, curiosity, and excellence

❤️‍🩹 Flexible health benefits & life insurance

🌴 21 Days PTO + stat holidays, and personal leave

💪 Health & personal spending accounts

🤑 A wide variety of discounts through our partner network

🏠 Access to early use of products and discounts on fixed-term Neo mortgages

👶 Parental top-up & equity vesting during long term leave

🎉 Neo night events

🧠 Company wide huddles, and education

Working at Neo:

The people who thrive at Neo are resourceful, growth-oriented, and driven to win. We hold ourselves to high standards because we’re on a mission that matters: to build a more rewarding financial future for all Canadians. As individuals and as a team, we constantly challenge ourselves and each other to raise the bar and deliver exceptional experiences for our customers. Our commitment to customer success drives everything we do, from building world-class products to providing exceptional support at every step of their journey. If this resonates with you, keep reading.

We trust, respect, and support each other. This means honest conversations, constructive input, and empowering each other to move fast and think big. You’ll be surrounded by people who push you to be your best. We primarily collaborate in person across our Calgary, Winnipeg, and Toronto offices, where ideas move quickly and teams build momentum together. As we continue to scale and evolve, we’re looking for builders, innovators, and problem solvers who thrive on challenge–people who would rather blaze a trail through uncertainty than follow a well-paved path.

All team members have a stake in Neo’s success and earn meaningful equity through stock options. This ownership mindset is at the heart of everything we do — when Neo grows, we all grow. If you’ve heard that Neo employees work hard, it’s true. We hold ourselves accountable for delivering on our commitments to our customers, partners, and each other. Working at Neo means taking ownership of your work and driving results, knowing that your contributions directly impact the company’s success.

Apply with us:

We believe in equal opportunity and are committed to creating an inclusive climate where everyone can thrive. Customers trust us with their finances, so successful candidates for this position will be required to undergo a security screening, including a criminal records check and a credit check.

By continuing with your application, you agree to the Candidate Privacy Notice, which guides how we process your personal information for the purpose of your application.

Neo Financial leverages artificial intelligence (AI) to reinforce our candidate evaluation process, including the initial assessment of applications and screening of candidates. These tools support our recruitment team; however, all final hiring decisions are made by humans and are not based exclusively on automated processing. If you require further information regarding our data processing practices, please contact us.

We are hiring for an open, vacant position.