Data Scientist - PEP Risk

The Company

PayPal has been revolutionizing commerce globally for more than 25 years. Creating innovative experiences that make moving money, selling, and shopping simple, personalized, and secure, PayPal empowers consumers and businesses in approximately 200 markets to join and thrive in the global economy. 

We operate a global, two-sided network at scale that connects hundreds of millions of merchants and consumers. We help merchants and consumers connect, transact, and complete payments, whether they are online or in person. PayPal is more than a connection to third-party payment networks. We provide proprietary payment solutions accepted by merchants that enable the completion of payments on our platform on behalf of our customers.

We offer our customers the flexibility to use their accounts to purchase and receive payments for goods and services, as well as the ability to transfer and withdraw funds. We enable consumers to exchange funds more safely with merchants using a variety of funding sources, which may include a bank account, a PayPal or Venmo account balance, PayPal and Venmo branded credit products, a credit card, a debit card, certain cryptocurrencies, or other stored value products such as gift cards, and eligible credit card rewards.  Our PayPal, Venmo, and Xoom products also make it safer and simpler for friends and family to transfer funds to each other. We offer merchants an end-to-end payments solution that provides authorization and settlement capabilities, as well as instant access to funds and payouts. We also help merchants connect with their customers, process exchanges and returns, and manage risk. We enable consumers to engage in cross-border shopping and merchants to extend their global reach while reducing the complexity and friction involved in enabling cross-border trade. 

Our beliefs are the foundation for how we conduct business every day.  We live each day guided by our core values of Inclusion, Innovation, Collaboration, and Wellness. Together, our values ensure that we work together as one global team with our customers at the center of everything we do – and they push us to ensure we take care of ourselves, each other, and our communities.

Job Summary:

Overview
As a Data Scientist – PEP Risk, you’ll strengthen PayPal’s ability to identify and manage Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) and their networks globally. Using advanced analytics, machine learning, and data engineering, you’ll enhance detection accuracy, improve risk-tiering, and scale monitoring frameworks — supporting PayPal’s mission to ensure compliant, transparent, and frictionless customer experiences.
Meet Our Team
The Sanctions & PEP Data Science team, part of Global Financial Crimes & Customer Protection (GFCCP), transforms complex regulatory expectations into data-driven solutions that safeguard PayPal’s ecosystem. You’ll partner with engineering, product, and advisory teams to operationalize PEP screening tools that keep PayPal trusted, transparent, and compliant.
Your Way to Impact
You’ll lead initiatives that reduce false positives, align global PEP strategies, and drive innovation across financial crime prevention and sanctions analytics.

Job Description:

Essential Responsibilities:

• Lead the development and implementation of advanced data science models.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to understand requirements.
• Drive best practices in data science.
• Ensure data quality and integrity in all processes.
• Mentor and guide junior data scientists.
• Stay updated with the latest trends in data science.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Minimum of 5 years of relevant work experience and a Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience.

Your Day-to-Day

• Design and implement advanced data science models to strengthen PEP and sanctions screening capabilities.

• Translate emerging regulatory requirements into actionable, data-driven solutions that can be scaled globally.

• Partner with Product, Engineering, Advisory, and MLRO teams to build frameworks that align with evolving compliance standards.

• Refine PEP list definitions to ensure comprehensive coverage and regulatory alignment.

• Conduct large-scale data exploration to identify optimization opportunities, improve detection quality, and reduce false positives.

• Lead technical mentorship, ensuring best practices in model validation, explainability, and governance.

• Collaborate cross-functionally to ensure real-time integration of analytical solutions into production systems.

What You Need to Bring

• 5+ years’ experience in data science, quantitative modeling, or advanced analytics within AML, sanctions, or financial crime domains.

• Deep understanding of global sanctions programs (OFAC, EU, UN, CSSF) and PEP screening requirements.

• Strong technical skills: SQL (BigQuery), Python (Pandas, NumPy, PySpark), R, Tableau, Power BI.

• Experience working with Lexis Nexis Sanctions and PEP data structures and sourcing.

• Experience with Hadoop, Hive, or Jupyter notebooks; cloud or data warehouse skills a plus.

• Excellent communication and collaboration skills; able to translate technical insights into clear business recommendations.

• Strategic thinker with curiosity, adaptability, and a drive for impact.

Preferred

• Master’s degree in a quantitative discipline (e.g., Data Science, Statistics, Computer Science).

• Familiarity with explainable AI, bias mitigation, and regulatory technology frameworks.

• Prior experience building or deploying models in production within financial services.

Subsidiary:

PayPal

Travel Percent:

0

PayPal does not charge candidates any fees for courses, applications, resume reviews, interviews, background checks, or onboarding. Any such request is a red flag and likely part of a scam. To learn more about how to identify and avoid recruitment fraud please visit https://careers.pypl.com/contact-us.

For the majority of employees, PayPal's balanced hybrid work model offers 3 days in the office for effective in-person collaboration and 2 days at your choice of either the PayPal office or your home workspace, ensuring that you equally have the benefits and conveniences of both locations.

Our Benefits:

At PayPal, we’re committed to building an equitable and inclusive global economy. And we can’t do this without our most important asset—you. That’s why we offer benefits to help you thrive in every stage of life. We champion your financial, physical, and mental health by offering valuable benefits and resources to help you care for the whole you.

We have great benefits including a flexible work environment, employee shares options, health and life insurance and more. To learn more about our benefits please visit https://www.paypalbenefits.com.

Who We Are:

Click Here to learn more about our culture and community.

Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion 

PayPal provides equal employment opportunity (EEO) to all persons regardless of age, color, national origin, citizenship status, physical or mental disability, race, religion, creed, gender, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, genetic information, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.  In addition, PayPal will provide reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities.  If you are unable to submit an application because of incompatible assistive technology or a disability, please contact us at [email protected].  

Belonging at PayPal: 

Our employees are central to advancing our mission, and we strive to create an environment where everyone can do their best work with a sense of purpose and belonging. Belonging at PayPal means creating a workplace with a sense of acceptance and security where all employees feel included and valued. We are proud to have a diverse workforce reflective of the merchants, consumers, and communities that we serve, and we continue to take tangible actions to cultivate inclusivity and belonging at PayPal.

Any general requests for consideration of your skills, please Join our Talent Community.

We know the confidence gap and imposter syndrome can get in the way of meeting spectacular candidates. Please don’t hesitate to apply.