Upgrade is a fintech unicorn founded in 2017. In the last four years, over 15 million people have applied for an Upgrade card or loan, and we have delivered over $7 billion in affordable and responsible credit. Our innovative Upgrade Card combines the flexibility of a credit card with the low cost of an installment loan. Our latest offering, Rewards Checking, gives customers access to no-fee checking accounts with 2% cash back rewards on common everyday spending. Learn more about the team.

Upgrade has been named a “Best Place to Work in the Bay Area” by the San Francisco Business Times and Silicon Valley Business Journal 3 years in a row, and received “Best Company for Women” and “Best Company for Diversity” awards from Comparably. Upgrade has been included in the 2021 Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing private companies in America.

We are looking for new team members who get excited about designing and implementing new and better products to join a team of 750 talented and passionate professionals. Come join us if you like to tackle big problems and make a meaningful difference in people's lives.

Are you a data scientist that thrives on driving data-based decisions through exploring data and extracting insights in the "1s and 0s", modeling patterns and predicting what's going to happen next? Are you attracted to an entrepreneurial culture and energized by high growth? Do you enjoy finding pearls of great price in the data to exceed the expectations of internal stakeholders through leveraging advanced statistical modeling methods, machine learning algorithms and other leading edge data science methodologies? If so, read on…Upgrade Inc., a fast growing fintech "unicorn", is looking for a "rockstar" Data Scientist to join our Analytical Insights & Decision Optimization team. This key role will leverage data to increase the organizational value of the Phoenix Service Center through better "influencing" decision making (Analytics), and "optimizing" decision making (Prediction). We have large data sets that need to be analyzed to better understand our business and to identify new opportunities for efficiencies and improvement. You will lead the efforts in data mining and exploration, data modeling and communicating critical insights to improve decision making. You will also work with business teams across the Phoenix Service Center to support things like capacity planning, workload forecasting, workforce analytics, business impact analytics, call center analytics and customer analytics. To be successful in this role, you must be a data analytics ninja, a self starter, entrepreneurial by nature and enjoy a fast paced challenging environment. Experience in advanced data science applications is a must.

Primary Responsibilities

• Access a variety of data sources and apply a breadth of tools and data science techniques to answer high-impact business questions and present the insights in concise and effective manner
• Perform in-depth analyses and then create statistical models to identify trends and key drivers that inform important decisions across the business
• Drive best practices to improve the overall quality of data being organized and ingested to maximize reliability of models / insights
• Optimize processes for data intake, validation, mining and engineering as well as modeling, visualization and communication deliverables.
• Quickly learn about the business processes and systems within the operation to most effectively apply data science to create value in the operation
• Identify opportunities to automate manual processes and improve efficiencies within the operation leveraging AI and/or advanced data science techniques
• Drive successful completion of analytics projects related to things like capacity planning, workload forecasting, workforce analytics, business impact analytics, call center analytics and customer analytics
• Collaborate with the data engineer to develop an operational DataMart

Skills, Experience & Qualifications

• Comfortable with ambiguity, developing creative solutions and delivering against aggressive timelines
• Bachelor's degree required (Computer Science or related major (i.e. Computer Science, Information Systems etc.,) preferred)
• Advanced degree preferred (Masters in Data Analytics, PHD etc.)
• Minimum 2+ years of relevant work experience within data science-related fields required
• Working knowledge of data mining principles: predictive analytics, mapping, collecting data from multiple data systems on-premises and cloud-based data sources.
• Working knowledge of complex data models, BI methodologies, data architecture principles (MDM, Metadata, API Integration, Database Design etc.)
• Experience using analytical concepts and statistical techniques: hypothesis development, designing tests/experiments, analyzing data, drawing conclusions, and developing actionable recommendations for business units.
• Experience in financial services is preferred
• Minimum 2+ years of experience in coding languages such as Python, R, SQL etc.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Strong interpersonal communication and active listening skills
• Proficiency with the Microsoft Office Suite, highly proficient in MS Excel & PowerPoint 

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.