Head of Data Science, Compliance Products

Socure
Hub - San Francisco +3 more
Hybrid

Who this role is best for

Aimed at senior data science leaders with compliance domain expertise who can drive AI-powered product innovation and manage cross-functional collaboration.

Best fit for

  • Candidates with 10+ years of experience in regulated domains like KYC/AML and a track record of scaling production systems
    — “10+ years of experience in data science and machine learning, including a strong record of delivering production systems at scale.”
  • Individuals who have led teams in high-stakes data-rich environments and can balance technical rigor with business outcomes
    — “Disciplined execution in high-stakes, data-rich environments.”
  • Professionals with a background in identity verification, fraud prevention, or risk modeling in financial services or fintech
    — “Significant experience in compliance, KYC/AML, watchlist screening, identity verification, fraud prevention, or risk modeling in financial services, fintech, or an adjacent domain.”
  • Candidates who can build explainable, auditable AI models for compliance workflows and handle heterogeneous data sources
    — “Experience working with heterogeneous and large-scale data, including structured data, text, and third-party data sources.”

Things to consider

  • Requires managing the full model lifecycle from data strategy to continuous improvement
    — “Own the end-to-end model lifecycle: data strategy, feature development, experimentation, validation, deployment, monitoring, and continuous improvement.”
  • The role involves significant collaboration across multiple departments and teams
    — “Partner with Product, Engineering, Risk, Operations, Legal/Compliance, and Go-to-Market teams to shape roadmaps and deliver scalable products.”
  • Candidates must be comfortable with explainability and governance in regulated environments
    — “Ensure models and AI-enabled workflows are explainable, auditable, reliable, and designed to support applicable compliance and governance requirements.”

How to stand out

  • Highlight your experience with model evaluation and monitoring in regulated settings
    — “Practical understanding of model evaluation, monitoring, explainability, governance, and responsible deployment in regulated or high-stakes settings.”
  • Showcase your leadership in delivering production-ready models with a focus on accuracy and transparency
    — “Lead teams delivering accurate, explainable, and production-ready models that help customers verify people, complete onboarding, screen against global watchlists, monitor risk, and meet evolving compliance needs.”
  • Demonstrate your hands-on experience with Python and ML frameworks like PyTorch
    — “Hands-on experience with Python and modern ML frameworks such as PyTorch.”
  • Position yourself as someone who can translate complex model behavior into clear explanations for stakeholders
    — “Serve as a senior technical partner to customers and executives, explaining model behavior, performance, limitations, and trade-offs in clear terms.”
Pace · SteadyCollaboration · HighAutonomy · MediumDecision Impact · Company

Derived from job-description analysis by Serendipath's career intelligence engine.

What success looks like

  • accurate and explainable models
  • successful compliance product launches
  • high-performing data science teams
Typical background
data sciencemachine learningcompliance

Skills & requirements

Required

Data ScienceMachine LearningComplianceTeam LeadershipProduct Development

Preferred

Regulatory ComplianceAI Ethics

About the role

Original posting from Socure via Ashby

WHY SOCURE?

Socure is building the identity trust infrastructure for the digital economy — verifying 100% of good identities in real time and stopping fraud before it starts. The mission is big, the problems are complex, and the impact is felt by businesses, governments, and millions of people every day.

We hire people who want that level of responsibility. People who move fast, think critically, act like owners, and care deeply about solving customer problems with precision. If you want predictability or narrow scope, this won’t be your place. If you want to help build the future of identity with a team that holds a high bar for itself — keep reading.

About Socure

Socure is building the identity trust infrastructure for the digital economy—verifying 100% of good identities in real time and stopping fraud before it starts. The mission is big, the problems are complex, and the impact is felt by businesses, governments, and millions of people every day.

We hire people who want that level of responsibility. People who move fast, think critically, act like owners, and care deeply about solving customer problems with precision. If you want predictability or narrow scope, this won’t be your place. If you want to help build the future of identity and compliance with a team that holds a high bar for itself, keep reading.

Role Overview

We are seeking a highly driven, innovative data science leader to build and scale AI-powered compliance products. As Head of Data Science, Compliance Products, you will set the data science vision and lead execution across KYC, International KYC, Advanced Prefill, Deceased Check, Global Watchlist Screening and Monitoring, and Anti-Money Laundering (AML).

You will lead teams delivering accurate, explainable, and production-ready models that help customers verify people, complete onboarding, screen against global watchlists, monitor risk, and meet evolving compliance needs. You will partner closely with Product, Engineering, Risk, Operations, and Go-to-Market leaders to turn complex customer and regulatory problems into measurable product outcomes. This role calls for a leader who combines strong technical judgment, team-building, and disciplined execution in high-stakes, data-rich environments.

Key Responsibilities

  • Define and own the data science strategy and roadmap for Compliance Products, aligning investments to customer outcomes, product priorities, and business goals.
  • Lead, grow, and develop a high-performing team of data scientists and applied researchers; set a high bar for technical quality, collaboration, speed, and accountability.
  • Advance machine learning and decisioning across KYC and International KYC, including identity verification, risk assessment, and onboarding workflows.
  • Improve Advanced Prefill through methods that select, validate, and rank relevant data to reduce customer effort while maintaining accuracy and transparency.
  • Develop and improve deceased-person detection and associated risk signals using reliable data, robust evaluation, and appropriate safeguards.
  • Build and scale Global Watchlist Screening and Monitoring capabilities, including entity matching, alert prioritization, ongoing monitoring, and false-positive reduction across geographies and data sources.
  • Advance AML and compliance risk models that help customers identify and investigate potentially suspicious activity, with clear performance measurement and appropriate human review.
  • Establish rigorous evaluation practices, including representative test data, segment-level performance, ongoing monitoring, drift detection, and feedback loops from customer and operations outcomes.
  • Own the end-to-end model lifecycle: data strategy, feature development, experimentation, validation, deployment, monitoring, and continuous improvement.
  • Ensure models and AI-enabled workflows are explainable, auditable, reliable, and designed to support applicable compliance and governance requirements.
  • Assess where automation and agent-assisted workflows can improve screening, monitoring, and investigations; define suitable human oversight and operational controls.
  • Partner with Product, Engineering, Risk, Operations, Legal/Compliance, and Go-to-Market teams to shape roadmaps and deliver scalable products.
  • Serve as a senior technical partner to customers and executives, explaining model behavior, performance, limitations, and trade-offs in clear terms.
  • Represent Socure externally as a thought leader in applied data science for identity verification and compliance.

Key Competencies & Qualifications

  • Advanced degree (MS or PhD preferred) in Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics, Engineering, or a related field.
  • 10+ years of experience in data science and machine learning, including a strong record of delivering production systems at scale.
  • Significant experience in compliance, KYC/AML, watchlist screening, identity verification, fraud prevention, or risk modeling in financial services, fintech, or an adjacent domain.
  • Proven experience leading and developing high-performing data science teams.
  • Strong understanding of modern machine learning, statistical modeling, entity matching, information extraction, and decision systems.
  • Experience working with heterogeneous and large-scale data, including structured data, text, and third-party data sources.
  • Demonstrated ability to move ambiguous, high-impact problems from discovery to production while balancing rigor, speed, and business outcomes.
  • Hands-on experience with Python and modern ML frameworks such as PyTorch; experience with Apache Spark or comparable distributed data systems.
  • Practical understanding of model evaluation, monitoring, explainability, governance, and responsible deployment in regulated or high-stakes settings.
  • Excellent communication skills, with the ability to explain complex systems and trade-offs to technical and non-technical audiences.
  • Experience in customer-facing technical discussions, executive briefings, or public speaking is preferred.

Why Socure?

  • Work on challenging, high-impact problems in identity verification and financial crime prevention.
  • Build data science capabilities behind products used in important customer compliance workflows.
  • Join a fast-moving, high-caliber team that values innovation, ownership, and customer impact.
  • Competitive compensation, equity, and benefits.
  • Help shape trusted digital experiences at global scale.

Please note that we can only hire within ~45 miles of San Francisco, New York, Seattle, Miami. We are unable to provide sponsorship support now or in the future.

Socure is an equal opportunity employer that values diversity in all its forms within our company. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. If you need an accommodation during any stage of the application or hiring process, including interview or onboarding support, please reach out to your Socure recruiting partner directly.

Socure is an equal opportunity employer that values diversity in all its forms within our company. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

If you need an accommodation during any stage of the application or hiring process—including interview or onboarding support—please reach out to your Socure recruiting partner directly.

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YouTube https://www.youtube.com/c/Socure | LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/socure/ | X (Twitter) https://x.com/socureme | Facebook https://www.facebook.com/socure/

Source: Socure careers (Ashby)

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