Staff Product Manager, Risk Modeling

Plaid
San Francisco HQ; New York City Office, San Francisco HQ; New York City Office

Who this role is best for

Aimed at senior product managers with technical depth in risk modeling who partner closely with data science teams to enhance network security.

Best fit for

  • Experienced PMs who have built ML-based risk detection systems for fintech or banking.
    — “Experience building ML based products / insights
  • Technical product leaders comfortable making precision/recall tradeoffs in model development.
    — “detection signals, precision/recall tradeoffs, light data analysis/investigation
  • Cross-functional collaborators who align engineering, data science, and operations teams.
    — “strong cross-functional alignment

Things to consider

  • Role requires hands-on data analysis beyond typical PM responsibilities.
    — “run light investigations yourself, pull signals
  • Must balance risk mitigation with customer experience and commercial impact.
    — “balancing network quality against customer and commercial impact

How to stand out

  • Demonstrate concrete examples of improving model precision in risk detection systems.
    — “sharpen detection precision
  • Show prior success defining decision frameworks for blocking vs allowing traffic.
    — “build and own the data-driven framework for real-time block-vs-allow decisions
  • Highlight experience spanning multiple risk categories simultaneously.
    — “Span multiple risk problem categories simultaneously
Pace · SteadyCollaboration · HighAutonomy · MediumDecision Impact · TeamLevel · Senior

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

What success looks like

  • define and prioritize the DS/MLE roadmap for network-health detection
  • build and own the data-driven framework for real-time block-vs-allow decisions
  • define and own the team’s OKRs
Typical background
product managementrisk managementdata science

Skills & requirements

Required

Product ManagementRisk ModelingData-driven Decision MakingCross-functional CollaborationRisk Decisioning

Preferred

Machine LearningFraud Detection

Stack & domain

Product ManagementRisk ModelingData ScienceMachine LearningStrategic Decision-makingFinancial ModelingTeam ManagementFinanceTechnology

About the role

Original posting from Plaid via Ashby

We believe that the way people interact with their finances will drastically improve in the next few years. We’re dedicated to empowering this transformation by building the tools and experiences that thousands of developers use to create their own products. Plaid powers the tools millions of people rely on to live a healthier financial life. We work with thousands of companies like Venmo, SoFi, several of the Fortune 500, and many of the largest banks to make it easy for people to connect their financial accounts to the apps and services they want to use. Plaid’s network covers 12,000 financial institutions across the US, Canada, UK and Europe. Founded in 2013, the company is headquartered in San Francisco with offices in New York, Washington D.C., London and Amsterdam.

Team:

We protect the integrity of Plaid's network and authentication surfaces. We keep bad actors, synthetic and stolen identities, and low-quality data-partner traffic off the platform so that the millions of connections Plaid powers stay trustworthy. We build Plaid's internal risk platform: detection, scoring, and real-time decisioning and we're the foundation every other Plaid product depends on

Role:

You own Plaid's internal network-health and risk platform — how we detect, score, and act on risky traffic across our 10,000+ data-partner integrations. You set the roadmap, define the block/step-up/allow decisioning framework, and partner directly with the Data Science and MLE and operations team to sharpen detection precision. This is a platform PM role: your customer is the network itself, and your output is a measurably safer, higher-quality data supply.

Responsibilities:

  • Define and prioritize the DS/MLE roadmap for network-health detection — articulate model investment needs, own precision/recall tradeoff decisions, and translate model outputs into real-time product actions.
  • Build and own the data-driven framework for real-time block-vs-allow decisions, balancing network quality against customer and commercial impact.
  • Aggregate requirements across risk engineering, fraud & abuse operations, and data partners into a single prioritized roadmap.
  • Define how to measure Network Health
  • You define and own the team’s OKRs (risky-traffic detection/step-up; ATO reduction, Authentication correctness).
  • Define and recommend Plaid’s risk-versus-conversion posture, partnering with company leadership to set clear, data-backed thresholds for when to allow, step up, or block traffic.
  • Get hands-on with data: run light investigations yourself, pull signals, and ground product decisions in evidence — this PM doesn't wait for an analyst to tell them what's happening.
  • Span multiple risk problem categories simultaneously: data-partner supply risk, authentication risk/correctness, and AQO — owning one coherent roadmap across all three.

Qualifications:

  • 6+ years in product management, ideally on internal risk, trust & safety, fraud, or identity platforms.
  • Hands-on technical depth: detection signals, precision/recall tradeoffs, light data analysis/investigation.
  • Experience building ML based products / insights
  • Proven partnership with Data Science / MLE teams on risk models.
  • Experience with risk decisioning, KYC, synthetic/stolen-identity detection, or ATO.
  • Clear product requirements; strong cross-functional alignment.
  • [nice to have] Experience in a sophisticated internal risk org at a large fintech/bank/marketplace.
  • [nice to have] Former risk analyst / DS / investigator who moved into PM; familiarity with bank data / open finance.

Our mission at Plaid is to unlock financial freedom for everyone. To support that mission, we seek to build a diverse team of driven individuals who care deeply about making the financial ecosystem more equitable. We recognize that strong qualifications can come from both prior work experiences and lived experiences. We encourage you to apply to a role even if your experience doesn't fully match the job description. We are always looking for team members that will bring something unique to Plaid!

Plaid is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and values diversity at our company. We do not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, ethnicity, religion or religious belief, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, sexual stereotypes, age, military or veteran status, disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state, and local laws. Plaid is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities in our recruiting process. If you need any assistance with your application or interviews due to a disability, please let us know at accommodations@plaid.com.

Please review our Candidate Privacy Notice here https://plaid.com/legal/#candidate-privacy-notice.

Additional compensation in the form(s) of equity and/or commission are dependent on the position offered. Plaid provides a comprehensive benefit plan, including medical, dental, vision, and 401(k). Pay is based on factors such as (but not limited to) scope and responsibilities of the position, candidate's work experience and skillset, and location. Pay and benefits are subject to change at any time, consistent with the terms of any applicable compensation or benefit plans.

Source: Plaid careers (Ashby)

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