Senior Data Scientist – Business Optimization & ML Governance

About Ally Financial

Ally Financial only succeeds when its people do - and that’s more than some cliché people put on job postings. We live this stuff! We see our people as, well, people - with interests, families, friends, dreams, and causes that are all important to them. Our focus is on the health and safety of our teammates as well as work-life balance and diversity and inclusion. From generous benefits to a variety of employee resource groups, we strive to build paths that encourage employees to stretch themselves professionally. We want to help you grow, develop, and learn new things. You’re constantly evolving, so shouldn’t your opportunities be, too?

We are committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodation to applicants with physical or mental disabilities. For accommodation requests, email us at hrpolicy@ally.com. Ally will not discriminate against any qualified individual who is capable of performing the essential functions of the job with or without reasonable accommodation.

Work Schedule

Ally designates roles as (1) fully on-site, (2) hybrid, or (3) fully remote. Hybrid roles are generally expected to be in the office a certain number of days per week as indicated by your manager. Your hiring manager will discuss this role's specific work requirements with you during the hiring process. All work requirements are subject to change at any time based on leader discretion and/or business need.

The Opportunity

As a leader in digital financial services, our customer and employee experiences run on data. We depend on the Ally analytics community to fuel these journeys and to help nearly 10,000 leaders and employees make countless data-driven decisions every day. At Ally, every individual is a risk manager. In alignment with our risk culture, this position will ensure the appropriate identification, assessment, and measurement of risk related to the Consumer Auto portfolio. When necessary, identified risks will be escalated to the appropriate channels to ensure reasonable resolution.

We're looking for a passionate Senior Data Scientist with great technical and analytical skills for our Auto Consumer Asset Management group. This person will report to the Manager of Data Science for consumer asset management, with responsibilities of (1) supporting through-the-cycle predictive ML and data modeling for Ally consumer financial health & portfolio risk, (2) conducting large-scale A/B testing to scientifically assess the effectiveness of alternative risk strategies to achieve business optimization, (3) supporting model performance monitoring, ML risk governance (annual reviews, business line auditing) (4) independently processing and analyzing massive internal & external data (e.g. credit bureau, data vendors) to monitor Ally asset performance and benchmark against industry. The ideal candidate should be passionate about consumer predictive modeling, prescriptive analytics, and business optimization for banking & financial services. Strong SQL and Python programming skills are a must. Do you have a focus on predicting customer behavior, managing portfolio risk, strong analytical skills, and a desire to make an impact? If you are a creative and critical thinker, storyteller, learner, and innovator and want to work in an environment focused on using data science and big data tech, keep reading.

The Work Itself

This role is quantitative in nature and requires the individual highly capable of interrogating and analyzing massive account-level data using SQL and Python. Skills for other programming, data mining tools such as H2O and DataRobot are preferred. He or she will join the data science team under consumer asset management of Ally auto finance business, with the responsibility to support and advance predictive modeling and A/B testing for risk strategy, ML support & governance and industry benchmarking. Daily work involves all phases of data science projects, including account-level data processing and validation, exploratory analysis for hypothesis testing (A/B testing), ongoing model performance monitoring & reviewing, variable screening (using ML/data mining), communication and presentation to executive leadership team. This senior data scientist must be an innovative and strategic thinker, willing to challenge status quo, can learn quickly, is self-motivated and detail oriented.

• Supporting through-the-cycle predictive ML and data modeling for Ally consumer financial health, collection strategy and portfolio risks
• Conducting large-scale A/B testing to scientifically assess the effectiveness of alternative risk strategies to achieve business optimization
• Managing the model ongoing performance monitoring, ML risk governance (annual model reviews, business line auditing, 3rd-party vendor risk)
• Independently processing and analyzing massive internal & external data (e.g. credit bureau, data vendors) to monitor Ally asset performance and benchmark against industry.
• Ability to think strategically, use sound judgement, and balance short and long-term risk decisions; Strong communication and collaboration skills; ability to work effectively across multiple teams.
• Understanding of risk management concepts and key performance drivers within consumer collection strategy; optimizing business actions via A/B testing analysis, prepare crisp summary, and deliver recommendations.
• Managing projects of various size/complexity and day-to-day tasks independently in a fast-paced environment; Mentor junior members in the team.

Skills You Bring

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Quantitative/Technical Discipline (Mathematics, Computer Science, Data Science/Analytics, Economics)
• Minimum 5 years of analytics or data science / quantitative modeling work experience, with hands-on experience working with large account-level datasets using SQL and Python programming packages.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Minimum 3 years of hands-on experience working with large datasets using SQL and production-grade Python scripting.
• Strong working knowledge of Machine Learning & Predictive Modeling (Regression, Tree-based Methods e.g. GBM, RF), and proficiency with frameworks such as scikit-learn, pandas, H2O.
• Experience designing, implementing, and analyzing A/B tests to drive product/business decisions.
• Familiarity with cloud data and ML platforms such as AWS and Snowflake.
• Solid written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to effectively present Data Science results to internal and external stakeholders and create documentation for various technical processes and pipelines.
• Highly self-motivated, with the ability to work effectively in a fast-paced environment.

How We'll Have Your Back

Ally's compensation program offers market-competitive base pay and pay-for-performance incentives (bonuses) based on achieving personal and company goals. Our Total Rewards program includes industry-leading compensation and benefits plus additional incentives that are designed to meet your needs and those of your family so you can get the most out of your career and your life, including:

• Time Away: Program starts at 20 paid time off days in addition to 11 paid holidays and 8 hours of volunteer time off yearly (time off days are prorated based on start date and program varies based on full or part-time status and management level).
• Planning for the Future: plan for the near and long term with an industry-leading 401K retirement savings plan with matching and company contributions, student loan pay downs and 529 educational save up assistance programs, tuition reimbursement, employee stock purchase plan, and financial learning center and financial coach access.
• Supporting your Health & Well-being: flexible health and insurance options including medical, dental and vision, employee, spouse and child life insurance, short- and long-term disability, pre-tax Health Savings Account with employer contributions, Healthcare FSA, critical illness, accident & hospital indemnity insurance, and a total well-being program that helps you and your family stay on track physically, socially, emotionally, and financially.
• Building a Family: adoption, surrogacy and fertility assistance as well as paid parental and caregiver leave, Dependent Day Care FSA back-up child and adult/elder care days and childcare discounts.
• Work-Life Integration: other benefits including Mentally Fit Employee Assistance Program, subsidized and discounted Weight Watchers® program and other employee discount programs.
• Other compensations: depending on the role for which you are considered, you may be eligible for travel allowances, relocation assistance, a signing bonus and/or equity.

To view more detailed information about Ally’s Total Rewards, please visit this link: https://www.ally.com/content/dam/pdf/corporate/ally-total-rewards-snapshot.pdf

Who We Are:

Ally Financial is a customer-centric, leading digital financial services company with passionate customer service and innovative financial solutions. We are relentlessly focused on "Doing it Right" and being a trusted financial-services provider to our consumer, commercial, and corporate customers. For more information, visit www.ally.com.

Ally is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy status, marital status, military or veteran status, genetic disposition or any other reason protected by law.

Key skills/competency

• Data Science
• Machine Learning
• Python
• SQL
• A/B Testing
• Predictive Modeling
• Risk Management
• Data Analysis
• Data Visualization
• Cloud Platforms