Sr Decision Scientist

About PayPal

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.

The Role of a Sr Decision Scientist

Sr Decision Scientists are highly motivated team players with strong analytical skills who design and execute initiatives to mitigate fraud on PayPal’s platform, improve customer experience, and drive measurable business impact. Within the Identity Onboarding Risk Strategy team, they operate as problem solvers in a complex, fast-paced big data environment, connecting systems, processes, data, and stakeholders. They combine big-picture thinking with strong attention to detail to navigate ambiguity and translate complexity into effective, data-driven risk solutions. As self-starters with strong ownership and accountability, they drive initiatives end to end and collaborate closely with product, technology, data science, and engineering partners to deliver scalable solutions that protect PayPal and millions of users globally.

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.

Expected Qualifications

3+ years relevant experience and a Bachelor’s degree OR Any equivalent combination of education and experience.

Your Impact at PayPal

Sr Decision Scientists in the Identity Onboarding Risk Strategy team are expected to deeply understand PayPal’s business objectives and drive meaningful impact on business performance. In this role, you will track and analyze key Identity Risk KPIs alongside financial and operational metrics, with the aim of continuously adapting PayPal’s advanced proprietary fraud prevention and customer experience mechanisms to enable sustainable growth.

A Day in the Life

• Track and measure performance against KPIs and goals to identify, assess and mitigate fraud risk while enabling safe growth.
• Develop, own and evolve data-driven risk decision strategies that support PayPal’s risk and business goals.
• Apply bottom-up, story-based and innovative analytical techniques to translate complex data and insights into clear, actionable narratives.
• Plan, drive and execute projects from start to finish, with partners across the company, including driving cross-functional initiatives from concept to execution, breaking down complex ideas and communicating them clearly to diverse stakeholders, to develop cutting-edge, scalable and safe solutions.
• Work closely with product and platform teams to design and deliver cutting-edge, scalable and safe products that enhance the experience for PayPal’s global customers.
• Grow and maintain strong partnerships across the organization, connecting insights across functions and effectively sharing updates and recommendations with senior leadership.
• Grow ongoing communication with partners across the company by connecting insights across functions, translating complex problems into clear, actionable narratives and sharing updates effectively with senior leaders.

What You'll Bring

• Bachelor’s Degree (or above) in one of the following: economics, finance, engineering, exact sciences, etc.
• 3+ years of hands-on experience in relevant positions, e.g.: decision scientist, data analyst, data scientist, background in identifying trends and patterns / risk management / army intelligence units.
• Technical orientation; experience in SQL / R / Python / other programming language – a must.
• Excellent English verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to communicate complex ideas clearly to diverse stakeholders.
• Proven analytical and problem solving skills, business mindset.
• Quick-thinker, fast learner, self-starter.
• Cross-disciplinary mindset with the ability to engage diverse functional experts and navigate across multiple viewpoints.

Our Work Model & Benefits

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.

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.

Key Skills/Competency

• Data Science
• Fraud Prevention
• Risk Management
• SQL
• Python
• R
• Analytics
• Stakeholder Collaboration
• Strategic Thinking
• Problem Solving
• Data Modeling