Staff Data Scientist

About the role

Visa's Post Purchase organization is building AI-driven decision intelligence across dispute resolution and recovery products, including RDR, CDRN, VDRN, and Recover. We are seeking a Staff Data Scientist to lead high-impact machine learning initiatives that improve automation, recovery outcomes, and client experience at global scale.

This is a Staff-level individual contributor role for someone who thrives in ambiguity, owns complex problem spaces, and drives solutions from concept through production with measurable business impact. You will work with large-scale transactions and dispute data to develop models that enhance decision quality and enable scalable, intelligent systems.

Key Responsibilities

• Define and lead high-impact ML initiatives across dispute decisioning, merchant matching, and recovery prediction
• Own end-to-end ML lifecycle, including problem framing, feature engineering, model development, deployment, and monitoring
• Build and productionize scalable models using large-scale transaction and dispute datasets
• Partner closely with Product, Engineering, and Data Engineering to translate business needs into data-driven solutions
• Drive adoption of ML solutions through explainability, performance measurement, and stakeholder alignment
• Develop experimentation frameworks to evaluate and continuously improve model performance
• Design and implement GenAI/LLM-based solutions for explainability, workflow automation, and decision support
• Influence product strategy by identifying opportunities to improve automation, efficiency, and customer outcomes
• Mentor junior team members and contribute to best practices across the data science organization

Work Environment

Visa requires employees to work in the office 3 days per week. Specific expectations will be confirmed by the Hiring Manager.

Basic Qualifications

• 5+ years of relevant work experience with a Bachelor's Degree or at least 2 years of work experience with an Advanced degree (e.g. Masters, MBA, JD, MD) or 0 years of work experience with a PhD, OR 8+ years of relevant work experience
• Experience with digital fluency, including the ability to work with emerging technologies such as Generative AI tools (e.g. ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot) to support everyday work

Preferred Qualifications

• 6+ years of experience with a Bachelor's degree or 4+ years with an Advanced degree or up to 3 years with a PhD
• Advanced degree (MS or PhD) in AI, Computer Science, Statistics, Operations Research, or a related quantitative field
• Experience applying data science or analytics solutions to solve complex business problems with measurable outcomes
• Proven track record of commercializing analytical or ML solutions in production environments
• Strong experience managing or leading end-to-end projects across cross-functional teams
• Agile experience and ability to manage evolving priorities in dynamic environments
• Experience working with large-scale datasets and building scalable models
• Experience with distributed data processing frameworks (e.g., Hadoop, Hive, Spark)
• Proficiency in programming languages such as Python or R, along with SQL
• Experience with version control tools such as git or GitHub
• Hands-on experience applying machine learning and predictive modeling tecniques to business problems
• Experience in data science, data engineering, or analytics roles in large-scale environments
• Experience in payments, fraud, risk, disputes, fintech, or transaction-heavy domains
• Experience working in global organizations with distributed stakeholders
• Proven ability to lead projects, influence teams, and provide technical thought leadership

What Sets This Role Apart

• Ownership of high-impact, ambiguous problem spaces across Visa's Post Purchase ecosystem
• Direct influence on ML-driven decision intelligence and product strategy
• Opportunity to build scalable systems that improve recovery outcomes, automation, and client experience
• Work at the intersection of AI/ML, product, and platform at global scale

Pay and benefits

For roles located in the US, the estimated salary range for this position is $141,100.00 to $ 226,000.00 USD per year, which may include potential sales incentive payments (if applicable). Salary may vary depending on job-related factors which may include knowledge, skills, experience, and location. In addition, this position may be eligible for bonus and equity.Visa has a comprehensive benefits package for which this position may be eligible that includes Medical, Dental, Vision, 401(k), FSA/HSA, Life Insurance, Paid Time Off, and Wellness Program.

Work Hours

Varies upon the needs of the department.

Travel Requirements

This position requires travel 5-10% of the time.

Mental/Physical Requirements

This position will be performed in an office setting. The position will require the incumbent to sit and stand at a desk, communicate in person and by telephone, frequently operate standard office equipment, such as telephones and computers.