Senior Data Scientist

Forward Financing is a financial technology company based in Boston, Massachusetts with team members throughout the United States, Dominican Republic, and Canada. The company is on a mission to unlock the capital that fuels small businesses across America. Recognized as a Best Place to Work by Built In Boston and certified as a Great Place To Work®, Forward is investing in its employees, technology, and customer experience – with long-term success in mind every step of the way.

We are seeking a Senior Data Scientist to execute end-to-end data science initiatives, transforming complex data into strategic decisions and automated solutions across the organization. In this role, you will combine advanced modeling skills with a deep understanding of the business needs to build, deploy and scale advanced analytical solutions that deliver measurable impact across all business domains at Forward Financing.

In this role you will:

• Design, develop and deploy advanced statistical or machine learning models related to credit risk, pricing, collections, fraud, and other high-impact business use cases that drive better data-driven decisions

• Execute the full model lifecycle, from initial data discovery and feature engineering to deployment, monitoring and iterative improvement

• Partner with cross-functional teams including Portfolio Strategy, Collections, Engineering, Product, Underwriting, and Sales to integrate models into our applications and ensure they function seamlessly

• Communicate complex technical concepts, model results, and business implications to both technical and non-technical stakeholders

• Develop production-grade code and contribute to internal toolkits, documentation, and peer code review to ensure high-quality delivery

• Build and maintain production machine learning pipelines and monitoring systems to ensure models are reliable, scalable and continuously improving

Why you should apply:

• Mission driven company: Forward is a trusted source of fast, flexible funding for small businesses that have often been underserved by traditional financing options. When you join the team, you will help ensure all small businesses have access to the financial support they need to succeed.

• Flexibility is a top priority: Our employees are empowered to choose where they want to work (whether that’s from home, in the office, or a combination of both) with flexible hours.

Role Requirements:

• 5+ years of hands-on model development and deployment experience using advanced statistical and machine learning techniques such as generalized linear models, gradient boosting and deep learning

• Experience in fintech or financial services, specifically building Collections models, is highly preferred.

• Proficient in Python, SQL and Git

• Experience with workflow orchestration tools, such as Metaflow

• Experience deploying and managing models within a cloud platform (AWS, Sagemaker)

• Strong foundation in statistics and machine learning, and knowledge of experimental design

• Excellent communication skills

• Strong critical thinking and problem-solving ability

• Nice to have experience: cloud data warehouses (e.g. Snowflake, Databricks), Metaflow, Arize, Sagemaker, decision engines (e.g. Taktile), feature stores (e.g. Tecton)

• Bachelor's degree in Financial/Applied Math, Operations Research, Economics, and/or Statistics. Masters/PhD is a plus.

Compensation:
Annual Salary: $153,000 - $195,000 CAN
Annual Bonus: You have the potential to earn an additional 10% annual bonus.

At Forward Financing, we're committed to fair and transparent compensation. We believe in providing a compensation package that recognizes your skills, experience, and the unique value you bring to our team. We take a market-based approach to pay, regularly reviewing benchmark data to ensure our compensation remains competitive, equitable, and aligned with our performance-driven culture.

Final offers are determined by a variety of factors, including the candidate's qualifications, relevant experience, specific skills, and internal equity. This approach ensures that our compensation is competitive and equitable. Your recruiter will provide specific details on the expected base and variable earnings as it pertains to this specific role. This position is to fill an existing vacancy.

Total Rewards:

Additionally, we offer a comprehensive total rewards package, including but not limited to: medical, dental, vision, a flexible time-off policy, paid parental leave, RRSP match, wellness reimbursement, volunteering days, annual professional development budget, and charitable donation match.

Forward is proud to be a remote-first company, keeping workplace flexibility a top priority for our employees. As a business, we are focused on impact; we are more concerned with your contributions to the success of the company than where you get your work done. To help facilitate in-person collaboration, employees are welcome to work from one of our premiere office locations.

When we aren’t collaborating to drive business and support our customers, we’re finding virtual and in-person ways to get to know our colleagues, celebrate team wins, and have fun together!

Our Core Values:

• Drive the Mission: We believe in financial opportunity for underserved small businesses. We say “yes” when others say “no.”

• Keep It Real: We value direct communication, candid feedback, and authenticity. We are an open book.

• Act With Kindness: We create an environment where caring is cool and helping is the norm. We do the right thing.

• Shoot for Extraordinary: We are inspired by innovative thinking and continuous improvement. We never settle for yesterday’s best.

About Us:

Forward Financing is a fintech company based in Boston, Massachusetts with team members throughout the United States, Dominican Republic, and Canada. The company is on a mission to unlock the capital that fuels small businesses across America. Whether facing challenges accessing traditional financing or simply needing a convenient, flexible solution, Forward is committed to funding more of the millions of small businesses nationwide. By simplifying the requirements, streamlining the process, and using advanced proprietary technology, Forward is often able to deliver approvals within hours and funds that same day – giving more businesses the financial opportunity they need to thrive. Plus, with their dedicated teams and award-winning service, customers get personalized support when they need it most.

Since 2012, Forward has expanded access to capital by providing over $4.8 billion in funding to more than 92,000 small businesses. The company is A+ rated by the Better Business Bureau with an Excellent / 4.7 stars rating on Trustpilot.com. Recognized as a Best Place to Work by Built In Boston and certified as a Great Place To Work®, Forward is dedicated to empowering both its team and the customers they serve, helping them succeed and thrive.

Equal Opportunity Employment Information

It is the policy of Forward Financing to ensure equal employment opportunity without discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, religion, national origin, status, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital or domestic/civil partnership status, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or any other basis protected by law. We welcome and encourage applications from people with disabilities. Please let us know should you require any accommodations. As part of our commitment to a streamlined and equitable hiring experience, we use AI tools to assist with candidate screening and assessment.