Staff Data Scientist, Varo Bank
Machine Learning, Fraud
$180-210k
Fee-free online banking platform
Job no longer available
Fee-free online banking platform
201-500 employees
Job no longer available
$180-210k
201-500 employees
Company mission
To bring financial inclusion and opportunity to all.
Role
Who you are
- 5+ years of expertise in developing ML industry applications for fraud or risk applications
- Demonstrated experience and/or interest in building fraud detection machine learning models
- Ph.D. or equivalent in Computer Science, Statistics, or related field
- Strong bias for action and team player
- Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment
- Preferred: Familiarity with Sagemaker, Spark, TensorFlow, Keras, and PyTorch
What the job involves
- You’ll lead Machine Learning in Fraud at Varo, working on models that protect customers from fraudsters while growing Varo’s customer base and enabling product features to be more accessible to all
- You will be responsible for developing the machine learning models that will underlie Varo’s fraud detection system
- You will own the development and training of these models, as well as contribute to the design of architecture that serves the models
- Lead efforts within the organization to drive the design, development, optimization, and productionization of ML-based fraud models
- Enable customers to have broader access to risky product features by designing a fraud system that balances precision of detection with customer experience and growth
- Work with stakeholders in the fraud organization to identify opportunities for driving business value with ML
- Collaborate cross-functionally with the engineering team to deploy models and monitor outcomes
- Guide and mentor junior machine learning scientists and engineers
Our take
The traditional banking system leaves many US citizens underserved, with some minority groups struggling to access accounts. Varo Bank is one of many companies offering no-fee, high-interest accounts, as it takes on the traditional banks - with additional features such as a rewards program and access to early paychecks.
With many young customers distrustful of traditional banks, Varo has capitalized on this sentiment and grown to serve more than 7M customers. It does have a number of competitors, including Chime and Step, and it's also in competition with established traditional brick-and-mortar banks. However, as the first consumer fintech to be granted a national bank charter in the US, the company is at the front of the fintech revolution with a path to future success.
In response to ongoing economic uncertainty, the bank implemented cost-reduction measures throughout 2022, delivering a meaningful turnaround. These actions significantly reduced its burn rate, addressing a key area of concern. Notably, a refined marketing strategy has also emerged, with Varo prioritizing customers who use the platform as their primary bank rather than simply expanding overall user numbers, putting the company in a position for more sustainable, long-term growth.
Kirsty
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
-12% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Funding (last 2 of 9 rounds)
Feb 2026
$123.9m
SERIES G
Feb 2025
$29m
SERIES G
Total funding: $1.2bn
Company benefits
- Employee stock plan
- Mental health resources
- Volunteer time-off
- PerkSpot discounts
- Flexible time off
- Comprehensive health plans
- Parental and family leave
- Retirement savings plan
- Education stipend
Company HQ
Financial District, San Francisco, CA
Leadership
Gavin Michael
(CEO)Prior to Varo Bank, Gavin spent 5 years at Bakkt as a Senior Advisor and CEO. He was also the Head of Technology, at Citi, Head of Digital at Chase, and CIO at Accenture.
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