Senior Machine Learning Engineer (Research Scientist, Fraud)

• We are the Fraud Data team within Plaid’s Fraud organization
• We leverage relationships and activity across Plaid’s network to develop machine learning models that help customers detect and prevent fraud while minimizing friction for legitimate users
• Our team owns the full model lifecycle, from data processing and experimentation to feature pipelines, model serving, and monitoring
• In this research role, you’ll partner closely with Machine Learning Engineers and Data Scientists to uncover new signals, explore and evaluate innovative modeling approaches, and translate promising research into production-ready solutions that strengthen fraud detection across Plaid’s network
• As a Senior Research Scientist, you will lead applied research to develop next-generation fraud detection models across relational graphs, sequential events, images, and video data
• You’ll design rigorous experiments and evaluation methodologies that reflect real-world fraud dynamics, while exploring state-of-the-art approaches such as Graph Neural Networks and Transformer-based foundation models
• In close partnership with Machine Learning Engineers, you’ll translate promising research into production-ready solutions and communicate your findings internally and externally to advance the technical bar for fraud machine learning at Plaid
• Research and prototype state-of-the-art approaches across graph machine learning, sequential modeling, and multimodal learning to build next-generation fraud detection capabilities
• Own and execute a research roadmap that translates innovative ideas and prototypes into production solutions with measurable product and customer impact
• Publish and share applied research while collaborating with a highly skilled, cross-functional team across Data, Product, and Engineering
• Leverage Plaid’s network-level financial data to uncover insights and develop solutions that help hundreds of millions of consumers achieve greater financial freedom

Benefits

• Vibrant offices in SF, NYC, and Raleigh-Durham—with catered meals, happy hours, and clubs to keep you connected
• Competitive pay, comprehensive health benefits, and support for fertility, mental health, and parental leave
• Lifestyle perks including home office stipends, daycare support, and commuting benefits like CitiBike and Lyft- Demonstrated scientific rigor, with strong written and verbal communication skills and the ability to clearly communicate complex research findings
• Strong proficiency in Python and experience building high-quality research prototypes that can inform or transition into production systems
• PhD in Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Computer Science, Statistics, Applied Mathematics, or a closely related field strongly preferred. Candidates without a PhD may be considered with equivalent research experience, such as significant publications, patents, or widely adopted research contributions in relevant fields
• 2–4+ years of relevant industry or research lab experience, ideally post-PhD, with demonstrated research leadership and a track record of translating innovative research into measurable product or business impact
• We recognize that strong qualifications can come from both prior work experiences and lived experiences. We encourage you to apply to a role even if your experience doesn’t fully match the job description. We are always looking for team members that will bring something unique to Plaid!
• Experience in fraud detection, security, risk, or abuse prevention
• Experience with large-scale training, graph systems, and sequential modeling