Senior Data Scientist

When you join Sallie, you become a champion for all students.

Sallie’s Education Services team is a diverse group of growth-obsessed entrepreneurs, data analysts, engineers, and developers with a passion for imagining and building scalable businesses for students and families on their unique journey to-through and immediately after higher education. We’re on a mission to revolutionize how students and their families plan, pay and complete this journey with confidence.  Join a team of seekers, challengers and creative thinkers to change the way students plan for their future for the better.

A little bit about us:

Would you like to work in an exciting fast-paced start-up place with the backing of a household name company like Sallie Mae to help millions of people meet their educational needs every day? Together, we’re connected by the same drive—to be a champion for all students and help them make smart decisions with confidence. Do more than join something—change something…for students, for future generations, and for the future of education. 

Our new venture, SallieSM, is looking for people like you to be the founding members who will define the future of education services for students and their families in the US. As the first education solutions company, we’re creating products and experiences that help students when they need it most. We’re connecting students to free money for school, providing tools and resources to plan for college, sharing inside advice on campus life, and so much more. Visit https://www.sallie.com/about to learn more about us. 

What You'll Contribute

We are seeking an experienced Senior Data Scientist to help shape the future of data products at Sallie. This highly visible and impactful role is ideal for someone who thrives at the intersection of advanced analytics, machine learning, and product innovation. You will design and develop cutting-edge data solutions and prototypes that directly support business strategy. As a Senior Data Scientist, you will collaborate with cross-functional teams—including product managers, solution architects, software and data engineers, and external partners—to build intelligent, scalable, and data-driven products. You will drive the development of foundational data architecture, apply machine learning (ML) and generative AI to accelerate product development, and reduce system complexity to support long-term growth. This role plays a central part in evangelizing data-driven decision-making across all operations.  Your contributions will directly influence product strategy and help enable high-quality, high-velocity decisions across the organization. You’ll bring deep technical expertise along with strong business intuition and leadership skills. You’ll be at the forefront of applying state-of-the-art ML and AI to revolutionize how we approach digital advertising, personalization, and learning experiences. You will help shape responsible AI practices and ensure we adopt the best technologies and methods for long-term impact.

What You'll Do

• Advanced Analytics and Insight Generation: Partner with cross-functional teams to identify analytical opportunities, develop predictive models, and deliver actionable insights that drive product development, customer engagement, and financial performance. Translate complex business problems into data solutions that inform strategic decisions across the organization.
• Machine Learning and Generative AI Development: Design, prototype, and deploy machine learning models and generative AI applications to power personalization, intelligent recommendations, and automation across financial products. Continuously refine model performance and ensure scalability in production environments.
• Data Architecture and Pipeline Optimization: Collaborate with Data Engineering to define scalable data architecture and build efficient pipelines that support real-time analytics, experimentation, and model training at scale.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration and Influence: Work closely with product managers, engineers, designers, and external partners to embed data science into the product lifecycle. Translate technical findings into clear business recommendations that influence roadmaps and strategy.
• Responsible AI and Model Governance: Promote best practices in model development, monitoring, and compliance. Ensure fairness, transparency, and accountability in all AI applications, especially when working with sensitive financial or personal data.
• Innovation and Industry Awareness: Stay current with the latest trends in ML, AI, and fintech, and bring forward new tools, frameworks, and meth