Head of Data Science & POCs

Who we are:

We are a leader in fraud prevention and AML compliance. Our platform uses device intelligence, behavior biometrics, machine learning, and AI to stop fraud before it happens. Today, over 300 banks, retailers, and fintechs worldwide use Sardine to stop identity fraud, payment fraud, account takeovers, and social engineering scams. We have raised $145M from world-class investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, Activant, Visa, Experian, FIS, and Google Ventures.

Our culture:

• We have hubs in the Bay Area, NYC, Austin, and Toronto. However, we maintain a remote-first work culture. #WorkFromAnywhere

• We hire talented, self-motivated individuals with extreme ownership and high growth orientation.

• We value performance and not hours worked. We believe you shouldn't have to miss your family dinner, your kid's school play, friends get-together, or doctor's appointments for the sake of adhering to an arbitrary work schedule.

Location:

• Remote - US or Canada

• From Home / Beach / Mountain / Cafe / Anywhere!

• We are a remote-first company with a globally distributed team. You can find your productive zone and work from there.

About the role:

As Head of Data Science & POCs, you’ll lead the team that transforms raw risk and payments data into real-time decisions that power our platform. You’ll drive critical proof-of-concept (POC) and proof-of-value (POV) projects for enterprise customers and financial institutions—often the most critical phase prior to any successful partnership is signed.

This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who’s passionate about fraud prevention, can build from first principles, and thrives in high-stakes environments. You’ll work closely with Product, Engineering, and GTM teams to reduce fraud, improve conversion, and help customers see the ROI of Sardine from Day 1.

What you'll be doing:

• Lead end-to-end POCs and POVs with prospective customers to demonstrate fraud-loss reduction and ROI using Sardine’s risk engine

• Build, optimize, and scale real-time decision systems combining ML models, features, and rules across billions of events

• Hire, coach, and mentor a team of data scientists

• Implement experimentation frameworks (A/B tests, bandit models) to safely validate new strategies

• Partner with Product, Engineering, and Commercial teams to embed insights into dashboards, APIs, and pricing strategies

• Present findings and strategies to customers, execs, and external stakeholders in a clear and compelling way

• Drive roadmap thinking on new signals, feature builds, and feedback loops that make our platform smarter and faster

What you'll need:

• 10+ years in fraud analytics, data science, or machine learning; 2+ years leading technical teams that ship real‑time risk solutions at high‑growth payments, financial, or fintech companies

• Experience owning and delivering POC/POV work-streams with measurable customer outcomes

• Proven record of reducing fraud losses and false positives for consumer and/or B2B products, processing millions of daily transactions or selling millions of products annually at a minimum

• Strong background in applied ML, anomaly detection, and experimentation design

• Advanced SQL skills and familiarity with modern data infra (Kafka, Flink, feature stores, vector DBs)

• Executive presence and storytelling ability; able to communicate data insights to technical and non-technical stakeholders

Benefits we offer:

• Generous compensation in cash and equity

• Early exercise for all options, including pre-vested

• Work from anywhere: Remote-first Culture

• Flexible paid time off and Year-end break

• Health insurance, dental, and vision coverage for employees and dependents - US and Canada specific

• 4% matching in 401k / RRSP - US and Canada specific

• MacBook Pro delivered to your door

• One-time stipend to set up a home office — desk, chair, screen, etc.

• Monthly meal stipend

• Monthly social meet-up stipend

• Annual health and wellness stipend

• Annual Learning stipend

Join a fast-growing company with world-class professionals from around the world. If you are seeking a meaningful career, you found the right place, and we would love to hear from you.

To learn more about how we process your personal information and your rights in regards to your personal information as an applicant and Sardine employee, please visit our Applicant and Worker Privacy Notice.