Staff Data Scientist

Staff Data Scientist - PayPal - Chennai, India

PayPal is seeking a skilled Staff Data Scientist to join our team in Chennai, India. This role involves designing, developing, and deploying advanced machine learning models using Google Cloud Platform (GCP) services, including AI Platform, BigQuery ML, Vertex AI, TensorFlow, and AutoML. You will be instrumental in building and optimizing scalable data pipelines for collection, preprocessing, and feature engineering, collaborating closely with data engineers to manage large datasets on GCP.

Responsibilities include developing custom machine learning models (supervised, unsupervised, and reinforcement learning) tailored to specific business needs. You will work hand-in-hand with software engineers to seamlessly integrate AI/ML models into applications and products, adhering to CI/CD best practices for ML. A key part of this role also involves leading the configuration, maintenance, and optimization of network and security infrastructure for high performance and reliability, including architecting and integrating networks across diverse cloud environments.

This position requires a strong understanding of Infrastructure as Code principles for automation and maintenance. You will oversee the deployment and management of F5 Local Traffic Managers (LTMs) and Advanced Security Modules (ASMs) for secure application delivery, and create strategies for integrating cloud Virtual Private Clouds (VPCs), interconnects, and direct connects for efficient data flow. Proactive identification of opportunities to enhance network scalability and resilience is crucial, along with close collaboration with infrastructure, application, and security teams.

You will also perform model tuning, evaluation, and monitoring for continuous performance improvement. This role offers opportunities for mentorship and guidance to junior developers, contributing to code reviews and project planning. Ensuring the security, scalability, and performance of production ML models is paramount.

Qualifications:

• Minimum of 8 years of relevant work experience and a Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience.
• Master's degree or higher in Computer Science, Mathematics, or a related field with a strong interest in Machine Learning and AI.
• Proven experience in developing and implementing ML and AI solutions.
• Strong programming skills in Python, Java, or C++.
• In-depth knowledge of machine learning frameworks and libraries (e.g., TensorFlow, PyTorch).
• Experience with cloud ML services (Vertex AI, etc.).
• Excellent problem-solving skills and ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong communication skills for effective team and stakeholder collaboration.
• Solid understanding of algorithms, statistics, data structures, distributed systems, and software engineering best practices.
• Proven experience leading and delivering complex ML projects at production scale.
• Experience integrating ML solutions into cloud environments (AWS, Azure, GCP) is highly desirable.