Data Scientist

Data is core to Parafin's mission to grow small businesses. Our platform partnerships and portfolio provide rich insight into SMB financial health, allowing us to create fair, automated, and broad access to financial services. As Parafin scales, the breadth and depth of our data grows with it, amplifying the impact we can have on customers and the trajectory of the business.

Responsibilities

Partner closely with leaders across the company to drive impact; Lead projects end to end; Design experiments and analyses that expand access to capital while keeping the portfolio healthy; Study the full merchant lifecycle (first offer, repayment, repeat capital) to find where we can responsibly extend more; Model how a prospective partner's portfolio would perform on our platform; Build and ship ML models (XGBoost and friends) that forecast merchant repayment behavior; Measure whether servicing interventions move the needle; Build data pipelines, automated systems, and internal tools; Automate processes (lien filings, KYC checks, fraud screens) using APIs, ML, and LLMs; Build internal tools (Streamlit apps, dashboards, Slack bots); Develop expertise in specific areas and tackle projects across domains

Requirements

Bachelor's Degree (or higher) in Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics, Data Science (or related fields); Statistical Reasoning: Approach data analysis with a critical, intellectually honest eye; Design concise metrics that guide decision making; Use robust causal inference methods; Develop valid and predictive machine learning models; Business Acumen: Identify and effectively prioritize business problems; Solve business problems using appropriate data science techniques; Anticipate the impact of your work on our financial performance, customers, and compliance obligations; Engineering Mindset: Write legible, reliable, and tested code; Build or source tools to boost the team's efficiency; Contribute to model and data infrastructure design; Leadership and Collaboration: Model Parafin's values of efficiency, intellectual honesty, accountability, and empathy; Build trusted relationships with stakeholders; Document work, seek feedback, and share learnings proactively; Mentor other DS members on the team; Focused Execution: Prioritize high-impact use of your time; Scope projects rigorously; Act with urgency; AI Tool Fluency: Rapidly learn and adopt emerging AI tools and workflows to accelerate analysis; Critically evaluate AI-generated outputs for accuracy and reliability

Nice to have

Management experience

Benefits

Equity grant; Medical, dental & vision insurance; Work from home flexibility; Unlimited PTO; Commuter benefits; Free lunches; Paid parental leave; 401(k); Employee assistance program