OverviewYaspa is a fintech that connects identity and money to simplify and accelerate the way we pay. Yaspa operates across the UK and Europe, is regulated by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority, and is backed by investors including Fin Capital, SGH Capital and Metavallon VC. Yaspa recently secured a $12 million (£9m) investment led by Discerning Capital to accelerate expansion into the US market.

The RoleAs a Data Scientist at Yaspa, you will work at the intersection of machine learning, payments, and risk. You will develop and optimize advanced models enabling real-time fraud and credit risk decisioning for A2A payments. You will partner with Product, Risk, and Engineering teams to operationalize models in production and drive intelligent automation across the US payments stack.

We’re looking for someone who thrives in a fast-paced, collaborative environment and brings deep technical expertise, curiosity, and a proactive mindset to solving complex problems. Experience in open banking, payment networks (ACH, RTP), and real-time risk infrastructure is a strong plus.

Key Responsibilities

Design and deploy real-time risk models to support safe and seamless A2A payments across the US market.

Develop advanced ML solutions to detect fraud patterns, assess creditworthiness, and optimize transaction approval rates.

Collaborate with engineering to productionize models for scalable, low-latency decisioning in a cloud-native environment.

Leverage internal data, open banking data, and third-party sources to enhance risk modeling and feature engineering.

Define and monitor model KPIs, implement control groups, and build tools for model performance tracking and diagnostics.

Translate complex risk signals into clear insights and visualizations for cross-functional partners including Product, Sales, and Operations.

Partner with Product to scope and iterate on risk tooling and infrastructure needed to support US market expansion.

Act as a subject matter expert on US open banking and payments fraud, bringing a strategic lens to risk mitigation.

Provide data-driven consultative support to key merchant partners and help shape merchant-specific risk strategies.

Collaborate with global counterparts to align risk strategies across markets while tailoring solutions to the regulatory and behavioral context of the US.

ExperienceRequired skills

9+ years of experience with a strong track record in payment risk, fraud detection, or credit decisioning

Deep familiarity with the US A2A payments ecosystem (ACH, RTP, FedNow) and open banking frameworks

Hands-on experience building and deploying ML models in Python, SQL, and Spark; familiarity with real-time environments a plus

Strong knowledge of statistical modeling, anomaly detection, clustering, and supervised/unsupervised learning

Experience working with large-scale data in Hadoop-based environments (Hive, Impala)

Demonstrated ability to design and validate features using transactional and behavioral data from financial services

Proven success collaborating with product and engineering teams to ship ML-based features and tools

Experience with model governance and monitoring in regulated environments

Strong communication skills and business acumen to present complex technical ideas to non-technical stakeholders

Curious, proactive, and comfortable working in ambiguity in a scaling startup environment

Basic Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree with 8+ years of relevant experience, OR

Master’s degree with 5+ years of experience, OR

PhD with 2+ years of experience

Qualities

Calm under pressure and able to lead during client demos.

A strong sense of ownership and accountability.

Empathy for users combined with technical confidence.

Highly organised and able to manage competing priorities.

Eager to improve systems, processes, and tools continuously.

Reporting toHead of Product

HoursFull time

LocationLondon or Leeds - Hybrid WFH model, x2 days a week onsite (Wed/Thu)

Note

We cannot offer Visa sponsorship

We are not working with external agencies at this current time.

Next steps

Interested? We’d love to hear from you. Please apply via LinkedIn with your CV and a covering letter explaining why you think you’re the right person for this role. You can find out more about us at Yaspa.

Please note that as an equal opportunities employer, Yaspa is committed to the equal treatment of all current and prospective employees and does not condone discrimination on the basis of age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, gender identity, or marriage and civil partnership. We aspire to have a diverse and inclusive workplace and strongly encourage suitably qualified applicants from a wide range of backgrounds to apply and join Yaspa.

We are an equal opportunity employer.

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