AML and Sanctions- Data Scientist- Senior Associate
The Senior Associate in AML and Sanctions Data Science at Confidential Client applies advanced machine learning and natural language processing techniques to detect financial crime. This role involves leveraging Python and SQL to analyze complex datasets, mentoring junior team members, and delivering strategic insights to clients while upholding professional standards. The position offers opportunities for technical growth and client engagement within a dynamic financial crime unit.
About Careertakes
👉 Important disclosure: Careertakes is a third-party recruiting platform supporting this hiring process. If selected, you will be employed directly by our client, Accounting, Financial Services, and Business Consulting and Services.
Applicants for this role may also receive access to additional matched opportunities through the Careertakes platform.
Role Overview
Confidential Client is hiring a Senior Associate — AML & Sanctions Data Scientist to join their Financial Crime / Financial Crimes Unit in Philadelphia, PA. You will apply machine learning, NLP, and advanced analytics to detect and mitigate AML and sanctions-related risks, working with structured and unstructured data to produce production-quality models and client-facing insights.
What You’ll Do
- Apply machine learning and natural language processing to financial‑crime and sanctions screening problems.
- Use Python and SQL for data preparation, feature engineering, model development, and validation.
- Develop and validate models (classification, scoring, NLP pipelines) and support model monitoring and lifecycle activities.
- Translate client requirements into analytical approaches and clearly communicate results to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
- Mentor and review work of junior team members and contribute to technical excellence and best practices.
- Work with cloud platforms, containerization, and MLOps practices to support deployment and monitoring of models.
Responsibilities
- Build, evaluate, and iterate ML models for transaction monitoring, sanctions screening, and related AML use cases.
- Process and analyze both structured transaction data and unstructured text (e.g., alerts, case notes).
- Implement reproducible data pipelines and testing for model performance and drift detection.
- Document modeling assumptions, evaluation metrics, and maintain model governance artifacts.
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams (compliance, engineering, product) to operationalize models.
Qualifications (Minimum Requirements)
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer/Information Science, Economics, Engineering, Operations Research, Statistics, Data Science, Mathematics, or related field.
- Minimum 3 years of professional experience in data science / machine learning.
- Strong programming experience in Python and proficiency in SQL.
- Practical experience developing ML models and interpreting model evaluation metrics.
- Experience working with structured and unstructured data sources.
- Strong problem-solving, critical thinking, and communication skills.
Preferred Qualifications (What Sets You Apart)
- Experience mentoring junior team members.
- Hands-on experience with ML frameworks (scikit-learn, XGBoost, LightGBM, Hugging Face).
- Familiarity with MLOps practices: model monitoring, CI/CD for models, containerization (Docker), and cloud deployment.
- Experience with NLP techniques and pipelines applied to sanctions/AML use cases.
- Knowledge of agentic AI/workflow frameworks and production model governance.
- Prior work on financial crime, sanctions screening, or transaction monitoring projects.
Compensation & Benefits
- Salary range: $77,000 - $202,000. Actual compensation will depend on skills, experience, qualifications, location, and applicable employment laws.
- All hired individuals are eligible for an annual discretionary bonus where applicable.
- Benefits include medical, dental, vision, retirement (401k), paid holidays, vacation, and paid sick leave; additional benefits vary by location.
Location & Employment Type
- Location: Philadelphia, PA (on-site / client-specified). This is a Full-time position.
- Note: If you require visa sponsorship now or in the future, please review the Confidential Client’s sponsorship policy. Confidential Client generally does not intend to hire applicants who will need H‑1B sponsorship except as specified in the organization’s policy.
Legal & Fair Hiring Notices
Confidential Client is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to legally protected characteristics. For applicants covered by local fair‑chance laws (for example certain city or county ordinances), Confidential Client will consider arrest or conviction records in accordance with applicable law and ordinance requirements.
Equal Opportunity & Hiring Transparency
Careertakes and our client are Equal Opportunity Employers committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce. We prohibit discrimination or harassment of any kind. To support a fair and efficient hiring process, AI tools may be used to assist with application review or resume screening. These tools do not replace human decision-making. Final hiring decisions are made by people.
If you have questions about how your data is used, please contact us directly.
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