Lead Data Scientist (m/f/d)

About the Job As a key growth accelerator, A11 partners with Europe’s most ambitious startups and scaleups, corporates and SMBs to connect them with top-tier talent ready to make an impact. We’re looking for a Lead Data Scientist (m/f/d) to take ownership of a newly built SmartRisk engine in the Credit Risk department at of one of Europe’s leading B2B mobility and payment platforms. Our partner company serves customers across more than 50 countries.

Built on over 90 years of continuous growth and innovation, the company has evolved into a market-leading platform with around 2,700 employees, processing €19 billion in transaction volume. As the business enters its next phase of development, it is investing heavily in data, AI, and technology-enabled commercial excellence to strengthen its market position and unlock new opportunities at scale. In this role, you will own a risk model, the SmartRisk engine end to end.

From feature strategy and model training to calibration, backtesting, drift monitoring, and explainability. This is a hands-on role, which means you will design data-driven use cases such as early-warning systems, loss databases, limit and exposure steering, and portfolio insights. With direct exposure to senior decision makers, real influence over how risk is quantified and managed at scale, this role offers a rare opportunity to shape a business critical capability from the inside.

, PD, EAD, LGD, rating, IFRS 9/ECL) and experience with SAP and Power BI Your Profile: 5-8 years of experience in Data Science and Machine Learning, confidently applying statistical methods, regression models, time series analyses, classical ML, and modern AI algorithms Highly proficient in Python and SQL Ability to independently develop value-adding, cloud-based solutions, including Generative AI use cases such as LLMs, RAG systems, or"talk-to-your-data" interfaces (AI agents or chat interfaces) Proven track record building robust end-to-end ML pipelines and maintaining MLOps standards (CI/CD, model registry, monitoring, quality checks) Experience with hands-on ownership of machine learning models (feature strategy, training, calibration, backtesting) and explainability methods like SHAP or Reason Codes You communicate clearly, presenting complex analytical results to business units, IT, and management and translating them into actionable results Experience mentoring and guiding other Data Scientists is an advantage Fluent in German and English Please note that this position is based close to Düsseldorf.

Benefits And Perks

: Full ownership from day one. You will be the one owning the engine, not coordinating from the sidelines. Close collaboration with senior leadership and visibility to C-level stakeholders.