Senior Data Scientist, Platform – Identity/Algorithms

Airbnb

Senior Data Scientist leveraging data science to enhance identity verification at Airbnb. Collaborating across teams to build cutting-edge identity verification systems and detect fraud.

Posted 4/17/2026full-timeRemote • 🇺🇸 United StatesSenior💰 $177,000 - $208,000 per yearWebsite

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

PythonSQL

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Improve on industry standards in identity verification by leveraging biometrics, NFC chips, Apple/Google integrations, and other advancements in identity verification technologies
Build high-performing statistical models for detecting identity fraud, such as computer vision models for identifying fake or tampered images, LLMs for surfacing suspicious user account attributes, or graph-based models for uncovering hidden clusters of bad actors
Automate and optimize human-in-the-loop ML processes for classifying fraud and generating other labels of interest for model training and evaluation
Deploy a real-time anomaly detection system for quickly identifying emerging threats across regions, cohorts, and platforms
Design intelligent sampling jobs for estimating rare events prevalence and other hard-to-measure metrics like recall and false positive/negative rates
Conduct experiments and lead quantitative analyses for measuring impact, surfacing critical gaps, and identifying opportunities for improvement
Develop methodologies and frameworks for analyzing the tradeoffs associated with new interventions and propose strategies for optimizing impact
Deliver robust research reports with effective data visualizations, clear storytelling, and bullet-proof accuracy to drive forward impact in collaboration with cross-functional partners in product, engineering, and operations
Think strategically about opportunities to improve and scale our identity verification processes and defenses.

Requirements

What you’ll need

5+ years of industry experience in a quantitative analysis role with a Master’s degree in a quantitative field (computer science, statistics, economics, etc.), or 2+ years of experience with a Ph.D.
State-of-the-art knowledge of AI/ML models
Strong knowledge of causal inference
Skilled in statistical programming (Python or R) and database usage (SQL)
Proven ability to communicate clearly and effectively to audiences of varying technical levels
Ability to translate complex findings and results into compelling narratives that drive impact
Excellent project management, communication, and collaboration skills
Trust & Safety experience is a plus.

Benefits

Comp & perks

Our job titles may span more than one career level. The actual base pay is dependent upon many factors, such as: training, transferable skills, work experience, business needs and market demands. The base pay range is subject to change and may be modified in the future. This role may also be eligible for bonus, equity, benefits, and Employee Travel Credits.

ATS Keywords

✓ Tailor your resume

Applicant Tracking System Keywords

Tip: use these terms in your resume and cover letter to boost ATS matches.

Hard Skills & Tools

identity verificationbiometricsNFC chipscomputer visionmachine learningstatistical programmingPythonRSQLcausal inference

Soft Skills

communicationproject managementcollaborationstrategic thinkingdata storytellingquantitative analysisproblem-solvingleadershipcritical thinkingadaptability