Vice President of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

at  Ouro

ABOUT THE COMPANY:

Ouro is a global, vertically-integrated financial services and technology company dedicated to the delivery of innovative financial empowerment solutions to consumers worldwide. Ouro’s financial products and services span prepaid, debit, cross-border payments, and loyalty solutions for consumers and enterprise partners.
Ouro’s flagship product Netspend provides prepaid and debit account solutions that connect customers with secure, convenient access to global payment networks so they can manage their money and make everyday purchases. With a nationwide U.S. retail network, customers can purchase and reload Netspend products at 130,000 reload points and over 100,000 distributing locations.
Since Ouro’s founding in 1999 by industry pioneers Roy and Bertrand Sosa, Ouro products have processed billions of dollars in transaction volume and served millions of customers worldwide. The company is headquartered in Austin, Texas with regional offices around the world. Learn more at www.ouro.com.
Job Description:
We are seeking an experienced and dynamic hands-on Vice President of Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) to lead our AI/ML initiatives in the rapidly evolving payments and fintech sector. The successful candidate will be responsible for driving the strategic direction, development, and implementation of AI/ML solutions to optimize payment processing, enhance customer experience, and drive innovation in financial services.

Key Responsibilities:

• Strategic Leadership:
• Develop and implement a comprehensive AI/ML strategy aligned with the company’s business goals.
• Lead the AI/ML team to create advanced models and algorithms for smart assistants, fraud risk management, predictive analytics, and other AI-driven solutions.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to integrate AI/ML initiatives into various business processes.
• Team Management and Development:
• Build, mentor, and lead a high-performing team of AI/ML experts.
• Foster a culture of innovation, continuous learning, and data-driven decision-making.
• AI/ML Innovation:
• Lead the development of AI/ML models to enhance payment processing systems, fraud detection, risk management, and personalized customer experiences.
• Stay abreast of emerging trends and technologies in AI and machine learning, and assess their applicability to business needs.
• Data Science and Analytics:
• Oversee the design and development of scalable data processing and analytics platforms.
• Implement best practices for data mining, analysis, and modeling to uncover insights that drive business value.
• Ensure data quality and integrity in all data science projects.
• Stakeholder Engagement:
• Work closely with executive management to define key performance indicators and deliver insights that inform strategic decisions.
• Communicate complex data science concepts and findings to non-technical stakeholders.
• Regulatory Compliance and Ethics:
• Ensure all AI/ML activities comply with regulatory standards and ethical guidelines, particularly in data privacy and security.

Qualifications:

• Education:
• Master’s or PhD in Data Science, Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics, or a related field.
• Experience:
• Minimum of 12+ years of hands-on experience in AI/ML field, with at least 5 years in a leadership role
• Proven track record of developing and implementing successful AI/ML models.
• Technical Skills:
• Expertise in Deep Learning, Transformers, Generative AI, and Prompt Engineering
• Proficiency in Python, SQL, Tensorflow, and PyTorch and cloud computing environment(s)
• Experience with various databases and data warehouses, including Snowflake.
• Expertise in data mining, predictive modeling, machine learning, and AI.
• Experience with big data technologies and advanced analytics tools.
• Leadership Skills:
• Strong leadership and team-building capabilities.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to think strategically and translate insights into actionable business plans
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills

Preferred Skills:

• Experience in software development & deployment
• Experience in the fintech or payments industry.
• Knowledge of payment systems, digital wallets, and financial regulations.
• Familiarity with agile project management methodologies.

• Strategic Leadership:
• Develop and implement a comprehensive AI/ML strategy aligned with the company’s business goals.
• Lead the AI/ML team to create advanced models and algorithms for smart assistants, fraud risk management, predictive analytics, and other AI-driven solutions.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to integrate AI/ML initiatives into various business processes.
• Team Management and Development:
• Build, mentor, and lead a high-performing team of AI/ML experts.
• Foster a culture of innovation, continuous learning, and data-driven decision-making.
• AI/ML Innovation:
• Lead the development of AI/ML models to enhance payment processing systems, fraud detection, risk management, and personalized customer experiences.
• Stay abreast of emerging trends and technologies in AI and machine learning, and assess their applicability to business needs.
• Data Science and Analytics:
• Oversee the design and development of scalable data processing and analytics platforms.
• Implement best practices for data mining, analysis, and modeling to uncover insights that drive business value.
• Ensure data quality and integrity in all data science projects.
• Stakeholder Engagement:
• Work closely with executive management to define key performance indicators and deliver insights that inform strategic decisions.
• Communicate complex data science concepts and findings to non-technical stakeholders.
• Regulatory Compliance and Ethics:
• Ensure all AI/ML activities comply with regulatory standards and ethical guidelines, particularly in data privacy and security