Data Scientist (Mid-Senior)

What is Spade?

Financial institutions process billions of transactions every day across cards, ACH, wires, and third party aggregators. But most of that data is difficult to use. Descriptions are inconsistent, merchant names don’t match, and categories vary by payment type.

Spade is a data and AI platform that turns messy transaction strings into structured, verified records — and gives teams the tools to act on it across authorization, attribution, analytics, and AI initiatives. Spade leads the market in terms of merchant coverage, matching accuracy, geolocation data, and speed of transaction enrichment. Customers such as, FIS, Bilt, Mercury, Stripe, alongside many other leaders in fintech and financial services, trust Spade's data to enable personalized rewards programs, accurate applied spending rules, precise analytics requests, and innovative AI-powered features.

Spade is a fast growing, Series B company backed by industry experts and top tier investors (including Oak HC/FT, a16z, Flourish Ventures, Y-Combinator, and Gradient Ventures). We’re a lean and execution-oriented hybrid team, passionate about building exceptional products for our growing customer base. We care deeply about diversity of background, experience, and opinion. We value empathy, curiosity, and passion, and strive to create an environment where individuals have autonomy and the ability to take ownership over their work.

What will you be doing?

At Spade, data is the product. As a Data Scientist, you'll build real-time ML/AI systems — from traditional ML and NLP to AI agents — on our proprietary merchant, location, and transaction datasets, turning them into insights financial institutions act on. Working closely with our talented engineering and product teams, you'll help turn ideas into scalable solutions.

• Own ML/AI products end-to-end: ideation, prototyping, production
• Build automated ML/AI systems that improve Spade's data quality and product performance
• Raise the bar on how we develop, deploy, and monitor models — scalable, accurate, robust
• (Senior) Help set the data science and product roadmap with leadership
• (Senior) Mentor other data scientists and grow the team's practices

Note: We're hiring for both Mid and Senior levels across multiple openings; exact level is determined during the interview process.

What experience, skills, and qualifications are necessary?

• 3+ years building and shipping models in Python, in a fast-paced environment (5+ for senior)
• Worked hands-on with engineering and product, not just in a research silo
• Strong ML, stats, and data fundamentals (PySpark, pandas, SQL)
• A product mindset — you navigate ambiguity and optimize for customer value, not just model accuracy
• A collaborative streak — you take feedback well and care about the team's success, not just your own
• An AI-forward workflow — coding assistants and LLMs are part of how you already work, and you're excited to push further
• Based in NYC with ability to work out of our Flatiron office at least 2 days/week

Additional for Senior

• 5+ years, with end-to-end ownership of ML/AI products from idea to production
• Shipped ML/AI-powered products, ideally customer-facing
• A track record of mentoring and raising team standards

Nice to have

• Databricks, data pipelines, Hex
• Gen AI feature/product development
• Fintech experience — especially transaction, merchant, or location data
• Early-stage, high-growth startup experience

Why join Spade?

• Be a cultural founder. As an early employee, you’ll play a meaningful role in defining and building our culture.
• Get in on the ground floor. We’re a small but well-funded team – joining now comes with limited risk and unlimited upside.
• Build the next generation of financial infrastructure. Our products will power the next wave of innovation in fintech, helping our customers deliver better, more transparent products and services to the consumer.

Benefits include:

• Competitive compensation and equity package
• Full medical, dental, and vision benefits for US-based employees
• Life & short-term disability insurance
• Unlimited PTO
• Early exercise program
• Extended post-termination exercise period
• 401K for retirement planning
• Hybrid team, with pet-friendly headquarters in NYC
• Paid parental leave
• Work from home stipend

Salary Range:

• At Spade, we view total compensation as consisting of salary + equity + benefits. We recruit motivated and high performing talent, and work to compensate people in line with the value they bring to our team.
• We aim to pay fairly and competitively, and consider a number of factors in developing compensation offers. These factors include years and breadth of experience, interview performance, market dynamics, and internal equity.
• The anticipated base salary range for this role is listed above (in USD).

Diversity & Inclusion at Spade:

Spade is an equal opportunity employer, committed to building a culture that is diverse, equitable, and inclusive. We believe that having people with different backgrounds, experiences, abilities, and perspectives not only helps us build the best products for our customers, but also helps us be the best version of ourselves.