Director, Analytical AI & Data Platforms

About the role

The Director, Analytical AI & Data Platforms will lead the transformation of predictive intelligence and AI-enabled decisioning across our payment processing ecosystem. This strategic leadership role supports the VP, Data in refining and operationalizing the company’s Analytical AI vision.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design, deployment, and operationalization of predictive and machine learning models that drive measurable business impact across the payments ecosystem.
• Advance enterprise predictive analytics capabilities in areas including: Fraud detection and transaction risk scoring, Merchant segmentation and prioritization, Customer lifetime value modeling, Churn prediction and retention, Revenue forecasting, Payment behavior analytics, Operational performance optimization, Intelligent routing and authorization optimization, Customer and merchant next-best-action engines.
• Build scalable and reusable AI/ML experimentation and deployment frameworks across business domains.
• Drive adoption of AI-enabled decisioning and predictive insights within Product, Commercial, Operations, Risk, and Customer Experience organizations.
• Evaluate emerging Analytical AI, GenAI, agentic AI, and decision intelligence technologies to enhance enterprise analytics capabilities.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Engineering, Statistics, Mathematics, Information Systems, or related field required; Master’s or PhD preferred.
• 10+ years of progressive leadership experience in Data, Analytics, AI/ML, or Data Platform organizations.
• 5+ years leading enterprise-scale analytics, data science, or AI engineering teams.
• Strong hands-on expertise in predictive analytics, machine learning, recommendation systems, decision intelligence, and AI-enabled analytics.
• Deep experience with modern cloud data platforms and analytical ecosystems including: Snowflake, Fivetran, Apache Iceberg, Looker / LookML, Strong technical expertise in: Python, SQL, ML frameworks and AI tooling, Cloud platforms such as AWS.
• Demonstrated success operationalizing predictive analytics and AI capabilities at enterprise scale.
• Strong executive communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Experience leading within complex, matrixed organizations.

Preferred Experience

• Within fintech, payment processing, transaction platforms, fraud analytics, or regulated financial services.
• Experience with real-time analytics and streaming architectures.
• Familiarity with: MLOps platforms, Feature stores, Vector databases, Semantic retrieval architectures, Agentic AI frameworks.
• Knowledge of PCI, SOC2, GDPR, and financial data governance requirements.
• Experience integrating predictive AI and analytical AI capabilities with broader GenAI enterprise initiatives.