Senior Data Scientist, Algorithms - Identity (Trust)

Details

Airbnb’s Identity Data Science team builds identity verification systems and defenses that help ensure users are who they say they are. The team partners with product, engineering, and operations to design algorithmic and data-driven solutions that improve trust across the Airbnb community.

The Community You Will Join

Trust is essential to Airbnb’s mission. The Identity Data Science team focuses on identity verification, fraud detection, and automation of human-in-the-loop processes to scale safe user experiences.

The Difference You Will Make

You will work on high-visibility initiatives such as:

• Improving industry standards in identity verification by leveraging biometrics, NFC chips, Apple/Google integrations, and other identity technologies
• Building high-performing statistical models for detecting identity fraud (computer vision models for tampered images, LLMs for surfacing suspicious account attributes, graph-based models for uncovering clusters of bad actors)
• Automating and optimizing human-in-the-loop ML processes for labeling and model training
• Deploying real-time anomaly detection systems to identify emerging threats across regions, cohorts, and platforms
• Designing intelligent sampling jobs to estimate rare-event prevalence and measurement metrics (recall, false positive/negative rates)

A Typical Day / Responsibilities

• Build and deploy production AI/ML models for detecting identity fraud and improving verification systems (feature engineering, model development and evaluation, threshold selection, error analysis, model lifecycle management)
• Conduct experiments and quantitative analyses to measure impact, surface gaps, and identify improvement opportunities
• Develop methodologies and frameworks to analyze tradeoffs of new interventions and propose optimization strategies
• Deliver research reports with effective data visualizations, clear storytelling, and accurate results to cross-functional partners
• Think strategically about opportunities to improve and scale identity verification processes and defenses

Requirements

• 5+ years of industry experience in a quantitative analysis role with a Master’s degree in a quantitative field, or 2+ years 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 to audiences with varying technical levels
• Ability to translate complex findings into compelling narratives that drive impact
• Excellent project management, communication, and collaboration skills
• Trust & Safety experience is a plus

Location / Work Arrangement

• This position is US - Remote Eligible. The role may include occasional work at an Airbnb office or attendance at offsites, as agreed with your manager.
• You must live in a state where Airbnb, Inc. has a registered entity (some states are excluded).

Compensation & Benefits

• Pay Range: $177,000—$208,000 USD (base pay range; actual base pay depends on experience, skills, and other factors)
• This role may also be eligible for bonus, equity, benefits, and Employee Travel Credits.

Inclusion & Accommodations

Airbnb is committed to inclusion and belonging. Candidates with disabilities who require reasonable accommodation during the application or interview process may contact [email protected] with their full name, the role, and the accommodation requested.