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Lead Machine Learning Scientist, FinCrime

MonzoCardiff, London or Remote (UK)Data
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Salary
£115K - £150K GBP
Job type
Full-time
Work mode
Remote
Posted
8 Jul 2026
Status
Open · checked 7d ago

About this role

Monzo is seeking a Lead Machine Learning Scientist to join its data team in London, Cardiff, or on a remote basis within the UK. This technical leadership role is well-suited for an experienced ML expert who wants to build defensive capabilities against financial crime and protect customers.

Role Overview

As a Lead Machine Learning Scientist, you will join a Financial Crime Data team consisting of over 25 professionals across four data specialisms. Working in a fast-moving environment, you will build and iterate on financial crime defensive capabilities to safeguard the bank and its customers. This individual contributor role sits within a cross-functional product squad, collaborating with product managers, data scientists, backend engineers, and designers in an agile environment.

Key Responsibilities

Work with stakeholders across the organisation to identify and scope out impactful opportunities to tackle financial crime and fraud using machine learning.
Lead the design and development of advanced real-time machine learning models, exploring neural network, graph-based, and sequence-based architectures.
Provide technical leadership to drive up levels of technical expertise and best practices across the machine learning discipline by mentoring others and leading by example.
Collaborate closely with the MLOps team to steer the ongoing development of tools enabling rapid iteration of models and optimisation of the full machine learning model lifecycle.
Automatically and accurately detect suspicious user behaviours while minimising the impact on genuine customers and operational costs.

Requirements

Multiple-year track record of excellence in leading the development and deployment of advanced machine learning models to tackle real business problems.
Experience developing and shipping deep learning, graph-based, and/or sequence-based machine learning architectures to production.
Extensive experience writing production Python code and a strong command of SQL.
Impact-driven mindset with the ability to own the end-to-end journey from a business problem to a measurable production solution.
Comfortable working in a team that deals with ambiguity and helping stakeholders resolve that ambiguity.

Nice to Have

Experience working with financial crime and in regulated institutions.
Commercial experience writing critical production code and working with microservices.

Skills and Tools

Python
SQL
MLOps
Deep Learning and Graph-based Architectures
Cloud-native Data Platforms

Salary and Benefits

Annual salary between £115,000 and £150,000.
Incentive awards tied to performance.
Visa sponsorship and relocation assistance to the UK.
Annual learning budget of £1,000 for training courses and conferences.
Flexible working hours and options for distributed working within the UK.

About the Company

Monzo is on a mission to make money work for everyone by moving away from traditional banking complications. Over the last 10 years, the company has expanded its product offerings to include personal and business bank accounts, joint accounts, credit cards, savings, investments, and pension consolidation. The firm focuses on solving problems and changing lives through customer-centric financial services.

How to Apply

Candidates should apply directly on the official Monzo careers page.

Skills and tech stack

PythonSQLMLOps

Questions candidates ask

Where is the Lead Machine Learning Scientist position located?

The role can be based in the London or Cardiff offices, or performed remotely from anywhere within the UK with ad-hoc meetings in London.

What is the salary range for this role?

The salary ranges from £115,000 to £150,000 per year, plus performance-tied incentive awards and benefits.

What programming languages are required?

Candidates need extensive experience writing production Python code and a strong command of SQL. Familiarity with Go lang is also beneficial as it is used in backend microservices.

Does Monzo offer visa sponsorship or relocation support?

Yes, Monzo can sponsor visas and help candidates relocate to the UK.

What does the interview process involve?

The process includes a 30-minute recruiter call, a 45-minute call with the hiring manager, and a full loop covering an ML modelling interview, a product and ML interview, a behavioural interview, and a leadership interview.

Ready to apply?

The application is on the official Monzo careers page.

Apply on company site