Job Description
Who is Shift?
At Shift, we’re business specialists dedicated to helping Australian SMEs take control of their cashflow, streamline trade terms and choose the right financial products.
We believe Australian businesses are the driving force behind our economy and are core to our communities. That’s why our business expertise, focus on relationships, and market-leading technology is at the core of everything we do. We’ve helped solve the credit and payment pain points for more than 30,000 businesses, providing over $6 billion in aggregate funding.
Our unique approach to product innovation combined with our collaborative culture means you can build your career in a supportive environment. You’ll be joining a diverse team of over 300 people who are always looking to deliver better outcomes for Australian businesses.
About the role:
As a Data Scientist at Shift, you won’t just be building models, you’ll be shaping how we understand credit risk, fraud and profitability. From hands on Python development to deep dives into machine learning and credit strategy, you'll be right at the centre of solving complex problems that directly impact the business. You’ll collaborate with smart, curious people across teams and you’ll get space to grow your technical skills while contributing to innovative, high-impact projects.
What you’ll do:
Develop and validate statistical and machine learning models across Credit risk (PD, LGD, EAD), provisioning (AASB/IFRS9), servicing, fraud and profitability
Optimise credit strategy through modelling, automation, and performance insights
Build, deploy, and maintain models using our internal Python engine
Research new modelling methodologies and challenge the status quo to drive innovation
Work with diverse data sources (e.g. bank statements, credit bureaux, OCR) and ensure data integrity
Contribute to model monitoring and governance for internal and regulatory stakeholders
Share your knowledge through team discussions, workshops and informal peer sessions
Collaborate with Risk, Product, Technology and Treasury teams to align data science with business goals
Advanced data wrangling, working with complex and unstructured datasets
Build AI and large language model (LLM) solutions from scratch to address business challenges
Perform classification on large text sets, converting them into structured datasets for modelling
What you’ll bring:
Experience coding in Python
Solid quantitative background – you’re comfortable with stats, modelling, and problem solving
Excellent communication skills – you can explain complex models to non-technical teams
Ability to manage projects, define scopes, and deliver aligned outcomes
Collaborative mindset with curiosity and a passion for learning
Experience with SQL, Databricks, PySpark, or similar clustered computing environments
Commercial or financial services background
Experience deploying ML models or Python microservices in production
Master’s or PhD in a quantitative discipline (Stats, Maths, CS, Engineering, etc.)
Key benefits:
Collaborative teams – a flat structure means everyone can learn from colleagues and senior leaders around the business.
Be involved – come together with all of your colleagues every 100 days to share the product and technology roadmap and business strategy.
Flexible working environment – we’re headquartered in North Sydney with state-based workplaces and offer a flexible work policy.
Family support – industry leading 26 weeks paid parental leave.
Purpose built spaces within our office – designed for collaboration, brainstorming, socialising, and focused work.
Range of benefits supporting your physical, psychological and financial wellbeing. From a day off on your birthday to excellent end of trip facilities.
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