Senior Director, Data Science - Debit Routing

Job Description

Position Summary:

TheSenior Director of Data Science - Dynamic Routing will lead the strategy and execution of intelligent transaction routing and pricing optimization. This position will lead a team of ~15 data scientists tasked with developing and operationalizing advanced machine learning and algorithmic solutions that optimize interchange fees, enhance transaction approval rates, and drive margin expansion for the business and its merchants.

As the public-facing "face" of our transaction routing solutions, the Senior Director will play a crucial role in client engagements, articulating complex data science concepts in an accessible manner to explain trends and actions taken in routing. This leader will collaborate closely with business leaders to tailor strategies on a customer-by-customer basis, ensuring alignment with broader business goals.

This leader will work in partnership with Product and Engineering teams to craft the future state vision for transaction routing solutions, ensuring the development of innovative products that meet evolving market demands. This role requires a deep understanding of data science methodologies and the ability to translate technical insights into strategic business actions, fostering strong relationships with clients and internal stakeholders to drive success.

Key Responsibilities:

Strategic Leadership:

• Own the data science roadmap for dynamic routing and interchange optimization across U.S. domestic, cross-border payment flows, and extension of dynamic routing globally.

• Build and deploy ML/AI models that inform routing decisions based on issuer behavior, cost structures, geo/location, network rules and eligibility, and approval likelihood.

• Develop scalable, low-latency algorithms integrated into real-time payment decisioning engines.

• Design and validate experiments to quantify the financial impact of routing and interchange strategies (e.g., A/B tests, multi-armed bandits).

• Model complex cost structures (interchange, scheme fees, FX margins) to recommend optimal routing paths for each transaction.

Team & Capability Development:

• Build, lead, and mentor a multidisciplinary team of ~15 data scientists and data analysts.

• Mentor junior team members on best practices in modeling, experimentation, and payments domain knowledge.

• Foster a culture of innovation, experimentation, and continuous learning.

Cross-Functional Collaboration:

• Collaborate with Product and Global Network Partnership teams to align optimization strategies with commercial agreements and market coverage.

• Work closely with Finance, Product, and Worldpay's Lines of Business to report on savings, approval uplift, and margin impact.

• Communicate complex analytical concepts to non-technical stakeholders effectively.

Key Areas of Focus:

• Ensure models meet requirements for scalability, latency, explainability, and regulatory compliance.

• Work with data governance and legal teams to ensure compliance with data privacy regulations (e.g., PCI-DSS, GDPR).

• Optimize transaction paths across processors, networks (Visa, Mastercard, Regional Networks), and endpoints to maximize approval rates and minimize costs.

• Use data-driven insights to steer transactions toward more favorable interchange categories or fee structures.

• Model historical issuer behavior (approval decline patterns, time-of-day trends, geo-specific sensitivity).

• Monitor and optimize for performance, latency, and reliability across network routes.

Performance Measurement:

• Define and track KPIs to measure the business and client impact of dynamic routing

• Provide regular updates to executive leadership on progress, risks, and opportunities.

Qualifications:

• Deep experience in payments, fintech, or financial transaction optimization required.

• Deep understanding of global regulatory frameworks that impact transaction routing (e.g. U.S. Durbin Amendment)

• Excellent understanding of global interchange systems, scheme fee structures, and cross-border routing economics.

• Strong applied knowledge of ML/AI, optimization, and decision science techniques.

• Proficiency in Python, SQL, and Spark

• Advanced degree (PhD or Master's) in Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics, Engineering, or related field.

• 10 years of experience in data science or analytics, with at least 5 years in a leadership role.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in a merchant acquiring, PSP, or card network environment.

• Familiarity with tokenization, real-time payments (RTP), and authorization lifecycle.

• Understanding of card present vs. card-not-present dynamics, tokenization, and authorization lifecycle.

• Experience working within SAFe Agile product development environments.

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EEOC Statement

Worldpay is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, genetic information, national origin, disability, veteran status, and other protected characteristics. The EEO is the Law poster is available here.

If you are made a conditional offer of employment and will be working in the United States, you will be required to undergo a drug test. In developing this job description care was taken to include all competencies and requirements needed to successfully perform the position. Reasonable accommodations will be provided for individuals with qualified disabilities both during the hiring process, as well as to allow the individual to perform the essential functions of the job, if hired.

Sourcing Model

Recruitment at Worldpay works primarily on a direct sourcing model; a relatively small portion of our hiring is through recruitment agencies. Worldpay does not accept resumes from recruitment agencies which are not on the preferred supplier list and is not responsible for any related fees for resumes submitted to job postings, our employees, or any other part of our company.