Principal Data Scientist, Risk & AI

Who We Are

At OKX, we believe that the future will be reshaped by crypto, and ultimately contribute to every individual's freedom. OKX is a leading crypto exchange, and the developer of OKX Wallet, giving millions access to crypto trading and decentralized crypto applications (dApps). OKX is also a trusted brand by hundreds of large institutions seeking access to crypto markets. We are safe and reliable, backed by our Proof of Reserves.

Across our multiple offices globally, we are united by our core principles: We Before Me, Do the Right Thing, and Get Things Done. These shared values drive our culture, shape our processes, and foster a friendly, rewarding, and diverse environment for every OK-er.

About the Team

The Risk function at OKX is responsible for shaping the company's global risk, fraud prevention, and trust strategy across the crypto ecosystem. We are a team of risk-minded innovators combining advanced analytics, automation, and AI-driven decisioning to protect customers and the platform at scale.

Beyond traditional fraud prevention, our mission is to redefine how risk is managed in the crypto industry through AI-native risk intelligence, automated decision systems, and scalable risk infrastructure. We partner closely with product, engineering, compliance, and operations teams to build proactive, intelligent, and compliant risk solutions that protect the company from financial, regulatory, and reputational risks.

Our globally distributed team includes risk strategists, data scientists, engineers, and AI practitioners working together to build the next generation of AI-powered risk management.

About the Opportunity

The Principal Data Scientist, Risk will offer a strategic perspective, deep analytical and modeling capabilities, and a collaborative working style. The right candidate will have strong intellectual curiosity and passion for achieving business results and can go beyond traditional modeling and help architect the future of AI-driven risk analytics and operations.

You will help design and deploy an AI framework for risk analytics, leveraging machine learning, large language models (LLMs), and AI agents to transform how risk decisions are made — shifting from manual investigation toward intelligent, automated risk operations.

This role requires someone who can rapidly frame ambiguous problems, apply state-of-the-art AI techniques, and operationalize solutions that directly improve risk detection, operational efficiency, and business outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Design and build an AI-first risk analytics framework supporting fraud, identity, payments, growth abuse, and account security risk domains.
• Develop scalable AI systems that convert raw risk signals into automated insights, decisions, and actions.
• Lead the evolution from rule-based and manual workflows toward AI-assisted and AI-autonomous risk decisioning.
• Drive operational efficiency by replacing manual reviews with AI-assisted or AI-led review workflows.
• Collaborate across business and technology stakeholders to communicate analytical findings to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Partner with 2LOD for risk mitigations and solutions.
• Design and implement risk metrics framework across the Risk organization.
• Enhance monitoring and alerting solutions across all functions. Develop early-warning systems and leading indicators that detect shifts in risk exposure before they impact the P&L.
• Drive the shift from correlation-based decisions to causality-based strategies.

Requirements

• Master's degree (or PhD) in Statistics, Mathematics, Operations Research, Computer Science, Economics, Engineering or other quantitative discipline. Bachelor's degree with significant relevant experience will be considered.
• 8+ years of fraud analytics experience in financial services or FinTechs.
• Advanced programming skills of statistical and analytical software (SQL, R, Python, etc.).
• Demonstrated experience building or deploying AI-driven analytical systems, not just standalone models.
• Experience applying LLMs, AI agents, or generative AI to analytical or operational workflows.
• Ability to design AI systems that automate reasoning, investigation, or decision support.
• Experience improving operational efficiency through analytics automation or intelligent tooling.
• Familiarity with prompt engineering, agent orchestration, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), or decision intelligence systems.
• Successful track record of owning and driving large, complex data analysis projects.
• Deep expertise in Statistics and Probability (hypothesis testing, confidence intervals, distributions). You don't just run the test; you understand the mathematical assumptions behind it.
• Demonstrated capacity for innovation and outside-the-box thinking in the creation of new capabilities and processes that are unstructured or exploratory in nature.
• Exceptional data storytelling skills. The ability to visualize complex data (Tableau, Looker, Streamlit) and persuade non-technical stakeholders.
• Experience in a fast-paced startup environment with a strong level of initiative.
• Ability and willingness to travel as needed.
• Strong communicator in both writing and speaking.
• Multi-tasking and strong project management skills.

Nice to Have

• Payment and Crypto/Blockchain experience.
• Hands-on experience and knowledge of modeling in machine learning (GBM, XGBoost, Random Forest, etc.).

Benefits

• Competitive total compensation package.
• L&D programs and education subsidy for employees' growth and development.
• Various team building programs and company events.
• Wellness and meal allowances.
• Comprehensive healthcare schemes for employees and dependants.

Compensation

The salary range for this position is $250,444.00 to $375,666.00. The salary offered depends on a variety of factors, including job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and market location. In addition to the salary, a performance bonus and long-term incentives may be provided as part of the compensation package, as well as a full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the position offered.