Sr Manager, Data Science

The Company

PayPal has been revolutionizing commerce globally for more than 25 years. Creating innovative experiences that make moving money, selling, and shopping simple, personalized, and secure, PayPal empowers consumers and businesses in approximately 200 markets to join and thrive in the global economy. 

We operate a global, two-sided network at scale that connects hundreds of millions of merchants and consumers. We help merchants and consumers connect, transact, and complete payments, whether they are online or in person. PayPal is more than a connection to third-party payment networks. We provide proprietary payment solutions accepted by merchants that enable the completion of payments on our platform on behalf of our customers.

We offer our customers the flexibility to use their accounts to purchase and receive payments for goods and services, as well as the ability to transfer and withdraw funds. We enable consumers to exchange funds more safely with merchants using a variety of funding sources, which may include a bank account, a PayPal or Venmo account balance, PayPal and Venmo branded credit products, a credit card, a debit card, certain cryptocurrencies, or other stored value products such as gift cards, and eligible credit card rewards.  Our PayPal, Venmo, and Xoom products also make it safer and simpler for friends and family to transfer funds to each other. We offer merchants an end-to-end payments solution that provides authorization and settlement capabilities, as well as instant access to funds and payouts. We also help merchants connect with their customers, process exchanges and returns, and manage risk. We enable consumers to engage in cross-border shopping and merchants to extend their global reach while reducing the complexity and friction involved in enabling cross-border trade. 

Our beliefs are the foundation for how we conduct business every day.  We live each day guided by our core values of Inclusion, Innovation, Collaboration, and Wellness. Together, our values ensure that we work together as one global team with our customers at the center of everything we do – and they push us to ensure we take care of ourselves, each other, and our communities.

Job Summary:

This job will design and implement advanced data science models to support business needs. You will work with stakeholders to understand requirements and deliver solutions. Your role involves driving best practices in data science, ensuring data quality, and mentoring junior scientists.

Job Description:

Essential Responsibilities:

• Lead complex data science projects, ensuring they meet business objectives and deliver actionable insights.
• Develop advanced data models and algorithms to analyze large datasets and solve complex business problems.
• Collaborate with senior leadership to identify data-driven opportunities for business growth and efficiency.
• Implement best practices for data management, analysis, and visualization.
• Ensure data governance and compliance with relevant regulations and standards.
• Provide mentorship and technical guidance to the data science team.

Minimum Qualifications:

• 8+ years relevant experience and a Bachelor’s degree OR Any equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Experience leading others

The Sr. Manager Data Science, Payments Risk Analytics Oversight is responsible for payments risk oversight across PayPal’s European ecosystem, combining hands-on payments risk analytics and deep SEPA expertise. 

Owns end-to-end risk monitoring for European payment flows, drives data-led decision making, and facilitates interactions with the regulators, banking partners, and internal teams. 

Ideal candidate is someone who can move seamlessly between data, risk, and external stakeholders to: 

• Diagnose payments issues using data  

• Explain them internally and externally  

• Drive internal resolution end-to-end  

Key Responsibilities 

1. Data & Risk Analytics 

• Lead hands-on analysis using SQL, Python, BI tools to monitor payments risk  

• Build and own KRIs/KPIs for European payment flows (including SEPA) 

• Performs deep dives to detect anomalies and root causes of issues 

• Translate complex data into clear insights for executives 

2. European payments Oversight & Expertise 

• Own risk monitoring across SEPA payment types and their lifecycle 

• Act as SME for all SEPA payment flows  

• Ensure alignment with schemes rules in the European market 

• Represent PayPal in discussions requiring data-backed risk positions 

• Serve as key contact for SEPA-related partner questions and escalations 

4. Cross-functional collaboration 

Works with the internal teams to:  

• Investigate issues (e.g., bank returns, delays)  

• Provide data-driven root cause analysis 

• Support issues resolution and partner communication 

5. Risk Governance & Execution 

• Lead risk reporting, governance forums, and control improvements projects 

• Drive end-to-end resolution of systemic issues with the first-line teams  

What You Bring 

Core Experience 

• "Fluency in both German and English is required, with full professional proficiency in spoken and written German."

• 8–12+ years in payments / fintech / financial services  

• Strong experience in payments risk analytics or oversight  

• Direct exposure to SEPA schemes and EU payment ecosystem  

• Experience working with regulators and banking partners  

Technical & Domain Skills 

• Hands-on: SQL, Python, BI tools  

• Strong understanding of:  

• Networks and schemes 

• R-transactions and settlement flows  

• EU infrastructure (TARGET2, EBA Clearing) and regulations 

Profile 

• Data-driven and hands-on, not just oversight  

• Able to engage internal and external stakeholders with confidence and clarity  

• Comfortable handling escalations and ambiguity  

• Strong communicator who can translate data into action  

Subsidiary:

PayPal

Travel Percent:

0

PayPal does not charge candidates any fees for courses, applications, resume reviews, interviews, background checks, or onboarding. When making an application directly, we will never ask you to share passwords, one-time passcodes (OTP), or verification codes.  Any such request is a red flag and likely part of a scam. All communication regarding your application will come from official PayPal email domains. If you suspect fraudulent activity, please report it immediately.  To learn more about how to identify and avoid recruitment fraud please visit https://careers.pypl.com/contact-us. 

For the majority of employees, PayPal's balanced hybrid work model offers 3 days in the office for effective in-person collaboration and 2 days at your choice of either the PayPal office or your home workspace, ensuring that you equally have the benefits and conveniences of both locations.

Our Benefits:

At PayPal, we’re committed to building an equitable and inclusive global economy. And we can’t do this without our most important asset-you. That’s why we offer comprehensive, choice-based programs, to support all aspects of personal wellbeing—physical, emotional, and financial—delivering meaningful value where it matters most. We strive to create a flexible, balanced work culture with a holis