Data Scientist – Fraud Analytics

About the role

We are seeking a highly analytical Data Scientist specialized in fraud analytics to join our team on a 12‑month fixed‑term contract in Kuwait. You will develop, enhance, and optimise fraud detection models across digital banking and payment channels.

Key responsibilities

• Develop, validate, and deploy fraud detection models for digital banking and payment systems.
• Perform advanced data analysis to identify fraud patterns, emerging threats, and behavioural anomalies.
• Optimise existing fraud detection strategies through model tuning and performance monitoring.
• Collaborate with fraud risk, rule‑writing, and technology teams to translate analytical insights into actionable controls.
• Support model governance, documentation, validation, and regulatory compliance.

Required profile

• Proven experience in fraud analytics and model development within banking, fintech, or financial services.
• Strong analytical thinking, problem‑solving skills, and experience with large transactional datasets.
• Experience working within Middle Eastern financial institutions is advantageous.

Required skills

• Python or R for analytical programming.
• SQL for data extraction and manipulation.
• Machine‑learning techniques such as logistic regression, decision trees, random forests, gradient boosting, and neural networks.
• Knowledge of fraud typologies (account takeover, card‑not‑present, mule accounts, social engineering).
• Familiarity with fraud platforms like FICO, Actimize, Feedzai, or Featurespace.

What we offer

• Competitive contract package.
• Opportunity to work on high‑impact fraud analytics initiatives.