Senior AI/ML Engineer

at Chime

San Francisco, United States

About the Role

Chime’s AI/ML team is building models, services, and platforms that transform how millions of users manage and grow their financial lives. We are looking for a Senior AI/ML Engineer with deep technical expertise in AI/ML/Generative AI. Beyond technical proficiency, we value creativity, user empathy, and strong collaboration.

As a Senior AI/ML Engineer, you will play a pivotal role in protecting our members and the platform from fraud, abuse, and financial risk. You’ll take end-to-end ownership of building and deploying AI/ML systems that protect critical financial activities and ensure a secure, reliable experience for our members. Beyond model development, you’ll partner with product managers, risk investigators, and engineers to design holistic solutions that balance fraud mitigation with a seamless member experience. This role goes beyond individual model building - you’ll help shape the infrastructure, tooling, and standards that accelerate AI/ML development across the Trust & Safety organization. You’ll have the opportunity to apply advanced techniques such as deep learning and generative models to proactively detect emerging risks and new attack vectors, ensuring Chime remains resilient against evolving threats. You’ll also be expected to mentor peers, influence cross-functional stakeholders, and drive excellence in AI/ML practices throughout the organization.

The base salary offered for this role and level of experience will begin at $176,490 and up to $245,100. Full-time employees are also eligible for a bonus, competitive equity package, and benefits. The actual base salary offered may be higher, depending on your location, skills, qualifications, and experience.

In this role, you can expect to

Own the full ML lifecycle - design, build, deploy, and maintain production-grade models, ensuring scalability, performance, and reliability.
Work with diverse data types - analyze large structured and unstructured datasets to extract insights and identify opportunities for AI/ML applications.
Apply advanced AI/ML techniques - leverage approaches such as deep learning, generative AI, traditional ML, or anomaly detection to solve high-impact business problems.
Drive measurable outcomes - translate model insights into tangible business value by partnering with product managers, engineers, and business stakeholders.
Shape technical practices - define and advocate for best practices in model development, deployment, and monitoring to raise the quality bar across teams.
Contribute to the ML community - mentor peers, share knowledge, and foster collaboration across the organization to strengthen the AI/ML ecosystem.

To thrive in this role, you have

5–7+ years of experience in AI/ML engineering or applied data science, with a track record of deploying production-grade ML systems.
Proven expertise in designing and scaling ML pipelines, including feature engineering, model training, deployment, and monitoring in production.
Strong knowledge of AI/ML methods - spanning both traditional approaches (e.g., tree-based models, logistic regression) and modern techniques (e.g., deep learning, graph-based ML, transformer-based architectures) - with the ability to apply the right method to fraud and risk detection problems.
Experience working with large language models (LLMs) (e.g., GPT, LLaMA, Claude) and related techniques such as fine-tuning, prompt engineering, or retrieval-augmented generation (RAG).
Hands-on experience with unstructured data processing (e.g., text, images, documents). Familiarity with vector databases (e.g., FAISS, Pinecone) is a plus.
Proficiency in Python and SQL, with experience using distributed computing frameworks to build scalable AI/ML pipelines.
Hands-on experience with cloud platforms (AWS preferred), modern data stores (SQL and NoSQL), and the broader ML/data infrastructure stack - including orchestration tools (e.g., Sagemaker, Airflow, Kubeflow), streaming platforms (e.g., Kafka, Kinesis), containerization/serving frameworks (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes), and monitoring/observability tools for production ML.
Strong collaboration skills and experience working closely with product, risk operations, and engineering partners to deliver AI/ML solutions aligned with business needs.
A track record of mentoring peers, setting technical standards, and influencing cross-functional stakeholders to raise the bar for AI/ML practices.

#LI-Hybrid #LI-AA1

A little about us

At Chime, we believe that everyone can achieve financial progress. We created Chime—a financial technology company, not a bank*—on the premise that core banking services should be helpful, easy, and free. Through our user-friendly tools and intuitive platforms, we empower our members to take control of their finances and work towards their goals. Whether it's starting a savings account, purchasing a first car or home, launching a business, or pursuing higher education, we're proud to have helped millions unlock their financial potential.

We're a team of problem solvers, dreamers, and builders with one shared obsession: our members. From day one, Chimers have worked tirelessly to out-hustle and out-execute competitors to bring our mission to life. Their grit and determination inspire us to work harder every day to deliver the very best experience possible. We each bring an owner's mindset to our work, refusing to be outdone and holding ourselves accountable to meet and exceed the highest bars for our teams, our company, and our members.

We believe in being bold, dreaming big, and taking risks, while also working together, embracing our diverse perspectives, and giving each other honest feedback. Our culture remains deeply entrepreneurial, encouraging every Chimer to see themselves as stewards of our mission to help everyday Americans unlock their financial progress.

We know that to achieve our mission, we must earn and keep people's trust—so we hold ourselves to the highest standards of integrity in everything we do. These aren't just words on a wall—our values are embedded in every aspect of our business, serving as a north star that guides us as we work to help millions achieve their financial potential.

Because if we don't—who will?

*Chime is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by The Bancorp Bank, N.A. or Stride Bank, N.A., Members FDIC.

What we offer for our full-time, regular employees

🏢 Our in-office work policy is designed to keep you connected - with four days a week in the office and Fridays from home for those near one of our offices, plus team and company-wide events depending on location. Whether you’re coming in regularly or are part of our fully remote program, you’ll stay engaged with your work and teammates.**
💻 In-office perks including backup child, elder, and/or pet care, plus a subsidized commuter benefit to support your regular commute**
💰 Competitive salary based on experience**
✨ 401k match** plus great medical, dental, vision, life, and disability benefits
🏝 Generous vacation policy and company-wide Chime Days, bonus company-wide paid days off**
🫂 1% of your time off to support local community organizations of your choice
👟 Annual wellness stipend to use towards eligible wellness related expenses
👶 Up to 24 weeks of paid parental leave for birthing parents and 12 weeks of paid parental leave for non-birthing parents
👪 Access to Maven, a family planning tool, with $15k lifetime reimbursement for egg freezing, fertility treatments, adoption, and more.
🎉 In-person and virtual events to connect with your fellow Chimers—think cooking classes, guided meditations, music festivals, mixology classes, paint nights, etc., and delicious snack boxes, too!**
💚 A challenging and fulfilling opportunity to join one of the most experienced teams in FinTech and help millions unlock financial progress**

**Perks also available to Chime Interns.

We know that great work can’t be done without a diverse team and inclusive environment. That’s why we specifically look for individuals of varying strengths, skills, backgrounds, and ideas to join our team. We believe this gives us a competitive advantage to better serve our members and helps us all grow as Chimers and individuals.

Chime is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We consider qualified applicants without regard to race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, marital or family status, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other legally protected basis under provincial, federal, state, and local laws, regulations, or ordinances. We will also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of state and local laws, including the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, Cook County Ordinance, NYC Fair Chance Act, and the LA City Fair Chance Ordinance, and consistent with Canadian provincial and federal laws. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation during any stage of the application process, please contact: benefits@chime.com.

To learn more about how Chime collects and uses your personal information during the application process, please see the Chime Applicant Privacy Notice.