Data Scientist, Credit Decisioning
About Orbii
Orbii is the intelligence layer for modern lending. We build the AI-native credit underwriting and loan management platform used by banks, fintechs and SME lenders across the GCC and wider MENA region. By blending behavioural, transactional and alternative data, Orbii helps lenders approve faster without taking on blind risk. We are a well-funded, founder-led team of 13, growing to 24 over the next 12 months, headquartered in Dubai.
The role
You will work alongside our Head of Applied AI to build the credit decisioning brain of the Orbii platform. Your models decide, in production, how our customers lend: who gets approved, at what limit and on what terms. You will build and continuously evolve credit decision models for our lender customers, develop probability-of-default (PD) metrics and analysis, and feed that intelligence into our loan management system (LMS) so that decisions improve throughout the life of every loan.
What you’ll do
- Build, validate and deploy credit decision models for customers across the GCC: scorecards, banding logic and approval strategies
- Develop probability-of-default (PD) models and metrics, plus the analysis around them: calibration, discrimination, stability and portfolio monitoring
- Continuously evolve models as data accumulates: champion/challenger testing, feature development and retraining loops that make the platform measurably smarter
- Engineer features from bank statements, transactional and behavioural data, including alternative data sources
- Feed decisioning intelligence into the LMS: early-warning signals, delinquency risk, limit management and collections prioritisation
- Work with bank partners and bureau data; support model validation and gap analysis exercises with customers
- Collaborate with AI and data engineers to productionise models on our Azure/Databricks stack
What you’ll bring
- 4+ years in data science with real credit risk experience: PD/scorecard modelling, decisioning or portfolio analytics
- Strong Python and SQL; solid grounding in statistics and ML (logistic regression through gradient boosting; you know when simple beats clever)
- Experience taking models to production and monitoring them, not just notebooks
- Ability to explain model behaviour to non-technical stakeholders, including credit and risk teams at customer banks
- Comfort with messy, real-world financial data
Nice to have
- Experience with Databricks, Azure Data Factory or similar pipeline tooling
- Familiarity with IFRS 9, Basel or bureau (e.g. SIMAH/AECB) frameworks
- Experience using LLMs and AI tooling in the modelling workflow
What we offer
- Meaningful equity through our Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)
- Competitive salary, reviewed against performance and company results
- “Think weeks”: up to 4 weeks per year working remotely from anywhere
- Annual training and conference budget, with a personal development plan and monthly 1:1s
- UAE employment visa sponsorship and private health insurance
- High ownership and direct access to the founders in a company at inflection point
Location and how to apply
This role is based on-site at our Dubai office (with think-weeks flexibility). Visa sponsorship is available for the right candidate.
Your work will directly shape how millions of dirhams and riyals are lent, with a data platform and AI team built to support you.
To apply, send your CV and a short note on why this role to hello@orbii.ai.