Head of Machine Learning

Head of Machine Learning | Application Fraud | USALocation: MiamiSalary: Competitive Executive-Level PackageEmployment: Full-time, PermanentThe OpportunitySearchability is recruiting for an established, high-growth technology business specialising in AI-powered identity verification, fraud prevention and financial risk intelligence.We're looking for an exceptional Head of Machine Learning to lead the development and evolution of sophisticated ML systems focused on detecting and preventing application fraud.This is a senior leadership opportunity for someone who combines deep technical expertise in machine learning, fraud detection and predictive modelling with the ability to build, mentor and lead high-performing engineering and data science teams.You'll play a critical role in shaping machine learning strategy, developing production-grade fraud detection models and delivering solutions that help financial institutions identify fraudulent applications and make more accurate risk decisions.This is a hands-on technical leadership position requiring both strategic thinking and the ability to influence complex ML systems at scale.What You'll Be DoingLead the machine learning strategy for application fraud detection and prevention.Build, mentor and scale a high-performing team of Machine Learning Engineers and Data Scientists.Oversee the design, development and deployment of production-grade fraud detection models.Develop advanced predictive models using supervised learning, anomaly detection and behavioural analytics.Drive improvements in model precision, recall, fraud capture rates and false-positive reduction.Lead feature engineering, model experimentation, evaluation and performance optimisation.Work with large-scale identity, transaction and behavioural datasets to identify fraud patterns.Establish robust MLOps practices covering model deployment, monitoring, retraining and governance.Collaborate closely with engineering, product, data and executive leadership teams.Define the technical roadmap and long-term machine learning architecture.Balance fraud prevention effectiveness with customer experience and commercial outcomes.What We're Looking ForExtensive commercial experience in Machine Learning, Applied Data Science or AI Engineering, including senior technical leadership responsibilities.Proven experience leading and developing high-performing ML or Data Science teams.Strong background in fraud detection, risk modelling, identity verification, financial services or related predictive analytics.Excellent hands-on experience with Python, SQL and modern machine learning frameworks.Deep understanding of supervised learning, classification models, anomaly detection and statistical modelling.Experience with technologies such as XGBoost, LightGBM, PyTorch, TensorFlow or scikit-learn.Proven experience deploying and maintaining machine learning models in production.Strong understanding of feature engineering, model evaluation, experimentation and monitoring.Experience working with large-scale, complex datasets and real-time decisioning systems.Ability to translate complex technical challenges into measurable commercial outcomes.Strong stakeholder management skills and experience influencing senior leadership.Comfortable combining strategic ownership with hands-on technical involvement.Nice to HavePrevious experience within FinTech, fraud prevention, identity intelligence, payments or financial risk technology.Experience detecting synthetic identity fraud, first-party fraud or fraudulent credit applications.Knowledge of graph-based machine learning, entity resolution and network analysis.Experience with real-time fraud scoring and low-latency inference systems.Familiarity with AWS, GCP, Databricks, Spark, MLflow or similar technologies.Experience developing models using highly imbalanced datasets.Understanding of model explainability, fairness and regulatory considerations.Experience scaling machine learning teams within a high-growth technology business.Why Apply?Competitive executive-level compensation package.Opportunity to lead machine learning within an established fraud prevention technology business.Genuine ownership of ML strategy, technical direction and team development.Work on complex, high-impact problems involving fraud detection and identity intelligence.Access to large-scale datasets and sophisticated production machine learning systems.Collaborate with experienced technical and commercial leadership teams.Make a measurable impact on fraud prevention, financial security and customer protection.Excellent long-term leadership and career progression opportunities.Interested?If you're an experienced Machine Learning Leader with a strong background in fraud detection, predictive modelling and production ML systems, we'd love to hear from you.Apply directly through LinkedIn or contact Searchability for a confidential conversation.