Principal Data Scientist

About the Team

The Data Science team at Navi plays a central role in building intelligent solutions that power our products and drive business impact. We work across key domains such as Lending, Collections, KYC, UPI Growth and Ads recommendation, applying advanced machine learning/deep learning/GenAI techniques to solve high-impact challenges. Our work involves a diverse range of data types—including text, image, and tabular data—and we closely collaborate with cross-functional teams like Product, Business, Engineering, etc. to deliver end-to-end solutions.

About the Role

As a Principal Data Scientist at Navi, you will play a pivotal role in defining and advancing the data science vision across the organization. This role offers the unique opportunity to lead cross-functional, enterprise-level data science initiatives that have a direct and lasting impact on Navi’s most critical business strategies. You will operate at the forefront of advanced machine learning, large-scale data engineering, and domain innovation—architecting and deploying scalable solutions that set industry benchmarks. Collaborating with senior leaders across multiple business units, you will address Navi’s most complex and high-value challenges, foster a culture of technical excellence, drive innovation, and develop the next generation of data science talent. Your leadership will be instrumental in establishing data science as a key strategic differentiator for Navi’s future growth.

What We Expect From You

• Enterprise-Level Project Leadership

  : Drive and oversee high-impact, cross-functional data science programs that span multiple domains and business units. Set the vision, structure project teams, define success metrics, and ensure execution at scale.

• Thought Leadership & Technical Strategy

  : Shape the data science roadmap for the organization. Champion state-of-the-art approaches, set technical standards, and guide teams in solving ambiguous, high-stakes business problems.

• Mentorship, Coaching & Talent Development

  : Develop, mentor, and inspire a diverse team of senior data scientists and leads. Foster a culture of continuous learning, knowledge sharing, and technical excellence across the entire data science organization.

• Innovation & Rapid Prototyping

  : Identify emerging opportunities and lead the development of POCs using the latest ML and AI advancements, ensuring rapid experimentation and best-in-class solution delivery.

• Strategic Cross-Functional Influence

  : Cultivate and maintain strong partnerships with executive leadership, business, product, engineering, and analytics teams. Influence business priorities, evangelize data-driven decision-making, and translate insights into high-impact actions.

• Governance & Model Excellence

  : Define and enforce industry-leading standards for model development, deployment, validation, monitoring, and lifecycle management. Ensure solutions are reliable, scalable, and deliver sustained business impact.

• Organizational Impact

  : Drive the adoption of best practices in MLOps, code management, experiment design, cost optimization, and monitoring frameworks across teams. Lead quarterly, annual, and long-term planning for the data science organization and contribute to company-wide strategic initiatives.

• Opportunity Identification & Value Creation: Work closely with business and product leaders to proactively surface and prioritize opportunities where data science can unlock transformative business value for Navi.

Must Haves

• Master’s or Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mathematics, Economics, or a quantitative discipline, with a research-oriented mindset and at least 10 years of experience in data science, advanced analytics, or related fields
• Demonstrated thought leadership and deep expertise in modern machine learning techniques, advanced statistical methods, and hands-on experience with leading ML frameworks (e.g., scikit-learn, Keras, TensorFlow, PySpark, MLlib, etc.)
• Proven experience in leading and delivering large-scale, cross-functional data science projects end-to-end, including problem framing, modeling, deployment, monitoring, and continuous improvement
• Significant experience mentoring and developing senior data scientists; demonstrated ability to set and drive technical vision for large teams
• Strong business acumen and a history of translating data-driven insights into actionable, high-impact business strategies
• Deep expertise in experiment design, A/B and multivariate testing, and measurement frameworks to optimize data science solutions
• Excellent communication, stakeholder management, and executive influencing skills, with a track record of working across business, product, engineering, and leadership functions
• Proven ability to drive innovation, operationalize best practices in MLOps, and stay at the cutting edge of machine learning and AI advancements

Inside Navi

We are shaping the future of financial services for a billion Indians through products that are simple, accessible, and affordable. From Personal & Home Loans to UPI, Insurance, Mutual Funds, and Gold — we’re building tech-first solutions that work at scale, with a strong customer-first approach.

Sachin Bansal & Ankit Agarwal

Our Culture

The Navi DNA

Ambition. Perseverance. Self-awareness. Ownership. Integrity.

We’re looking for people who dream big when it comes to innovation. At Navi, you’ll be empowered with the right mechanisms to work in a dynamic team that builds and improves innovative solutions. If you’re driven to deliver real value to customers, no matter the challenge, this is the place for you.

We chase excellence by uplifting each other—and that starts with every one of us.

Why You'll Thrive at Navi

At Navi, it’s about how you think, build, and grow. You’ll thrive here if:

• You’re impact-driven :

  You take ownership, build boldly, and care about making a real difference.

• You strive for excellence :

  Good isn’t good enough. You bring focus, precision, and a passion for quality.

• You embrace change :

  You adapt quickly, move fast, and always put the customer first.