Principal - Data Scientist - Responsible AI

General information

Career area Technology Work Location(s) 601 S. Tryon Street, NC Remote? No Ref # 21581 Posted Date 01-29-26 Working time Full time

Ally and Your Career

Ally Financial only succeeds when its people do - and that’s more than some cliché people put on job postings. We live this stuff! We see our people as, well, people - with interests, families, friends, dreams, and causes that are all important to them. Our focus is on the health and safety of our teammates as well as work-life balance and diversity and inclusion. From generous benefits to a variety of employee resource groups, we strive to build paths that encourage employees to stretch themselves professionally. We want to help you grow, develop, and learn new things. You’re constantly evolving, so shouldn’t your opportunities be, too?
Work Schedule: Ally designates roles as (1) fully on-site, (2) hybrid, or (3) fully remote. Hybrid roles are generally expected to be in the office a certain number of days per week as indicated by your manager. Your hiring manager will discuss this role's specific work requirements with you during the hiring process. All work requirements are subject to change at any time based on leader discretion and/or business need.

The Opportunity

As a leader in digital financial services, our customer and employee experiences are powered by data and AI. Our cloud-based data, analytics, and GenAI platform enables thousands of employees to make data-driven decisions every day. We are seeking skilled Data Scientists to support enterprise initiatives spanning machine learning, generative AI, and Responsible AI, helping deliver solutions that drive revenue, enhance user experience, and ensure AI systems operate safely and securely.
In this role, you will build, test, and deploy machine learning, generative AI, and agent-based solutions end to end. You will develop GenAI workflows such as prompt-driven systems, tool-calling agents, and evaluation pipelines, while also owning Responsible AI execution across the lifecycle. This includes identifying and resolving issues related to data usage, bias, model risk, evaluation quality, and release readiness. You will partner closely with business, engineering, and risk teams to turn Responsible AI requirements into practical development and validation standards, ensuring AI solutions are production-ready, compliant, and scalable.
At this time, Ally will not sponsor a new applicant for employment authorization for this position.

The Work Itself

• Lead experimentation initiatives, leveraging A/B testing, and novel AI approaches to continuously improve model performance and business outcomes. 
• Advance responsible AI practices by integrating governance, ethical considerations, and security into every stage of model development and deployment. 
• Develop and maintain trustworthy benchmarks and operational performance monitoring for predictive models and GenAI and agentic systems. 
• Incorporate sophisticated algorithms, experimental design, and emerging AI methodologies to solve real-world challenges and push the boundaries of innovation. 
• Identify and champion new business opportunities by proposing and delivering innovative AI-driven solutions that create tangible value and competitive advantage. 

The Skills You Bring

Required:

• 5+ years of experience in machine learning and data science, with demonstrated impact in applied, real-world systems.
• Bachelor’s degree in a quantitative or technical field (Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, Statistics, or similar).
• Strong coding skills in Python, with experience building maintainable, production-grade ML/AI systems.
• Experience working in cloud data and ML platforms such as AWS, Snowflake, SageMaker, or equivalent environments.
• Experience influencing technical direction beyond individual projects, including setting best practices, mentoring others, and driving alignment across teams.
• Ability to proactively identify risks and gaps in AI systems (e.g., reliability, bias, safety, explainability, monitoring) and drive pragmatic solutions at scale.

Nice-to-Haves:

• Graduate degree (MS or PhD) in a relevant field.
• Hands-on GenAI, agent, and ML engineering experience, including frameworks and tools such as LangChain, Hugging Face, vector databases, or similar ecosystems.
• Experience with Responsible AI, Model Risk Management, or AI governance in regulated environments.
• Experience helping build or mature Responsible AI practices.
• Proven ability to work with multiple partners and drive consensus on technical direction, standards, and trade-offs across diverse stakeholders.

#LI-Hybrid

How We'll Have Your Back

Ally's compensation program offers market-competitive base pay and pay-for-performance incentives (bonuses) based on achieving personal and company goals. Our Total Rewards program includes industry-leading compensation and benefits plus additional incentives that are designed to meet your needs and those of your family so you can get the most out of your career and your life, including:

• Time Away: Program starts at 20 paid time off days in addition to 11 paid holidays and 8 hours of volunteer time off yearly (time off days are prorated based on start date and program varies based on full or part-time status and management level).
• Planning for the Future: plan for the near and long term with an industry-leading 401K retirement savings plan with matching and company contributions, student loan pay downs and 529 educational save up assistance programs, tuition reimbursement, employee stock purchase plan, and financial learning center and financial coach access.
• Supporting your Health & Well-being: flexible health and insurance options including medical, dental and vision, employee, spouse and child life insurance, short- and long-term disability, pre-tax Health Savings Account with employer contributions, Healthcare FSA, critical illness, accident & hospital indemnity insurance, and a total well-being program that helps you and your family stay on track physically, socially, emotionally, and financially.
• Building a Family: adoption, surrogacy and fertility assistance as well as paid parental and caregiver leave, Dependent Day Care FSA back-up child and adult/elder care days and childcare discounts.
• Work-Life Integration: other benefits including Mentally Fit Employee Assistance Program, subsidized and discounted Weight Watchers® program and other employee discount programs.
• Other compensations: depending on the role for which you are considered, you may be eligible for travel allowances, relocation assistance, a signing bonus and/or equity.
• To view more detailed information about Ally’s Total Rewards, please visit this link: https://www.ally.com/content/dam/pdf/corporate/ally-total-rewards-snapshot.pdf

 

Who We Are:

 

Ally Financial is a customer-centric, leading digital financial services company with passionate customer service and innovative financial solutions. We are relentlessly focused on "Doing it Right" and being a trusted financial-services provider to our consumer, commercial, and corporate customers. For more information, visit www.ally.com.

 

Ally is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy status, marital status, military or veteran status, genetic disposition or any other reason protected by law.

 

We are committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodation to applicants with physical or mental disabilities. For accommodation requests, email us at hrpolicy@ally.com. Ally will not discriminate against any qualified individual who is capable of performing the essential functions of the job with or without reasonable accommodation.

Base Pay Range: $110000 - $180000 USDAn individual's position in the range is determined by the specific role, the scope and responsibilities of the role, work experience, education, certification(s), training, and additional qualifications. We review internal pay, the competitive market, and business environment prior to extending an offer.  Incentive Compensation: This position is eligible to participate in our annual incentive plan.