Tech Lead Manager, Machine Learning, Growth and Marketing

Location: San Francisco, CA, USA About the Role Chime’s Data Science and Machine Learning team is building models, services, and platforms that transform how millions of users manage and grow their financial lives. We are looking for a hands-on Tech Lead Manager with deep technical expertise in machine learning and data science, particularly within the Growth and Marketing domain. Beyond technical proficiency, we value creativity, user empathy, and strong collaboration. As a Tech Lead Manager within our Growth and Marketing team, you will lead a talented group of data scientists and machine learning engineers to develop innovative growth and marketing models. These models will provide critical insights into acquiring, retaining and growing Chime members, broaden access to credit, and ensure financial inclusivity. You will play a pivotal role in creating innovative, ground-up products while driving the development of cutting-edge acquisition and retention models and solutions. If you are passionate about marketing, growth, customer acquisition and retention models, this role could be a great fit for you. In this role, you can expect to Lead and inspire a high-performing team of data scientists and ML engineers, ensuring the successful development and deployment of machine learning solutions for customer acquisition, conversion and retention. Drive strategic direction for ML initiatives in marketing, engagement, and growth by identifying opportunities where AI/ML can optimize our customer funnel. Oversee the end-to-end development of machine learning models such as lifetime value prediction, churn risk modeling, customer segmentation, marketing attribution, referral recommendations, and personalized communications. Collaborate cross-functionally with marketing, product, growth, and engineering teams to align machine learning initiatives with business objectives. Leverage transactional and behavioral data to enhance customer targeting, optimize acquisition spend, and improve retention strategies. Establish ML best practices, including model development, validation, deployment, and monitoring, ensuring scalability and business impact. Advocate for a data-driven culture, partnering with business leaders to drive strategic decisions through experimentation and predictive analytics. Stay ahead of industry trends, bringing cutting-edge AI/ML techniques into our marketing and growth strategies. To thrive in this role, you have 7+ years of experience developing machine learning models for marketing and growth, from inception to production, with a focus on customer acquisition, engagement, and retention. 5+ years of experience leading data science teams, with a proven track record of mentoring, coaching, and driving impactful machine learning solutions. Strong expertise in marketing and growth analytics, including experience with customer segmentation, LTV modeling, churn prediction, referral systems, and multi-touch attribution. Deep understanding of AI/ML techniques, including classification, clustering, reinforcement learning, optimization, deep learning, and NLP for customer engagement. Hands-on experience deploying machine learning models in real-world production environments, integrating with marketing tech stacks and growth platforms. Strong product intuition with the ability to work iteratively in a fast-paced, cross-functional environment. M.S. or Ph.D. in Machine Learning, Computer Science, Statistics, or a related STEM field. Proficiency in Python and SQL, with experience in building ML pipelines and wrangling large-scale data. Experience with modern ML and data engineering technologies, such as AWS, Kafka, Airflow, Redis, MySQL, Postgres, Spark, Snowflake, Looker. Exceptional communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to partner effectively with marketing, growth, product, and engineering teams. #LI-DA1 #LI-Onsite Below is the base salary offered for this role and level of experience. Full-time employees may also be eligible for bonus(es), competitive equity, and benefits. For commissioned roles, the base salary listed in this job description does not include incentive/variable pay. The actual base salary offered may be higher, depending on your location, skills, qualifications, and experience. Wage Notice $199,000 — $275,000 USD 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. 💻 Benefits that support your work and life, including backup child, elder, and pet care and subsidized commuter benefits for eligible employees. ✨ Comprehensive health, financial, and wellbeing benefits designed to support you at every stage of life. 🏝 Generous vacation policy and 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 22 weeks of paid parental leave for birthing parents and 12 weeks of paid parental leave for non-birthing parents 👪 Access to family planning reimbursement 💚 A challenging and fulfilling opportunity to join one of the most experienced teams in FinTech and help millions unlock financial progress 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: accommodations@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 .