OPT Data Science Lead Jobs
Data Science Lead jobs are among the most OPT-friendly senior roles in tech: most employers file H-1B visa petitions for strong candidates, and the role's direct tie to a quantitative degree makes specialty occupation classification straightforward. STEM OPT extensions give you up to three years to secure sponsorship.
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Get Access To All JobsSenior Associate, Data Science
Data is at the center of everything we do. As a startup, we disrupted the credit card industry by individually personalizing every credit card offer using statistical modeling and the relational database, cutting edge technology in 1988! Fast-forward a few years, and this little innovation and our passion for data has skyrocketed us to a Fortune 200 company and a leader in the world of data-driven decision-making.
As a Data Scientist at Capital One, you’ll be part of a team that’s leading the next wave of disruption at a whole new scale, using the latest in computing and machine learning technologies and operating across billions of customer records to unlock the big opportunities that help everyday people save money, time and agony in their financial lives.
Team Description:
The Credit Risk Management, Loss Forecasting and Allowance team uses the latest technologies and innovative models and data to forecast and optimize future losses associated with Capital One’s credit card portfolio. We partner with model development and software engineering teams to build predictive models and automate insight generation.
As a Data Scientist, you will focus on loss forecasting modernization and data transformation. The qualified candidate will support card loss forecasting: resilience, outlook, allowance and CCAR.
Role Description
In this role, you will:
- Partner with a cross-functional team of data scientists, software engineers, and product managers to identify and quantify risks associated with models
- Leverage a broad stack of technologies — Python, Conda, AWS, Spark, and more — to reveal the insights hidden within data
- Build statistical/machine learning models to challenge “champion models” that are deployed in production today
- Contribute to the model governance of the next generation of machine learning models
- Flex your interpersonal skills to present how model risks could impact the business to executives
The Ideal Candidate is:
- Innovative. You continually research and evaluate emerging technologies. You stay current on published state-of-the-art methods, technologies, and applications and seek out opportunities to apply them.
- Creative. You thrive on bringing definition to big, undefined problems. You love asking questions and pushing hard to find answers. You’re not afraid to share a new idea.
- Technical. You’re comfortable with open-source languages and are passionate about developing further. You have hands-on experience developing data science solutions using open-source tools and cloud computing platforms.
- Statistically-minded. You’ve built models, validated them, and backtested them. You have experience with a wide array of methods.
- A data guru. “Big data” doesn’t faze you. You have the skills to retrieve, combine, and analyze data from a variety of sources and structures. You know understanding the data is often the key to great data science.
Basic Qualifications:
- Currently has, or is in the process of obtaining one of the following with an expectation that the required degree will be obtained on or before the scheduled start date:
- A Bachelor's Degree in a quantitative field (Statistics, Economics, Operations Research, Analytics, Mathematics, Computer Science, or a related quantitative field) plus 2 years of experience performing data analytics
- A Master's Degree in a quantitative field (Statistics, Economics, Operations Research, Analytics, Mathematics, Computer Science, or a related quantitative field) or an MBA with a quantitative concentration
Preferred Qualifications:
- Master’s Degree in “STEM” field (Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics), or PhD in “STEM” field (Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics)
- Experience working with AWS
- At least 2 years’ experience in Python, Scala, or R
- At least 2 years’ experience with machine learning
- At least 2 years’ experience with SQL
Capital One will consider sponsoring a new qualified applicant for employment authorization for this position.
Compensation
-
The minimum and maximum full-time annual salaries for this role are listed below, by location. Please note that this salary information is solely for candidates hired to perform work within one of these locations, and refers to the amount Capital One is willing to pay at the time of this posting. Salaries for part-time roles will be prorated based upon the agreed upon number of hours to be regularly worked.
-
McLean, VA: $135,600 - $154,800 for Sr Assoc, Data Science
- Richmond, VA: $123,300 - $140,700 for Sr Assoc, Data Science
Candidates hired to work in other locations will be subject to the pay range associated with that location, and the actual annualized salary amount offered to any candidate at the time of hire will be reflected solely in the candidate’s offer letter.
This role is also eligible to earn performance based incentive compensation, which may include cash bonus(es) and/or long term incentives (LTI). Incentives could be discretionary or non-discretionary depending on the plan.
Capital One offers a comprehensive, competitive, and inclusive set of health, financial and other benefits that support your total well-being. Learn more at the Capital One Careers website. Eligibility varies based on full or part-time status, exempt or non-exempt status, and management level.
This role is expected to accept applications for a minimum of 5 business days. No agencies please.
Capital One is an equal opportunity employer (EOE, including disability/vet) committed to non-discrimination in compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws. Capital One promotes a drug-free workplace. Capital One will consider for employment qualified applicants with a criminal history in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable laws regarding criminal background inquiries, including, to the extent applicable, Article 23-A of the New York Correction Law; San Francisco, California Police Code Article 49, Sections 4901-4920; New York City’s Fair Chance Act; Philadelphia’s Fair Criminal Records Screening Act; and other applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations regarding criminal background inquiries.
If you have visited our website in search of information on employment opportunities or to apply for a position, and you require an accommodation, please contact Capital One Recruiting at 1-800-304-9102 or via email at RecruitingAccommodation@capitalone.com. All information you provide will be kept confidential and will be used only to the extent required to provide needed reasonable accommodations.
For technical support or questions about Capital One's recruiting process, please send an email to Careers@capitalone.com.
Capital One does not provide, endorse nor guarantee and is not liable for third-party products, services, educational tools or other information available through this site.
Capital One Financial is made up of several different entities. Please note that any position posted in Canada is for Capital One Canada, any position posted in the United Kingdom is for Capital One Europe and any position posted in the Philippines is for Capital One Philippines Service Corp. (COPSSC).
Senior Associate, Data Science
Data is at the center of everything we do. As a startup, we disrupted the credit card industry by individually personalizing every credit card offer using statistical modeling and the relational database, cutting edge technology in 1988! Fast-forward a few years, and this little innovation and our passion for data has skyrocketed us to a Fortune 200 company and a leader in the world of data-driven decision-making.
As a Data Scientist at Capital One, you’ll be part of a team that’s leading the next wave of disruption at a whole new scale, using the latest in computing and machine learning technologies and operating across billions of customer records to unlock the big opportunities that help everyday people save money, time and agony in their financial lives.
Team Description:
The Credit Risk Management, Loss Forecasting and Allowance team uses the latest technologies and innovative models and data to forecast and optimize future losses associated with Capital One’s credit card portfolio. We partner with model development and software engineering teams to build predictive models and automate insight generation.
As a Data Scientist, you will focus on loss forecasting modernization and data transformation. The qualified candidate will support card loss forecasting: resilience, outlook, allowance and CCAR.
Role Description
In this role, you will:
- Partner with a cross-functional team of data scientists, software engineers, and product managers to identify and quantify risks associated with models
- Leverage a broad stack of technologies — Python, Conda, AWS, Spark, and more — to reveal the insights hidden within data
- Build statistical/machine learning models to challenge “champion models” that are deployed in production today
- Contribute to the model governance of the next generation of machine learning models
- Flex your interpersonal skills to present how model risks could impact the business to executives
The Ideal Candidate is:
- Innovative. You continually research and evaluate emerging technologies. You stay current on published state-of-the-art methods, technologies, and applications and seek out opportunities to apply them.
- Creative. You thrive on bringing definition to big, undefined problems. You love asking questions and pushing hard to find answers. You’re not afraid to share a new idea.
- Technical. You’re comfortable with open-source languages and are passionate about developing further. You have hands-on experience developing data science solutions using open-source tools and cloud computing platforms.
- Statistically-minded. You’ve built models, validated them, and backtested them. You have experience with a wide array of methods.
- A data guru. “Big data” doesn’t faze you. You have the skills to retrieve, combine, and analyze data from a variety of sources and structures. You know understanding the data is often the key to great data science.
Basic Qualifications:
- Currently has, or is in the process of obtaining one of the following with an expectation that the required degree will be obtained on or before the scheduled start date:
- A Bachelor's Degree in a quantitative field (Statistics, Economics, Operations Research, Analytics, Mathematics, Computer Science, or a related quantitative field) plus 2 years of experience performing data analytics
- A Master's Degree in a quantitative field (Statistics, Economics, Operations Research, Analytics, Mathematics, Computer Science, or a related quantitative field) or an MBA with a quantitative concentration
Preferred Qualifications:
- Master’s Degree in “STEM” field (Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics), or PhD in “STEM” field (Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics)
- Experience working with AWS
- At least 2 years’ experience in Python, Scala, or R
- At least 2 years’ experience with machine learning
- At least 2 years’ experience with SQL
Capital One will consider sponsoring a new qualified applicant for employment authorization for this position.
Compensation
-
The minimum and maximum full-time annual salaries for this role are listed below, by location. Please note that this salary information is solely for candidates hired to perform work within one of these locations, and refers to the amount Capital One is willing to pay at the time of this posting. Salaries for part-time roles will be prorated based upon the agreed upon number of hours to be regularly worked.
-
McLean, VA: $135,600 - $154,800 for Sr Assoc, Data Science
- Richmond, VA: $123,300 - $140,700 for Sr Assoc, Data Science
Candidates hired to work in other locations will be subject to the pay range associated with that location, and the actual annualized salary amount offered to any candidate at the time of hire will be reflected solely in the candidate’s offer letter.
This role is also eligible to earn performance based incentive compensation, which may include cash bonus(es) and/or long term incentives (LTI). Incentives could be discretionary or non-discretionary depending on the plan.
Capital One offers a comprehensive, competitive, and inclusive set of health, financial and other benefits that support your total well-being. Learn more at the Capital One Careers website. Eligibility varies based on full or part-time status, exempt or non-exempt status, and management level.
This role is expected to accept applications for a minimum of 5 business days. No agencies please.
Capital One is an equal opportunity employer (EOE, including disability/vet) committed to non-discrimination in compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws. Capital One promotes a drug-free workplace. Capital One will consider for employment qualified applicants with a criminal history in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable laws regarding criminal background inquiries, including, to the extent applicable, Article 23-A of the New York Correction Law; San Francisco, California Police Code Article 49, Sections 4901-4920; New York City’s Fair Chance Act; Philadelphia’s Fair Criminal Records Screening Act; and other applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations regarding criminal background inquiries.
If you have visited our website in search of information on employment opportunities or to apply for a position, and you require an accommodation, please contact Capital One Recruiting at 1-800-304-9102 or via email at RecruitingAccommodation@capitalone.com. All information you provide will be kept confidential and will be used only to the extent required to provide needed reasonable accommodations.
For technical support or questions about Capital One's recruiting process, please send an email to Careers@capitalone.com.
Capital One does not provide, endorse nor guarantee and is not liable for third-party products, services, educational tools or other information available through this site.
Capital One Financial is made up of several different entities. Please note that any position posted in Canada is for Capital One Canada, any position posted in the United Kingdom is for Capital One Europe and any position posted in the Philippines is for Capital One Philippines Service Corp. (COPSSC).
See all 66+ OPT Data Science Lead Jobs
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Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding OPT Sponsorship in Data Science Lead
Lead with your technical stack, not just your title
Hiring managers equate sponsorship risk with replaceability. Demonstrating mastery of specific tools like PyTorch, Spark, or dbt signals scarcity. The more specialized your stack, the stronger the specialty occupation case for H-1B visa sponsorship.
Target employers with active H-1B filing history
Companies that have sponsored data science roles before are far more likely to do it again. Search OFLC disclosure data to confirm an employer has filed Labor Condition Applications for data science positions before applying.
Frame your leadership experience in business impact terms
Senior roles require justifying sponsorship cost to non-technical decision-makers. Quantify your team's output: models shipped, revenue influenced, or latency improvements. Business impact language accelerates internal approval for sponsorship requests.
Clarify your OPT end date and STEM extension eligibility upfront
Recruiters often misunderstand OPT timelines. Confirming you qualify for a 24-month STEM extension from a STEM-designated program removes uncertainty and signals you've done the immigration homework most candidates skip.
Pursue roles at companies with dedicated immigration counsel
Mid-size and enterprise tech employers typically retain immigration attorneys who handle H-1B filings routinely. Startups without legal infrastructure often want to sponsor but lack the process. Company size is a reliable proxy for sponsorship readiness.
Apply before your final six months of OPT authorization
H-1B cap-subject petitions must be filed by April 1 for an October 1 start. Mapping your OPT expiration against the H-1B lottery calendar determines whether you need cap-exempt employers or a cap-subject filing strategy now.
Data Science Lead OPT: Frequently Asked Questions
Can I work as a Data Science Lead on OPT without employer sponsorship?
Yes, OPT itself is work authorization tied to your F-1 status, not employer sponsorship. You can work as a Data Science Lead on OPT without any H-1B filing. Sponsorship only becomes necessary when your OPT period ends. STEM OPT gives you up to 36 months of total authorized employment before you need a different visa status.
Does a Data Science Lead role qualify for the STEM OPT extension?
It typically does, provided your underlying degree is STEM-designated. Data science leadership roles generally satisfy the STEM OPT requirement that the job be directly related to your degree program. Your DSO must approve the extension, and your employer must enroll in E-Verify and sign the Form I-983 training plan, which documents how the role connects to your field of study.
How do I find Data Science Lead jobs where employers are open to OPT candidates?
Migrate Mate is built specifically for F-1 OPT and international students, so every role on the platform is filtered for visa sponsorship openness. Browsing Migrate Mate saves significant time compared to screening hundreds of postings that exclude international candidates, and it surfaces employers with documented H-1B sponsorship history in data science.
Will a Data Science Lead role qualify as a specialty occupation for H-1B purposes?
Data Science Lead roles almost always qualify. USCIS looks for positions requiring at least a bachelor's degree in a specific technical field. Data science leadership roles typically require a degree in statistics, computer science, mathematics, or a related quantitative discipline. The seniority of the role actually strengthens the specialty occupation argument because it demands deeper specialized expertise than an entry-level position.
What happens to my OPT authorization if I'm between Data Science Lead roles?
F-1 OPT allows a maximum of 90 days of unemployment during the initial 12-month period, extended to 150 days total if you've been approved for a STEM extension. Gaps between senior roles can consume this buffer quickly. Notifying your DSO about employment changes is required, and maintaining documentation of your job search helps demonstrate good faith compliance with OPT terms.