Responsible AI Data Scientist

What is this position about?

We are seeking a highly motivated and technically proficient Data Scientist/Machine Learning Engineer specializing in Responsible AI (VP/AVP) to join our Digital & AI team at BNP Paribas Wealth Management Asia. This is a crucial new role focused on ensuring our AI models and systems are developed with a strong foundation in ethical principles, and are fair, transparent, and compliant with regulatory standards.

This is an exciting opportunity to play a pivotal role in establishing our Asia AI Center of Excellence (COE) under the leadership of the Chief Digital & AI Officer. In this high-impact position, you will be responsible for designing and implementing processes and technical solutions for AI ethics and governance. You will work hands-on with our data science and AI engineering teams to embed ethical considerations directly into the entire AI lifecycle, ensuring our initiatives align with legal requirements, protect client data, and maintain the trust of our clients and regulators. This is a chance to be part of a transformative journey as we set the foundation for responsible and effective AI in our Wealth Management business, with the following key objectives:

•    Define, prioritize & execute our AI strategy & plan, maximize AI’s value creation 

•    Identify key technologies & partners to design & implement the entity’s AI governance, 

•    Build its workflows, processes & standards for ethical AI development & industrialization

•    Leverage the Group AI ecosystem to optimize synergies & re-use of common, standardized tech stacks

•    Under a “One Bank” approach, develop collaborations with other Group entities (CIB, AM & Retail banks).

•    Promote a “analytics” & “AI everywhere, for everyone” mindset for all BNPP Wealth Management staff

You will collaborate with data scientists, software engineers, digital product specialists, model risk management committees, and business stakeholders to deploy AI systems that power smart investment advisory, personalized recommendations, KYC/AML and other AI applications aimed at improving client outcomes and optimizing internal processes.

Primary Role Responsibilities

•    AI Center of Excellence Development:

Partner with senior leadership to build and expand the AI Center of Excellence (COE), setting the strategic direction and driving AI adoption across the bank. 

Translate high-level regulatory requirements, governance frameworks, best practices into technical implementation. This includes developing and enforcing standards and procedures for the responsible development and deployment of AI models and systems throughout their product lifecycle. 

•    Data Quality & Governance: 

Partner with analytics team other data scientists, engineers and senior leadership to ensure high standards of data quality, integrity, and governance throughout the AI lifecycle, including data lineage, privacy, and security.

•    Industrialization of our AI Priorities:

Partner with Data Scientists and senior leadership to drive AI-powered initiatives, ensuring adherence of the end-to-end AI model lifecycle, from ideation to deployment and monitoring, to internal governance and external regulatory requirements. 

Actively participate in the end-to-end AI model lifecycle, from data sourcing to post-deployment monitoring. Build and establish a robust model validation process, including automated performance testing, bias detection, and explainability analysis to ensure models are fair and auditable. 

•    Ethical AI:

Conduct in-depth analysis of datasets and models to identify and quantify potential biases. Develop and implement technical solutions for bias detection and mitigation, using tools and frameworks such as AIF360, Fairlearn, and custom-built algorithms.

Apply and operationalize Explainable AI (XAI) methodologies to make complex models interpretable for both technical and non-technical stakeholders. Document model logic and decision-making processes to ensure transparency and auditability for internal and external reviews.

•    Regulatory Compliance & Technical Risk:

Act as a subject matter expert on the technical aspects of AI-related regulations from key regulatory bodies in the target regions, including the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), and European Union (GDPR, AI Act).

Ensure that AI applications comply with regulatory requirements and ethical standards, particularly in the context of Wealth Management, where sensitive client data and privacy concerns are paramount. Work with legal and compliance teams to ensure transparency, fairness, and accountability in AI model outputs.

Perform technical risk assessments and compliance audits on AI models, focusing on data privacy, fairness, and model robustness.

•    Continuous Monitoring & Reporting:

Design and build continuous monitoring systems to track AI model performance and ethical metrics (e.g., fairness, drift) post-deployment. Prepare detailed technical reports and visualizations for leadership and regulatory bodies, providing clear insights into the bank’s AI compliance posture.

•    Innovation & Research: Stay abreast of the latest technical developments in AI and their implications on Ethical and Responsible AI,  AI fairness, privacy-enhancing technologies, and model explainability. Advise on new tools and methodologies that can improve our compliance and risk management capabilities.

•    Collaboration Across Functions:

Work cross-functionally with teams in Front Office, Investment services, Sales Management & Marketing, Credit, Control functions (Risk, Compliance, Operations etc.) to integrate AI solutions into various daily activities. 

Partner with digital product owners, other data scientists, and internal risk management to ensure that AI models are seamlessly embedded into client-facing platforms, mobile applications, and backend systems for a cohesive experience across all touchpoints.

•    Leadership and Mentorship:

Provide mentorship and foster a culture of innovation, knowledge-sharing, and continuous learning with peers & colleagues. Bring the entire workforce on the journey of Ethical AI for upskilling/ re-skilling.

•     Innovation & Research:

Stay abreast of the latest advancements in AI, machine learning, and data science research. Apply cutting-edge techniques to further improve personalization algorithms, fraud detection, and other AI-powered banking solutions.

What is required for you to succeed?

•    Education:

Master’s or PhD in Computer Science, Data Science, Statistics, Applied Mathematics or a related field. 

•    Experience:

5 to 7+ years of hands-on experience as a Data Scientist or Machine Learning Engineer, with at least 2 years focused specifically on developing and deploying scalable AI/ML models with an ethical lens – preferably in the financial services or technology sector.    

Good knowledge to expertise in Generative AI specific skills: prompt/context engineering, various RAG approaches, agentic AI, ability to understand & challenge data pipelines & architecture choices, anticipate key stakes in robustness and automated performance evaluation / prod monitoring. 

•    Technical Skills:

•    Expertise in machine learning frameworks such as TensorFlow, PyTorch, Sklearn and relevant libraries like Pandas, Polars, Numpy. 

•    Deep experience in responsible AI toolkits (e.g., IBM AI Fairness 360, Google What-If Tool, SHAP, LIME) for Machine Learning, Deep Learning, NLP, and/or Time-series / Econometric models in following applications:

•    Strong programming skills in Python, SQL and experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, IBM). 

•    Experience with MLOps platforms and tools (e.g., MLflow, Kubeflow, Sagemaker) to manage the end-to-end model lifecycle.

•    Familiarity with LLMOps frameworks and platforms for the responsible development and deployment of GenAI applications.

•    Domain Knowledge:

Understanding of Wealth Management and financial services, with experience in areas such as risk management, fraud detection, wealth management, and client analytics is beneficial.

•    Problem-Solving & Innovation:

Ability to think critically and creatively to solve complex problems and build innovative machine learning solutions that drive business value. 

•    Collaboration & Communication:

Strong teamwork skills and the ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams. Excellent communication skills to explain technical concepts and outcomes to non-technical stakeholders.

Proficiency in both Traditional and Simplified Chinese would be an advantage 

Preferred Skills:

•    Experience in setting up or working within an AI Center of Excellence (CoE)

•    Experience with AI-driven automation for client service (eg chatbots, virtual assistants)

•    Familiarity with AI agent frameworks and tools 

About BNP PARIBAS

As the leading European Union bank, and one of the world’s largest financial institutions with an uninterrupted presence in the region since 1860, BNP Paribas offers a wide range of financial services for corporate, institutional and private investors spanning corporate and institutional banking, wealth management, asset management and insurance. 

We passionately embrace diversity and are committed to fostering an inclusive workplace where all employees are valued and encourage applicants of all backgrounds, including diversity of origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion applicants who may be living with a disability. We have a number of internal employee networks in place to empower our staff to act and challenge the status quo.

•    BNP Paribas PRIDE is highly active in favour of the LGBTQIA+ community

•    BNP Paribas MixCity which fosters better representation of women at all levels of the organization

•    Ability, the mutual aid network for employees with a disability or a disabling or chronic illness

•    BNP Paribas CulturAll which celebrates diverse backgrounds

BNP is committed to financing a carbon-neutral economy by 2050. The Group is a founding member of the Net-Zero Banking Alliance and has set up its own Low Carbon Transition Group to support its clients through their energy transitions.

https://careers.apac.bnpparibas/

More information 

BNP Paribas – Diversity & Inclusion Journey

BNP Paribas – The Bank Of Green Changes

Award Obtained

BNPP has won Top employer Europe award in a 10th consecutive year