Data Scientist - Remote

About The Company

UMB is a leading financial services organization committed to providing innovative banking solutions and exceptional customer service. With a rich history of supporting clients and communities across the United States, UMB leverages cutting-edge technology and industry expertise to drive growth and operational efficiency. The company fosters a collaborative environment that values diversity, inclusion, and continuous learning, ensuring its team members are empowered to make a meaningful impact. UMB’s strategic focus on digital transformation and AI-driven solutions positions it at the forefront of the banking industry, offering a dynamic workplace for professionals passionate about technology and finance.

About The Role

The AI Cloud Data Scientist role at UMB is a pivotal position within the Data Science team, responsible for developing and deploying advanced AI solutions that modernize banking operations. This hybrid position, primarily based in Kansas City MO with options for remote work across the United States, entails collaborating closely with business and technology leaders to translate complex banking problems into governed, measurable AI systems. The role involves designing multi-step agentic AI and large language model (LLM) workflows, integrating them into existing banking processes, and building reusable tools and evaluation practices to enhance team productivity. The successful candidate will own the end-to-end process from problem framing and solution design to prototyping and handoff to engineering teams for deployment, ensuring solutions deliver measurable value and adhere to regulatory standards.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 3 years of experience in data science, machine learning, AI engineering, or related fields
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Engineering, or a related discipline, or equivalent experience
• Proficiency in Python and SQL for data manipulation, analysis, and model development
• Experience building multi-step LLM workflows involving tool or function calling, orchestration, and retrieval
• Ability to evaluate AI outputs using meaningful metrics, perform failure analysis, and implement quality assurance practices
• Strong communication skills to translate complex technical concepts for non-technical stakeholders
• Experience with cloud AI services such as AWS Bedrock, SageMaker, Lambda, or similar platforms (bonus)
• Familiarity with regulated industries, especially financial services, and understanding of governance and compliance requirements (bonus)
• Knowledge of semantic layers or semantic views for contextual analytics (bonus)
• Proven ability to develop reusable AI tools and capabilities to accelerate team workflows

Responsibilities

• Design and develop multi-step agentic AI systems, including orchestration, retrieval, and memory components, on platforms like AWS Bedrock or equivalent
• Engineer prompts and contextual information to enable accurate natural-language question answering from business data
• Prototype, iterate, and validate AI solutions in development environments, demonstrating clear value and feasibility
• Collaborate with business teams to decompose processes, identify automation opportunities, and recommend AI-driven solutions
• Translate ambiguous business problems into scalable AI solutions, managing scope and trade-offs effectively
• Build, evaluate, and refine machine learning models, ensuring rigorous experimentation and validation practices
• Develop evaluation frameworks, metrics, and failure analysis procedures to ensure model and agent quality
• Implement security, governance, and human-in-the-loop controls suitable for a regulated banking environment
• Create reusable workflows, tools, and patterns to enhance team productivity and knowledge sharing
• Define data, pipeline, and integration requirements, and document designs for handoff to engineering teams for deployment
• Contribute to a high-performing team culture by mentoring, sharing best practices, and supporting continuous improvement initiatives

Benefits

• Competitive salary within the range of $98,208 - $144,705
• Paid Time Off and paid holidays
• 401(k) retirement plan with company match
• Comprehensive health insurance including medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Health savings accounts, flexible spending accounts, and dependent care accounts
• Adoption assistance and employee assistance programs
• Wellness programs, fitness reimbursement, and tuition reimbursement
• Employee banking benefits and emergency funds
• Opportunities for career growth and development within a diverse and inclusive environment

Equal Opportunity

UMB is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering an inclusive environment for all employees and applicants. We do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, military service, veteran status, genetic information, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law. We encourage candidates from diverse backgrounds to apply. We value the unique perspectives and experiences each individual brings and are dedicated to creating a workplace where everyone can thrive.