Senior Data Scientist

Optus is an Australian telecommunications company, delivering more than 11 million services to our customers every day across mobile, broadband and digital solutions.

The Billing and Credit function, part of Group Finance and Corporate, oversees billing, payments, collections, recoveries, credit, and fraud risk management across Optus. As a Senior Data Scientist within this team, you will leverage advanced analytics and machine learning to deliver timely, accurate, and actionable insights that help identify emerging risks, strengthen fraud and credit controls, and reduce financial loss—ensuring a seamless billing and payments experience for Optus customers

This role requires a strong mix of technical expertise and business acumen, applying tools such as Databricks, SQL, Python, or R to design, deploy, and refine predictive models and scorecards. You will extract and analyse large datasets, develop innovative risk solutions, and present insights through compelling visualizations to guide decision-making. With experience in credit, fraud, and collections, you'll play a critical role in shaping strategies that protect revenue, manage risk, and support sustainable growth across Consumer, Small Business, Mid-Market, Enterprise, and Wholesale segments.

Location: Sydney or Melbourne

What You'll D

• Lead delivery of advanced data models and analytics driving all Credit and Fraud Risk decisions across Optus Group.
• Design and implement strategy changes to manage 3M+ applications annually through automated decisioning within SLA.
• Oversee backend system development and reporting tools (Tableau, Cognos, IDW/EDW, Credit systems, SAS/R models).
• Partner with senior stakeholders and business units to enhance financial performance and implement key initiatives.
• Plan, track, and coordinate performance targets, transformation priorities, and strategic reviews across Group Credit & Finance.

What makes you perfect for the role

• BA/BS degree in Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics, Engineering, Analytics, or equivalent applied quantitative field
• Advanced data analysis, SQL, Python, R, Databricks; strong financial and predictive modelling; ML algorithms applied to business problems.
• 5+ years in data science/finance roles with telco expertise; credit, fraud, and collections risk management; commercial and regulatory understanding.
• Proven ability to build business cases, conduct financial modelling, and translate complex data into actionable recommendations.
• Skilled at influencing and presenting to senior management; experience leading initiatives across Product, Sales, Commercial, and Corporate functions.
• Strong presentation, negotiation, and interpersonal skills; ability to manage diverse stakeholders and drive cross-functional projects.

What's in it for you

• Competitive remuneration and employee discounts. Make life easier (and more affordable) with $80 monthly credit and 25% off Optus products and unique shopping discounts with our retail partners.
• Flexible working arrangements with opportunities to work three days in the office, two days remote or home.
• Vibrant and collaborative office campus that includes cafes, convenience store, chill out zones, GP, post office, gym and on-site childcare centre.
• Competitive leave policies, including additional 'Connected' days to focus on culture, family, health, community, or whatever's important to you.
• We support growing families with inclusive, carer-neutral paid Parental Leave of up to 16 weeks.
• Direct your own development and build future-ready skills with Optus U's industry-focused micro-credentials, developed with La Trobe and Macquarie Universities.
• Build meaningful connections through employee-led networks and diversity initiatives including Culture Connect, Elevate Women, Disability Network and Express Yourself (LGBTQIA+).
• Put your wellbeing first with free access to counselling and support services, 24/7 — in-person, by phone, SMS, or video.

At Optus, we are strengthened by others and that means valuing diversity and saying 'yes' to embracing individual differences. We are committed to ensuring that our application process provides an equal employment opportunity to all job seekers, including individuals from diverse gender, cultural and linguistic backgrounds, individuals with a disability, individuals identifying as being part of the LGBTQIA+ community, individuals who may have served in the armed forces or who identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander. We also want to do our best to make our recruitment process inclusive. If you require any adjustments or accessibility support to participate fairly and equitably in the recruitment process, please email or call We're here to help. When you contact us, please advise your preferred method of contact and we will be in touch within 48 hours.

For more information on Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging at Optus, please visit