AVP, Model Validation

Role Summary / Purpose

The AVP, Model Validation is responsible for model validation and ensuring compliance with Model Risk Management policies, standards, procedures, and regulations (OCC
2011-12/SR 11-7). This role requires high‑level expertise, minimal technical supervision, leadership of validation projects, accountability for validation results across various categories, and meaningful contribution to projects.

• Serve as a key contributor and lead analyst performing model validation with minimal supervision for credit acquisition, account management, fraud, and marketing models built using both machine learning algorithms and traditional logistic regression techniques.
• Perform end‑to‑end validation independently for assigned internally and vendor‑developed new models and existing models.
• Lead review and maintenance of model and validation documentation, perform in‑depth analysis on large data sets and reports to support discussions on key analytics and model risks.
• Work closely within the Risk organization to validate accuracy and performance of all models, identify issues requiring further investigation, and resolve problems independently.
• Collaborate with Synchrony Financial business teams to uncover and highlight risk associated with models.
• Keep pace with the latest model developments in academia, regulatory environment, risk technology, and financial services industries to provide expert guidance.
• Support regulatory examinations and internal audits of the modeling process and selected model samples.
• Provide technical consultation and process improvement to model risk management on recommended solutions based on solid research.
• Perform other duties and/or special projects as assigned.

• Master's degree in Statistics, Mathematics, Data Science, or related quantitative field and 4+ years in model development/validation experience in financial services, banking, or retail.
• 4+ years of hands‑on experience with data science and statistical tools including Python, R, SAS, SQL, SPARK, Data Lake, H2O, Sage Maker, and AWS.
• 4+ years of statistical analysis and handling large amounts of data and analyzing for trends.
• 4+ years of experience with the application of U.S. regulatory requirements for Model Risk Management.
• Ability and flexibility to travel for business as required.

• Strong knowledge of regulatory requirements for Model Risk Management with proven track record of delivering regulatory requirements.
• 5+ years of proven experience in Model Risk Management in the financial services industry, including analytic/modeling/quantitative experience and governance or other credit/financial discipline.
• Experience in people and project management, including demonstrated ability to develop actionable plans to meet high‑level objectives, strong execution, and timeline‑sensitive deliverables.
• Sharp focus on accuracy with extreme attention to detail.
• Knowledge of Credit Card/Consumer Finance products and business model.
• Experience with Machine Learning/AI methodologies and related applications, including generative AI model validation and validation framework development.
• Excellent written and oral communication and presentation skills.

Salary range for this position is $ – $ USD annually. Eligible for an annual bonus based on individual and company performance.

We ensure all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status. We are committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace.

• You must be 18 years or older.
• You must have a high school diploma or equivalent.
• You must be willing to take a drug test, submit to a background investigation, and submit fingerprints as part of the onboarding process.
• You must be able to satisfy the requirements of Section 19 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act.
• New hires (Level 4‑7) must have 9 months of continuous service with the company before they are eligible to post on other roles. Once this new hire time in position…