We're seeking a Head of Machine Learning to own and scale the ML function at Prodigal. This is the senior-most ML role in the company — partnering directly with the CTO as a peer technical leader, defining the multi-year ML vision, building and leading a world-class team, and translating cutting-edge research into production systems that move the needle for over 100 customers and millions of consumers. You'll set the bar for technical excellence, hire and develop the next generation of ML leaders, and shape what consumer finance intelligence looks like over the next decade. If you've operated at this level before — or are ready to step into it at a company where ML is the engine of the product — we want to talk.

Responsibilities:

• Own the ML function end-to-end — vision, roadmap, team, delivery, and measurable business impact across classical ML, NLP, GenAI, and Agentic AI
• Partner with the CTO as the senior ML leader to set company-wide technical direction and shape the long-term roadmap for Prodigal's Intelligence Engine
• Build and lead a high-performing ML organization — hire, mentor, and develop ML engineers, applied scientists, and tech leads across multiple pods
• Translate research into product — drive the application of LLMs, Agentic AI, the modern NLP stack, recommendation systems, and classical ML into production systems serving 100+ customers
• Set technical standards for model development, deployment, monitoring, evaluation, and experimentation that scale across the org
• Architect data and ML infrastructure in partnership with the platform and engineering teams to support large-scale training and reliable, low-latency inference
• Communicate strategy and outcomes clearly to the founders, board, customers, and broader engineering organization
• Represent Prodigal externally — at conferences, in research collaborations, and as a senior voice in the consumer finance AI community
• Stay at the frontier of ML and GenAI research, identifying where new techniques unlock product and business advantage
• Collaborate cross-functionally with product, engineering, GTM, and customer success leaders to ensure ML investment ties directly to revenue, retention, and customer outcomes

Requirements:

• 10+ years of experience in machine learning and software development at a tech or product company, with 4+ years leading ML teams (managing engineers and/or tech leads)
• Proven track record of shipping ML products in production at scale with measurable business impact
• Deep technical fluency across classical ML, deep learning, and the modern NLP/LLM stack — you can still go deep in design reviews, not just review at the surface
• Strong coding skills in Python. Hands-on with PyTorch, scikit-learn, Pandas, and Spark
• Demonstrated success hiring, mentoring, and growing ML talent — including team leads and senior engineers
• Strong executive communication and the ability to set technical direction with founders, peers, and the board
• A bias for outcomes — you connect model work to revenue, engagement, and operational metrics

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience as a founding ML hire, ML lead, or applied science leader at a high-growth AI/ML product company
• Background in voice AI, conversational AI, speech, NLP on unstructured text, or fintech/lending domains
• Experience with cloud services (AWS), Databricks, and building scalable, distributed systems
• Track record of running A/B testing and experimentation programs at scale
• Patents, publications, or open-source contributions; strong institutional pedigree (IIT, BITS, NIT, IISc)
• Experience scaling an ML org through a hypergrowth phase

Job Benefits

• GenAI at the core – Lead the ML function at a company where AI isn't a feature, it's the product. Shape groundbreaking work that redefines consumer finance intelligence.
• World-class team - You'll get the chance to learn from (and teach) some of the brightest and most skilled people you'll ever meet. Our team members have been part of BCG, Deloitte, EY, Blackstone, Meta, Amazon and are IIT, IIM, BITS alumnus.
• Continuous education - As relentless seekers of knowledge, we sponsor and support any training materials, books, courses, and exam fees for upskilling yourself in areas related to your role - but that's not where it ends. If you make a good case for some extra learning, we're delighted to foot the tab.
• Food at the office – Meals are on us. We won't let your stomach grumble while you hustle.
• Health insurance - Health always comes first. The health of your family is as important to us as it is to you. We offer insurance coverage for both you and your family.
• Flexible schedule - We're not a "clock in, clock out" company. Morning person? Start work while the world's still sleeping. Night owl? Ramp things up while others are winding down. You're fully trusted to create the right conditions for your own personal peak productivity. We only ask that you be available to your teammates for seamless collaboration.
• Generous leave policy - Take all the time you need to recharge your batteries - no cap on vacation here. Because a rested, relaxed, and refreshed mind is a happy and effective mind.
• Recreation & team activities – We regularly indulge in friendly football, table tennis, cooking sessions, and challenge each other to do those extra push-ups or chug that 4th drink (of course, that's Nimbu Pani).

Meet Sangram (Cofounder and CTO) and hear his vision for Prodigal: https://www.youtube.com/embed/FTWlN9fwiIA?feature=shared

IMC’s Python Development team partners directly with our equity and index options trading desks, blending financial theory, software engineering, data-visualisation, and applied research to convert raw data into trading edge. You’ll operate in a high-calibre, intellectually stimulating environment that leverages cutting-edge technology, proprietary tools, and vast datasets. Working side-by-side with traders and software engineers, you’ll see your work  move swiftly from idea to production and directly influence trading performance. Our culture prizes innovation, collaboration, and continuous learning—where creative problem-solving, a strong sense of responsibility, and rigorous diligence drive success.

Your Core Responsibilities:

• Collaborate closely with traders to refine existing strategies and generate new ideas.
• Build, maintain, and enhance research frameworks  and data pipelines that enable trading and quantitative research.
• Develop, back-test, and implement discretionary and systematic trading strategies using large, diverse datasets.
• Curate, transform, and present data in clear, accessible formats for traders and researchers.
• Drive end-to-end research cycles — from ideation through production deployment.

Your Skills and Experience:

• Bachelor's in Mathematics, Physics, Statistics, Computer Science, Econometrics, or a related discipline.
• 3+ years of professional Python development experience, with strong, production-level coding skills; familiarity with additional languages is a plus.
• Hands-on experience with statistical analysis, numerical programming, data engineering, or machine learning in Python (Polars, Pandas, NumPy, SciPy, TensorFlow).
• Proven ability to handle large datasets, architect and optimise data pipelines, and present data effectively.
• Foundational knowledge of quantitative trading concepts and equity/index options —  whether through coursework, projects, internships, or professional work.
• Exposure to web/API frameworks such as FastAPI and React is advantageous.
• Experience with orchestration and containerisation tools like Kubernetes and Docker is a plus.
• Solid grounding in calculus, probability, statistics, and optimisation; familiarity with machine-learning techniques is beneficial.

We're seeking a Machine Learning Lead to join our team in building cutting-edge products that shape the future of consumer finance. As a member of our team, you will oversee complex technical problems, build new features, and improve existing products. Our teams are constantly pushing the boundaries of applied intelligence in consumer finance, and we're looking for passionate individuals who can help us advance us further. If you're interested in leading a world-class team of engineers and researchers to work on exciting projects that have a significant impact, we encourage you to apply.

Responsibilities:

• Partner with the CTO to drive the team's goals and technical direction to pursue opportunities that make the organization more efficient
• Effectively communicate complex features and systems in detail
• Understand industry & company-wide trends to help assess & develop new technologies
• Partner with the CTO to lead long-term technical vision and roadmap for Machine Learning and the entire organization
• Suggest, collect, and synthesize requirements and create an effective feature roadmap
• Design and develop Machine learning products and services leveraging AI (LLMs, Agentic AI, classical ML, the modern NLP stack, etc)
• Architect and implement data pipelines for ML model training. Lead scalable software systems development to deploy ML models into production systems, ensuring high performance and reliability.
• Stay updated on ML research and the ever-changing Gen AI landscape, identifying opportunities for innovation.
•  Effectively collaborate with cross-functional teams to deliver high-quality solutions on time. Guide team members in contributing to ML design discussions for new projects.

Requirements:

• Extensive experience, 5+ years in software development, with a focus on machine learning and data science in a tech company. 
• Proven track record of delivering high-quality ML products in a fast-paced, agile environment.
• Deep understanding of machine learning algorithms with hands-on experience in developing and deploying machine learning models at scale.
• Strong coding skills in Python. Familiarity with machine learning libraries such as PyTorch and sci-kit-learn. Experience with data manipulation and analysis tools like Pandas and Spark.
• Strong communication and leadership skills, with the ability to effectively collaborate with cross-functional teams and mentor junior engineers.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with cloud services (AWS), Databricks, and building scalable, distributed systems.

Job Benefits 

• GenAI experience – Work directly in the innovative field of GenAI, shaping groundbreaking projects that redefine consumer finance intelligence.
• World-class team - You'll get the chance to learn from (and teach) some of the brightest and most skilled people you'll ever meet. Our team members have been part of BCG, Deloitte, EY, Blackstone, Meta, Amazon and are IIT, IIM, BITS alumnus.
• Continuous education - As relentless seekers of knowledge, we sponsor and support any training materials, books, courses, and exam fees for upskilling yourself in areas related to your role - but that's not where it ends. If you make a good case for some extra learning, we're delighted to foot the tab.
• Food at the office – Meals are on us. We won't let your stomach grumble while you hustle.
• Health insurance - Health always comes first. The health of your family is as important to us as it is to you. We offer insurance coverage for both you and your family.
• Flexible schedule - We're not a "clock in, clock out" company. Morning person? Start work while the world's still sleeping. Night owl? Ramp things up while others are winding down. You're fully trusted to create the right conditions for your own personal peak productivity. We only ask that you be available to your teammates for seamless collaboration.
• Generous leave policy - Take all the time you need to recharge your batteries - no cap on vacation here. Because a rested, relaxed, and refreshed mind is a happy and effective mind.
• Recreation & team activities – We regularly indulge in friendly football, table tennis, cooking sessions, and challenge each other to do those extra push-ups or chug that 4th drink (of course, that’s Nimbu Pani).

Meet Sangram - (Cofounder and CTO) and hear his vision for Prodigal below (01:38)