Hybrid Senior Research Scientist

at ION

• Job title: Senior Research Scientist
• Job type: Full Time
• Experience level: Senior
• Salary: Not specified
• Degree requirement: Postgraduate Degree
• Tech skills: PySpark, Python
• Location requirements: Hybrid, Milan, Italy

Responsibilities

• Lead applied research initiatives in economics, finance, and data science, ensuring both theoretical soundness and practical applicability to ION’s core banking products.
• Design, implement, and validate models using advanced econometrics, machine learning, causal inference, forecasting, and network analysis.
• Drive innovation by adopting and testing state-of-the-art methodologies, contributing to ION’s position as a thought leader in quantitative finance.
• Use ION’s internal microdata (transactional, financial, textual, and behavioral) and combine it with public and alternative data sources (news, sentiment, macroeconomic indicators).
• Translate research outcomes into tangible outputs: models, analytical frameworks, algorithms, and datasets for integration into ION’s product suite.
• Collaborate closely with engineering, product, and analytics teams to ensure robust deployment of models and insights.
• Support model governance and regulatory compliance, producing documentation, validation frameworks, and explanatory material for supervisory authorities.
• Conduct and publish research in top-tier academic journals in economics, finance, or data science.
• Represent ION at international conferences and research workshops, presenting both applied and theoretical contributions.

Requirements

• PhD (or Master’s with significant experience) in Economics, Finance, Data Science, Statistics, or a related quantitative field.
• Strong expertise in econometrics, causal inference, and machine learning applied to economic and financial problems.
• Proficiency in Python, with experience handling large datasets.
• Familiarity with Databricks, PySpark, and data engineering workflows is a plus.
• Deep understanding of financial systems, risk modeling, and regulatory frameworks.
• Demonstrated ability to conduct both academic research and product-oriented modeling.
• Strong communication skills and ability to articulate technical content to multidisciplinary audiences.
• Commitment to scientific integrity, transparency, and reproducibility.

Benefits

• Work at the intersection of finance, data science, and applied economics, with access to one of the richest financial datasets in Europe.
• Conduct world-class research with real-world impact and visibility in both academia and industry.
• Collaborate with top universities and global research networks.
• Shape the next generation of financial products and analytical infrastructures.
• Be part of a multidisciplinary team that values rigor, innovation, and intellectual freedom.