Esfandiar Alizadeh
Lead Data ScientistData Science @ Tala
Tala
AI is analyzing your overall score…
Identifying your key strengths…
Evaluating your skill match against the job requirements…
Assessing your cultural and operational fit
Data Science @ Tala
AI is analyzing your overall score…
Identifying your key strengths…
Evaluating your skill match against the job requirements…
Assessing your cultural and operational fit
I am a Data Scientist with a physics background. I have built state of the art credit and fraud models for the two fin-tech companies I have worked with. I have done all sorts of modeling on Kaggle competitions to keep my skills sharp.
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Physics
January 1, 2004 – January 1, 2011
Tala
Senior Data Scientist
May 1, 2018 – Present
Santa Monica, California, United States
ZestFinance
Manager Machine Learning Modeler
March 1, 2017 – April 1, 2018
Los Angeles Metropolitan Area
ZestFinance
Senior Machine Learning Modeler
February 1, 2015 – March 1, 2017
Los Angeles Metropolitan Area
Caltech
Postdoc
December 1, 2011 – June 1, 2013
Pasadena, California, United States
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Graduate Student
August 1, 2004 – June 1, 2011
Cultural Fit Analysis
The candidate has a consistent career trajectory in data science, specifically within financial technology (fintech) and credit modeling, which aligns well with roles requiring practical application of ML. The transition from academic research (Physics PhD, Postdoc) to industry demonstrates adaptability. The experience in leading teams and building robust models suggests a collaborative and results-oriented approach. The lack of diverse project types outside of fraud/credit modeling might indicate a focused, rather than broad, interest, but this is not necessarily a negative for a specialized lead role.
Soft Skills & Operational Fit
The candidate's experience descriptions highlight leadership in team management and project guidance, suggesting strong operational fit for a lead role. The development of a Plotly Dash app with Celery indicates initiative in improving internal processes. However, specific soft skill assessments are not available.