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Cloudflare

Principal Data Scientist, Detection

Cloudflare
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hybrid senior full-time $215,000 - $270,000 New York

First indexed 9 Sept 2026

Description

Cloudflare's Engineering Team is home to some of the industry's top engineers, dedicated to building and scaling innovative software that handles a huge proportion of the Internet. The Detection department sits at the heart of that mission, identifying automated, fraudulent, and malicious activity across the Internet and through its gateway.

As a Principal Data Scientist, Detection, you will lead the research, design, and evaluation of detection models that identify automated, fraudulent, and malicious activity across Internet-scale data. You will mentor others in uncovering patterns and behaviors that distinguish adversaries from legitimate users, own the detection measurement framework, and drive adoption of promising AI/ML techniques.

Responsibilities:

  • Lead the research, design, and evaluate detection models that identify automated, fraudulent, and malicious activity across Internet-scale data
  • Mentor others in how to uncover patterns and behaviors that distinguish adversaries from legitimate users
  • Own the detection measurement framework, defining metrics and evaluation strategies for problems where ground truth is noisy, delayed, or contested
  • Drive adoption of promising AI/ML techniques and represent Cloudflare in the broader research community
  • Drive cross-functional partnerships with ML Engineers, Data Engineers, and Product; Influence roadmaps and align detection strategy with company priorities
  • Shape long-term detection strategy, identifying gaps and opportunities that span multiple product areas

Desirable Skills, Knowledge, and Experience:

  • Fraud and bots at scale: experience across fraud, abuse, and/or bot detection on large, high-velocity traffic
  • Strong fundamentals, fluent in data: solid applied statistics, machine learning, and AI methodology fundamentals
  • At least 8-10 years of experience professionally working in Data Science, ML Engineering, or Software Engineering
  • Demonstrated ability to make ambiguous, high-stakes technical decisions with incomplete information
  • Comfortable with Python & SQL in production environments

Compensation:

  • Estimated annual salary of $215,000 - $270,000 for New York City based hires
  • Eligible to participate in Cloudflare's equity plan

Benefits:

  • Health & Welfare Benefits: Medical/Rx Insurance, Dental Insurance, Vision Insurance, Flexible Spending Accounts, Commuter Spending Accounts, Fertility & Family Forming Benefits, On-demand mental health support and Employee Assistance Program, Global Travel Medical Insurance
  • Financial Benefits: Short and Long Term Disability Insurance, Life & Accident Insurance, 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan, Employee Stock Participation Plan
  • Time Off: Flexible paid time off covering vacation and sick leave, Leave programs, including parental, pregnancy health, medical, and bereavement leave
This listing is enriched and indexed by YubHub. To apply, use the employer's original posting: https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/cloudflare/jobs/8175615