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Director Machine Learning Jobs in Illinois (NOW HIRING)

Coinflow

Machine Learning Lead

Chicago, IL · On-site

$225K - $275K/yr

Coinflow is seeking a Machine Learning Lead to own the fraud and risk intelligence layer at the ... Demonstrated experience building fraud models in payments, with direct exposure to the acquiring ...

Sralab

Engineer I, Machine Learning Ops CBM Lab

Chicago, IL · On-site

$60K - $99K/yr

Summary The Machine Learning Ops Engineer I, under direct supervision, will assist in the development, deployment, and management of machine learning models, toolboxes and systems. This role involves ...

Albi

Senior Machine Learning Engineer (LLMs)

Chicago, IL

$126K - $166K/yr

Direct collaboration with a small team of smart, kind, motivated engineers * An environment that ... Equipment and learning budget to help you do your best work and keep up with the frontier

Albi

Senior Machine Learning Engineer (LLMs)

Chicago, IL · On-site

$126K - $166K/yr

Direct collaboration with a small team of smart, kind, motivated engineers * An environment that ... Equipment and learning budget to help you do your best work and keep up with the frontier

Albi

Senior Machine Learning Engineer (LLMs)

Chicago, IL · On-site

$126K - $166K/yr

Direct collaboration with a small team of smart, kind, motivated engineers * An environment that ... Equipment and learning budget to help you do your best work and keep up with the frontier

Vizient

AI & Decision Intelligence Director

Chicago, IL · On-site

$135K - $236K/yr

In this role, the AI & Decision Intelligence Director establishes and scales AI, machine learning, predictive analytics, and intelligent automation capabilities within Revenue Intelligence. The role ...

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All JobsMachine Learning JobsDirector Machine Learning JobsDirector Machine Learning Jobs in Illinois

Director Machine Learning information

See Illinois salary details

$34.9K

$89.1K

$136.6K

How much do director machine learning jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 31, 2026, the average yearly pay for director machine learning in Illinois is $89,085.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $69,300.00 and $102,700.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is a director machine learning?

A Director of Machine Learning leads teams in developing and deploying machine learning models to solve business challenges. They define the AI strategy, oversee research, and ensure models are scalable and ethical. This role requires expertise in machine learning, data science, and leadership, as well as collaboration with cross-functional teams. Directors also stay updated on industry advancements and drive innovation within their organizations.

What are the primary responsibilities and challenges faced by a director machine learning on a daily basis?

A Director of Machine Learning is typically responsible for overseeing the development and deployment of machine learning solutions, mentoring technical teams, setting strategic direction for AI initiatives, and ensuring the alignment of projects with organizational goals. Challenges often include balancing innovative research with business priorities, navigating evolving technology landscapes, and coordinating efforts across data science, engineering, and stakeholder teams. This role requires regular collaboration with product managers, executives, and cross-functional departments to prioritize initiatives and communicate complex technical concepts. Successful directors excel at fostering a culture of continuous learning, optimizing team productivity, and staying ahead in a fast-paced, rapidly changing field.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive in the director machine learning position, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Director Machine Learning, you need advanced expertise in machine learning, statistics, data science, and leadership, typically supported by a master's or Ph.D. in a related field and several years of relevant industry experience. Familiarity with tools such as Python, TensorFlow or PyTorch, cloud platforms, and data management systems, as well as certifications like AWS Certified Machine Learning or Google Professional Machine Learning Engineer, are commonly required. Exceptional communication, strategic thinking, and team management skills distinguish top candidates in this role. These capabilities are essential for driving organizational AI initiatives, fostering high-performing teams, and delivering impactful business solutions.

Is a machine learning director a high paying job?

A machine learning director typically earns a high salary due to the specialized skills, leadership responsibilities, and experience required for the role. Compensation often includes base salary, bonuses, and stock options, reflecting the demand for expertise in AI and data science. Salaries can vary based on industry, company size, and location, but generally rank among the higher-paying technology leadership positions.

What does a director of machine learning do?

A director of machine learning oversees the development and implementation of machine learning strategies and projects within an organization. They lead teams of data scientists and engineers, set technical goals, ensure project alignment with business objectives, and often collaborate with other departments to integrate AI solutions using tools like Python, TensorFlow, or PyTorch.

What are the most commonly searched types of Machine Learning jobs in Illinois?

The most popular types of Machine Learning jobs in Illinois are:

What are popular job titles related to Director Machine Learning jobs in Illinois?

For Director Machine Learning jobs in Illinois, the most frequently searched job titles are:

What job categories do people searching Director Machine Learning jobs in Illinois look for?

The top searched job categories for Director Machine Learning jobs in Illinois are:

What cities in Illinois are hiring for Director Machine Learning jobs?

Cities in Illinois with the most Director Machine Learning job openings:

Director Machine Learning jobs near you
Infographic showing various Director Machine Learning job openings in Illinois as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% As Needed, 80% Full Time, 18% Part Time, and 1% Contract. Highlights an 87% Physical, 2% Hybrid, and 11% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $89,085 per year, or $42.8 per hour.

Machine Learning Lead

Coinflow

Chicago, IL • On-site

$225K - $275K/yr

Full-time

Medical, Retirement

Re-posted 7 days ago

Job description

About Coinflow
Coinflow is the next-generation payment service provider revolutionizing global financial infrastructure with stablecoins, AI-driven fraud prevention, and instant settlement. Coinflow enables businesses to grow faster with instant settlement, fraud & chargeback indemnity, global pay-ins, multi-currency FX, and unified payouts. Founded in 2023, the company serves marketplaces, fintechs, remittance providers, gaming platforms, and ecommerce merchants worldwide.
Since our seed round in 2024, we've achieved 23x revenue growth and scaled to multi-billion-dollar annual transaction volume. In response to this growth, Coinflow announced a $25M Series A in October 2025-led by Pantera Capital, CMT Digital, Coinbase Ventures, Jump Crypto, and Reciprocal Ventures-accelerating our mission to power the world's fastest-moving businesses with innovative, reliable global payments.
Coinflow is proudly headquartered in Chicago, IL. Learn more at coinflow.cash.
Role Overview:
Coinflow is seeking a Machine Learning Lead to own the fraud and risk intelligence layer at the core of our platform.
This is a founding ML role. You'll lead our first dedicated ML team, building capabilities that combine our first-party transaction data with partner signals to optimize approval rates across payment methods and geographies, sharpen risk decisioning during merchant underwriting, and improve fraud detection across global payment methods. That means digging into large-scale transaction and behavioral data, shipping production fraud models, defining what good looks like, and continuously raising the bar on detection and precision as our volume and merchant base scale.
The ideal candidate has hands-on experience building fraud models on the acquiring side of payments and working alongside external fraud vendors to tackle card-present or card-not-present fraud, authorization decisioning, chargeback reduction, and related risk systems.
Key Responsibilities
  • Strengthen Coinflow's fraud detection and risk decisioning capabilities - feature engineering, model development, and production deployment
  • Own the full model lifecycle: experimentation, evaluation, monitoring, and iteration
  • Define and track core fraud and risk metrics - detection rate, false positive rate, chargeback rate, dispute win rate - and continuously improve them
  • Explore transaction and behavioral data to surface new fraud signals and emerging attack patterns
  • Partner with Engineering, Product, and Operations to embed fraud intelligence directly into payment flows and internal tooling
  • Integrate and orchestrate external fraud/risk partners, getting maximum value from their tooling
  • Establish the foundation for ML and data practices across the company
  • Help shape Coinflow's long-term fraud, risk, and ML roadmap
Required Qualifications
  • 5+ years in machine learning, applied data science, or production ML roles
  • Demonstrated experience building fraud models in payments, with direct exposure to the acquiring side - acquirer, PSP, or payment facilitator
  • Proven track record taking ML projects from proof-of-concept to fully deployed, productionized systems
  • Deep familiarity with acquiring-side fraud dynamics: authorization fraud, card-not-present fraud, friendly fraud, chargeback patterns, and merchant risk
  • Strong foundation in ML, statistics, and feature engineering on high-volume financial data
  • Comfortable owning ambiguous problems end-to-end and creating structure where none exists
  • Strong collaborator across Engineering, Product, and Ops
Preferred Qualifications
  • Experience at an acquirer, ISO, PayFac, or payments infrastructure company
  • Experience developing, managing, and scaling MLOps pipelines and monitoring systems (retraining schedules, real-time performance metrics)
  • Experience scoping cloud compute requirements for scalable ML workloads
  • Familiarity with card network rules, dispute/chargeback workflows, and fraud liability frameworks
  • Experience as an early or sole ML hire at a startup
  • Exposure to real-time or near-real-time fraud scoring systems
  • Experience with stablecoin, crypto, or alternative payment rails

What We Offer:
  • Competitive compensation including base salary, performance bonus, and meaningful ownership
  • Opportunity to build the fraud and risk intelligence layer of a rapidly scaling fintech company
  • Collaborative and innovative work environment with world-class investors
  • Direct impact on core risk infrastructure and company trajectory during a hyper growth phase

The base salary range for this role is $225,000 - $275,000 USD. The actual base salary offered depends on a variety of factors, including but not limited to experience, education, skills, qualifications and business needs.
In addition, the employee who fills this role will be eligible for an equity grant, allowing you to share in the long-term success of the company. You will also have access to a wide array of benefits, including health and wellness benefits, 401(k) savings plan, and flexible time off.
Join the team rewriting how money moves worldwide-and become a driving force in the $194 trillion cross-border payments market.

Apply