Fraud Analyst

Prolific is not just another player in the AI space—we are the architects of the human data infrastructure that's reshaping the landscape of AI development. In a world where foundational AI technologies are increasingly commoditized, it's the quality and diversity of human-generated data that truly differentiates products and models.

We are looking for a high-ownership Fraud Analyst to step into a pivotal role within Prolific’s world class Integrity Team. This isn't just a support role; you are the "Human-in-the-Loop" who bridges the gap between our complex fraud models and the real-world experience of our researchers and participants. You’ll be the source of truth for our "golden sets," the expert voice in our Slack channels, and the person who turns manual investigations into product improvements. We need someone who is data-curious, possesses an investigator’s mindset, and is ready to take accountability for the quality of our participant pool.

What you’ll bring to the role:

• Extreme Ownership: You’re the type of person who sees a "huge hole" and immediately starts filling it. You don't wait for a ticket to tell you something is wrong; you dive in and find the root cause.
• The "Investigator" Mindset: You enjoy the "whodunnit" aspect of fraud. You can spot patterns, cross-reference multiple data points, and remain objective when a participant claims the system made a mistake.
• Aspiring Data Literacy: You don’t need to be a Data Scientist, but you should have a hunger to become data-literate. You’re comfortable (or willing to learn) diving into databases and collaborating with technical teams to get the answers you need.
• Practical Communication: You can take a complex technical ban and explain the "why" to a researcher or support agent in a way that is clear, firm, and helpful.
• Adaptability: The fraud landscape changes every week (especially with LLMs and bots). You’re excited by the idea of a role that evolves and offers room to grow into more technical or strategic areas as you settle in.
• Systems Thinking: You understand that a marketplace is an ecosystem. You have the ability to foresee how tightening a rule on the participant side might accidentally impact the researcher experience, or how an engineering change might shift fraud to a different part of the product.
• A "Trust but Verify" Mentality: You possess a healthy dose of skepticism. You default to assuming positive intent from our users, but you rely on hard data and undeniable proof before closing a case.

Even better if you have:

• Familiarity with AI training data workflows, labeling platforms, or crowdsourcing tools is a strong advantage.

What you’ll be doing in the role:

• Crossfunctional Problem Solving: You’ll work with Data Science, Product, Engineering, Support, and Human Data teams every day.
• Deep-Dive Investigations: You’ll review data quality reports from researchers, cross-referencing participant IDs against our internal data to validate fraud claims. You’ll recommend a response to the researcher and ensure that bad actors are restricted based on your findings.
• Second-Line Expert Support: You’ll act as the escalation point for our Support team. You’ll handle the tricky edge cases, ban appeals, and "system-says-no" moments where human judgment is needed to override or validate the algorithm.
• Sonar Audits & Prevalence Tracking: You will lead our "Sonar" reviews - a regular audit of our participant network. Your work here directly generates our "bad actor prevalence" and "fraudulent submission" metrics, which are the primary KPIs for how we track our success against fraud. The other side of the coin - you’ll audit our ban decisions to measure fairness and participant experience through overturn rates.
• Model Training & Feedback Loops: You’ll partner closely with Data Science to review "high risk" participants flagged by our fraud models. Your manual reviews will provide the vital "golden set" of data that allows us to tweak and improve our ML models.
• Operational Innovation: We don’t want you just to follow the process - we want you to break and fix it. You’ll be constantly looking for ways to automate your own tasks, suggest product features to the engineers, and make life easier for our Support team.
• Policy Design & Refinement: As you encounter edge cases and new fraud vectors, you won't just solve the immediate ticket. You will write, refine, and document the internal policies and standard operating procedures that govern how our platform defines "acceptable use."
• Balancing Friction vs. Growth: You will be a key voice in the room when Product launches new features. You'll advise on potential fraud loopholes and help strike the delicate balance between keeping bad actors out and keeping the onboarding experience seamless for good participants.

Why Prolific is a great place to work:

We've built a unique platform that connects researchers and companies with a global pool of participants, enabling the collection of high-quality, ethically sourced human behavioral data and feedback. This data is the cornerstone of developing more accurate, nuanced, and aligned AI systems. We believe that the next leap in AI capabilities won't come solely from scaling existing models but from integrating diverse human perspectives and behaviors into AI development. By providing this crucial human data infrastructure, Prolific is positioning itself at the forefront of the next wave of AI innovation – one that reflects the breadth and the best of humanity. Working for us will place you at the forefront of AI innovation, providing access to our unique human data platform and opportunities for groundbreaking research. Join us to enjoy a competitive salary, benefits, and remote working within our impactful, mission-driven culture.