Senior Data Scientist – Home Insurance

Location: Bexhill/Leicester/London – willing to travel to Bexhill and Leicester on occasion.

Hastings Direct is a digital insurance provider with a clear strategy to become the best and biggest player in the UK market. We have invested heavily in technology, pricing, data and analytics, and we are looking for an experienced Technical Pricing Manager / Senior Data Scientist to join our Home Underwriting team.

Role Overview

As a Technical Pricing Manager / Senior Data Scientist, you will develop and deploy machine learning models and data science solutions that drive our technical pricing engine and maintain our competitive edge. You will report to the Home AnDS lead and work closely with Data, Analytical, and ML Engineering teams.

Accountabilities

• Develop, analyse, and oversee the implementation of advanced statistical and machine learning models into live pricing.
• Create tools and solutions to support risk portfolio management.
• Extend the team's capabilities in AI/ML and cloud technologies.
• Collaborate cross‑functionally with the wider Underwriting team to define the Home data landscape.
• Engineer new features for deployment into pricing algorithms.
• Advocate for data science and software development best practices.
• Engage commercial stakeholders to gather business requirements and coordinate project activities.

Essential Skills & Experience

• Proven track record of delivering commercial value using supervised machine learning techniques.
• Advanced Python programming and experience with data manipulation and analysis libraries (e.g., NumPy, pandas, scikit‑learn).
• Advanced knowledge of data science technologies, tooling, and platforms.
• Proficiency in SQL and Git.
• Ability to drive projects from initiation to completion.
• Strong interest in emerging machine learning techniques.
• Desirable: Experience with cloud deployments (Azure, AWS, GCP).

Interview Process

Recruiter screening call → 1st round: Intro call with Hiring Manager → 2nd round: Case study followed by call with Hiring Leader.

Benefits & Perks

• Competitive salary with £5k car allowance.
• Flexible hybrid working.
• Annual 4Cs performance bonus.
• Private medical insurance (PMI).
• Life assurance, income protection, matched pension contributions up to 10%, and other health and financial wellbeing programs.
• 27 days annual leave plus bank holidays, with the option to buy or sell a week.
• Access to health care cashback plans, dental plans, discounted health assessments, Cycle to Work and tech schemes, and more.

Hastings Group is an equal opportunities employer. We welcome applications from all suitably skilled persons regardless of gender, age, race, disability, ethnicity, religion/belief, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, or marital/family status. All applications are subject to a thorough referencing process, including credit and criminal record checks.