Senior Data Scientist

Summary

Join INSTANDA, a leading Insurtech company, as a Senior Data Scientist to spearhead and scale our AI solutions. This role offers significant autonomy, ownership, and influence in shaping the product roadmap, with ample opportunities for growth and leadership. You will be responsible for designing, developing, and deploying robust AI/ML solutions, leading the full model lifecycle, collaborating with engineering and product teams, mentoring junior colleagues, and ensuring sustained model performance. This UK-based role is primarily remote with some travel required to the London office.

Requirements

• 5+ years of proven experience delivering AI/ML models in production environments
• Advanced knowledge of machine learning, deep learning (e.g., XGBoost, LSTMs, transformers), and statistical modeling
• Proficient in Python and machine learning libraries such as Scikit-learn, TensorFlow, PyTorch, etc
• Hands-on experience with MLOps tools and practices: model tracking, drift detection, continuous learning
• Strong background in data processing, feature engineering, and scalable ML pipelines
• Experience working in cloud environments (Azure preferred) and with containerization tools (Docker, Kubernetes)
• Demonstrated success engaging with senior stakeholders and influencing decision-making with data
• Excellent communication and storytelling skills with the ability to convey complex concepts clearly
• Strong leadership qualities: ownership, initiative, mentoring, and strategic thinking
• Self-starter mindset with a track record of thriving in fast-moving, startup-like environments

Responsibilities

• Independently design, develop, and deploy robust, scalable AI/ML solutions tailored to business needs
• Lead the full model lifecycle: problem formulation, data exploration, model development, validation, deployment, and monitoring
• Collaborate with engineering and product teams to embed models into production systems and deliver end-to-end solutions
• Act as a technical leader and mentor within the data science team, supporting the growth of junior colleagues
• Identify model/data drift and implement retraining pipelines or adaptation strategies to ensure sustained model performance
• Champion the use of interpretable AI and communicate insights clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Engage with senior stakeholders to understand business objectives and translate them into data-driven strategies
• Contribute to and evolve our AI/ML best practices, architecture, and toolchain
• Stay ahead of AI/ML trends and evaluate new tools or methodologies for potential use

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in the insurance or financial services domain
• Familiarity with explainable AI (e.g., SHAP, LIME) and responsible AI practices
• Knowledge of software engineering principles (CI/CD, version control, testing)

Benefits

• A high-autonomy role with substantial influence over AI strategy and execution
• Opportunities for career growth into technical leadership or product strategy
• A collaborative, startup-style culture that encourages innovation and rapid iteration
• Access to cutting-edge tools and technologies across the AI/ML landscape
• Competitive salary
• Generous 28 days holiday allowance, in addition to public holidays
• For every year of service you complete, we’ll give you an additional days holiday (max. 5 days)
• One Dynamic Day per month on top of your holiday allowance to spend time doing the things you want to do or simply catching up with life admin
• Freedom Pass work up to 4 weeks of the year from anywhere
• FlexiBank you decide when to use your public holiday allocation
• Hybrid Working approach varying with the nature of your role
• Life cover; income protection and participation in the company pension scheme
• All employees are included in the company discretionary bonus scheme
• ��100 per month to put towards wellness activities
• Annual learning & development allowance of £1,250
• Free access to LinkedIn learning and Microsoft ESI learning platform