Lead Data Scientist

We’re a digital insurance provider with ambitious plans to become the best and biggest in the UK market. We’ve made huge investments in our pricing and data capabilities over the past few years, along with nurturing our 4

Cs culture.

We provide insurance for over four million customers, but we know there’s even bigger opportunity out there – our Pricing, Data and Analytics community value curiosity, collaboration and constructive challenge.

We are always looking for new ideas and diverse perspectives to question established thinking and drive meaningful change. Great pricing is built on trust, innovation and precision, so our aim is to ensure customers receive a fair and accurate price based on their individual risk, supporting fair outcomes, while delivering sustainable and profitable growth for our company.

Pricing is more than just a number – it’s a strategic capability. At the heart of Hastings is deep risk insight – continually improving how we assess, segment and price risk through data and analytics.

Job Title:

Lead Data Scientist

Location:

Bexhill/Leicester/London – Hybrid Role overview

The Lead Data Scientist will play a key role in shaping and delivering advanced Data Science solutions across the business, using machine learning, statistical modelling and innovative data sources to solve complex commercial and customer  this role, you’ll lead and develop a team of Data Scientists, taking ownership of projects from initial exploration and model development through to deployment, monitoring and ongoing optimisation.

Working closely with stakeholders across the business, you’ll help identify where Data Science can have the greatest impact and turn complex data and modelling into practical, scalable solutions. This could involve areas such as telematics, claims, customer behaviour and other applications across the insurance lifecycle.

Key responsibilities

Lead, mentor and develop a high-performing team of Data Scientists, fostering innovation and technical excellence.

Shape and deliver the Data Science strategy within your area, ensuring work is aligned to wider business priorities.

Lead the development of advanced machine learning and statistical models to solve complex business problems.

Take ownership of Data Science projects from initial concept and experimentation through to production deployment and ongoing monitoring.

Work closely with senior stakeholders to identify opportunities where Data Science can drive better decisions and business outcomes.

Explore and evaluate new data sources, techniques and technologies to improve modelling capability.

Ensure models are robust, scalable and appropriately governed, with strong validation and monitoring in place.

Partner with Data Engineering and Technology teams to develop effective data pipelines and support deployment into production.

Translate complex technical outputs into clear, actionable insights for both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Champion best practice across Data Science and help drive innovation and continuous improvement across the wider function.

Essential skills/experience

Proven experience leading, mentoring and developing Data Scientists.

Strong technical expertise across machine learning, statistical modelling and predictive analytics.

Strong Python and SQL skills, with experience developing Data Science solutions in a commercial environment.

Experience taking machine learning models through the full lifecycle, from development and experimentation to deployment and monitoring in production.

Experience working with large, complex and varied datasets.

Experience with modern cloud and Data Science technologies such as AWS, Azure, Databricks, Snowflake, Spark or similar.

Strong stakeholder management skills, with the ability…