Principal Data & AI Scientist

PEMCO is hiring for a Principal Data & AI Scientist to design, develop, and operationalize advanced data science, machine learning, and AI solutions across core insurance domains such as underwriting, claims automation, pricing optimization, risk modeling, and customer lifecycle personalization.

Who We Are
PEMCO is a mutual insurance company owned by Northwest policyholders. We provide auto, home, renters, and boat coverage. We are recognized by Forbes as one of America’s Best Insurance Companies in 2025 and by Newsweek as one of America’s Greatest Midsize Workplaces 2025. We value diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, and strive to foster an inspiring and inclusive workplace.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Lead development and deployment of AI models leveraging both supervised and unsupervised learning techniques.
• Design, implement, and optimize Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) pipelines for AI-driven decision support.
• Utilize Vector Databases and Knowledge Graphs to enhance AI applications in underwriting, claims processing, and customer engagement.
• Develop data pipelines for ingestion, transformation, and storage to support AI/ML workloads.
• Design and implement scalable solutions using cloud-based AI platforms such as Azure Machine Learning, Databricks and Snowflake.
• Implement MLOps best practices, including CI/CD for model training, validation, deployment, and monitoring.
• Develop generative AI models for personalized customer experiences and automation of complex decision-making processes.
• Apply natural language processing (NLP) techniques to analyze and extract insights from unstructured data sources.
• Optimize AI models for performance, scalability, and reliability in enterprise environments.
• Conduct architecture design reviews and performance tuning for AI/ML applications.
• Work cross-functionally with business and technology teams to identify AI-driven opportunities and define strategies.
• Ensure compliance with ethical AI principles, model governance, and data privacy regulations.
• Demonstrate behaviors consistent with PEMCO's policies, values, code of ethics and business conduct.
• Authentically support the PEMCO Brand and look for top talent to join us in achieving our Mission to Worry Less and Live More.
• Other duties as assigned.
• Provide guidance, mentorship, knowledge sharing, and technical growth to team members.

What You'll Bring

• B.A. or B.S. degree or equivalent in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Data Science, or Data Engineering.
• Master’s degree or Ph.D. in related field preferred.
• 10 years of enterprise-scale experience designing, implementing, and deploying AI/ML models.
• 7 years of experience with cloud-based AI platforms (Azure ML, Databricks, Snowflake).
• 7 years of experience in supervised and unsupervised learning techniques.
• Experience in the insurance industry, particularly Auto, Home, and Umbrella insurance processes, underwriting, claims analysis, and risk assessment is required.
• Experience with advanced AI frameworks such as Lang Chain, Llama Index, and Hugging Face transformers preferred.
• Hands-on experience with Gen AI, RAG pipelines, Vector Databases, and Knowledge Graphs.
• Strong problem-solving skills and deep understanding of statistical and mathematical principles.
• Strong experience in NLP and generative AI applications.
• Expert in MLOps, model lifecycle management, and AI model deployment at scale.
• Proficient in Python, PySpark, and SQL.
• Understanding of Azure Databricks, Delta Lake, Unity Catalog, Azure Synapse Analytics, and Azure Data Factory.
• Experience with distributed model training and serving on Databricks.
• Familiarity with Azure OpenAI, LLM fine-tuning, or cognitive services is preferred.
• Familiarity with agile methodologies (e.g., Scrum).

What We Value

• Make Agile Decisions:
  Define outcomes, use inclusive decision-making, and drive data-supported decisions.
• Build Trust:
  Communicate openly and respectfully; collaborate to solve problems.
• Own Results:
  Define success metrics, anticipate risks, and be accountable.
• Empower Execution:
  Act with initiative and purpose.
• Explore Fearlessly:
  Iterate quickly, learn from failures, continually improve.
• Value…