VP, Insurance Data Science

Job description

##  ## Ready for your next chapter? Build the future of insurance with a team that values simplicity, empathy, and innovation. Openly is redefining the insurance experience, replacing decades of complexity with clarity and modern technology. We’re the insurance provider people trust and the partner independent agents choose. ## What Sets Us Apart - **Technology that delivers:** We use data to modernize underwriting and deliver tailored insurance solutions that fit how people actually live. - **Superior protection:** Highly customizable coverage designed around what policyholders need. - **Effortless from quote to claim:** Simple, intuitive workflows for independent agents and fast, human-centered care for policyholders. ## Our Core Values Our people are as important as our product. Collaboration, open communication, and work-life balance aren't just nice-to-haves, they’re at the core of how we operate. We look for people driven by **integrity, empathy, teamwork, curiosity**, and **urgency,** because a great company starts with the right people. ## Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion We embrace individuality because everyone deserves to work somewhere they belong. We’re committed to building an inclusive culture that spans race, gender, age, religion, identity, and background. **Job Details** As **VP, Insurance Data Science**, you'll set the strategic direction for how data science is applied across our insurance product — spanning the cost and demand modeling functions that shape our pricing and underwriting algorithms, and growth levers — while managing and developing the people who execute that vision. This is a role for a leader who is technically deep enough to set a high bar, people-focused enough to build a team that clears it, and commercially minded enough to connect modeling decisions to business outcomes. You'll report directly to the Chief Insurance Product Officer and serve as a key voice in how Openly builds and deploys its analytical edge. **Responsibilities** **Strategy & Leadership** - Own the vision and delivery of Openly's data science capabilities — prioritizing initiatives that drive pricing precision, underwriting performance, and profitable growth. - Partner with pricing, underwriting, product, and engineering leadership to ensure data science efforts are tightly integrated with business strategy and operational workflows. - Serve as Openly's insurance product authority on data science methodology — staying current on advances in ML, AI, and insurance-specific modeling practice and bringing the right innovations to the team with rigor and judgment. - Represent Insurance Data Science in senior leadership conversations, translating complex modeling work into clear implications for business performance. **Modeling & Research** - Set the technical standard for Openly's cost and demand modeling suite — including GLMs, gradient boosting, neural approaches, and other ML methods — ensuring models are well-validated, production-ready, and coherent with actuarial frameworks. - Drive the modeling strategy for new initiatives across existing and expansion states, spanning both homeowners and personal auto product lines, ensuring data science capabilities scale with the business. - Govern the model lifecycle — from development through validation, deployment, monitoring, and refresh — establishing clear standards for when models are production-ready and when they need to be revisited. - Collaborate closely with actuaries to ensure model outputs can be operationalized within regulatory and pricing frameworks. - Advance Openly’s data science capabilities through collaborative strategic research with Data/Machine Learning Engineering **Engineering & Standards** - Collaborate with engineering dept leadership on shared development standards — code quality, version control, peer review, testing, reproducibility, and documentation. - Ensure the Insurance Data Science team can operate at the right pace and scale through strategic investments in infrastructure, tooling, and access. - Actively partner with Data/ML Engineering to design, prioritize, and implement capabilities critical to scale - Evaluate and introduce new tools, platforms, and data sources with a bias toward practical impact over novelty. **People Leadership** - Lead, expand, and develop the Insurance Data Science team — including senior data scientists, managers, and analysts — setting clear role expectations, investing in career growth, supporting the recruiting and hiring of external talent, and building a culture of technical excellence and intellectual rigor. - Own hiring and team structure decisions in partnership with the CIPO, building the capabilities Openly needs now and over the next several years. - Mentor senior individual contributors and managers, developing the next generation of data science leadership within the organization. **Key Requirements** - 15+ years of experience in data science or a closely related quantitative/actuarial field, with at least 8 years in a leadership role managing highly analytical teams. - Deep technical fluency in predictive modeling — GLMs, gradient boosting, and modern ML methods — with demonstrated experience delivering production models in a regulated, data-intensive industry. - Proven experience across both cost modeling (loss ratio, frequency, severity, pure premium) and demand modeling (conversion, retention, price elasticity), and the strategic judgment to prioritize across a portfolio of modeling initiatives. - Extensive experience in personal lines insurance with models directly driving pricing and underwriting decisions; familiarity with the actuarial context in which data science operates is a strong differentiator. - Track record of building and leading high-performing data science teams — not just managing delivery, but developing people, raising the technical bar, and creating an environment where rigorous analytical work thrives. - Strong communicator and cross-functional collaborator, equally fluent in technical depth with data scientists and in strategic implications with executive leadership. - Commercially minded: you understand how modeling decisions translate to loss ratios, growth, and profitability, and you manage your team's work accordingly. - Comfortable operating at a growth-stage company where strategic clarity and operational ambiguity coexist — and capable of creating structure without waiting for it to be handed to you. ## Perks & Benefits Great work happens when people feel supported. Our benefits are designed to care for you and your family at every stage of life. - **Remote-first culture:** We supported remote work long before it became standard, and we remain dedicated to a flexible work model. - **Competitive pay & equity:** Top-tier base salary paired with ownership in Openly’s growth. - **Comprehensive health coverage:** Medical, dental, and vision plans tailored to you and your family. - **Life & disability insurance:** Full coverage including voluntary supplemental options. - **Paid parental leave**: Up to 8 weeks (320 hours) of paid parental leave for eligible employees (with additional disability coverage available for birthing parents). - **401(k) company contribution**: Openly contributes 3% of your gross income, regardless of whether you make personal contributions. - **Home office setup**: A $1,500 upfront allowance to build your ideal remote workspace, plus a $75 / month internet stipend. - **Professional development**: $2,000 annually to invest in courses, conferences, or resources to help you grow. - **"Be Well" program**: A $50 / month stipend dedicated to your personal health and wellness. - **Volunteer hours & referral rewards**: Paid time off to give back to your community, plus generous financial rewards for referring great talent. *Note: Select roles may also be eligible for cash incentives or sales commissions. Eligibility for all compensation and benefits is governed by applicable plan terms.* ## Our Hiring Commitment Our process is designed to be transparent, respectful, and human. At every step, you’ll get to showcase your strengths, ask tough questions, and find out if Openly is the right fit. U.S. Citizens, Green Card Holders, and those authorized to work in the U.S. for any employer and currently residing in the US will be considered. Openly is committed to equal employment opportunity and non-discrimination for all employees and qualified applicants without regard to a person's race, color, sex, gender identity or expression, age, religion, national origin, ancestry, ethnicity, disability, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, marital status, or any characteristic protected under applicable law. Openly is an E-Verify Employer in the United States. Openly will make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with known disabilities under applicable law. *We strive to provide an exceptional applicant and candidate journey when you engage with us. In an effort to respond to applicants in a timely manner, we leverage AI to organize applications and resumes based on required and applicable skills and experience. To allow our applicants to drive their initial interview experience with us, we may leverage an AI-supported scheduling tool so you can choose when to meet with our team. While AI assists with efficiency, all hiring decisions are made by our team members. Rest assured, your data is protected according to privacy laws and company policies. Contact our recruitment team with any questions about our AI-assisted hiring process.*