Senior Data Scientist - GenAI

Manulife/John Hancock; Toronto; Hybrid; CAD 129,000 - 179,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Retirement plans

Paid time off

Work flexibility

Job summary

Manulife/John Hancock in Toronto seeks a Senior Data Scientist specializing in GenAI to design and deploy advanced ML solutions across Group Functions. You will apply prompting, RAG, and fine-tuning of language models on Azure Databricks platforms to drive business outcomes.

The role requires 5+ years in ML, strong Python skills, and experience with PyTorch, Hugging Face, and graph databases. You’ll collaborate across teams and contribute to scalable AI initiatives in a hybrid work setting.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s, Master’s, or Ph.D. in Computer Science, Data Science, Statistics, Engineering, or related field.
• 5+ years of experience with probabilistic models, data mining and ML algorithms, including generative AI.
• Proficient in Python and ML libraries: PyTorch, scikit-learn, Hugging Face; SQL and graph databases.

Responsibilities

• Develop and lead ML/AI projects across Group Functions with high business impact.
• Apply generative AI, prompt engineering, and RAG for data analysis enhancements.
• Design experiments to validate models; ensure accuracy, efficiency, and scalability.
• Deploy models on cloud platforms (Azure ML, Databricks) with seamless integration.
• Collaborate with data and ML engineers to integrate solutions into workflows.
• Communicate complex findings to technical and non-technical partners.

Skills

Python

PyTorch

scikit-learn

Hugging Face

SQL

Graph databases

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree

PhD

Tools

Azure ML

Databricks

Neo4j/Cypher

Cosmos DB/Gremlin

Job description

We are seeking a highly skilled and motivated Senior Data Scientist to join our Group Functions Advanced Analytics team. As a Senior Data Scientist - GenAI, you will develop and implement robust analytical solutions for various parts of Manulife and JH by applying traditional and emerging ML and AI techniques including but not limited to generative AI techniques, such as applying prompt engineering, working with RAG applications, fine-tuning LLM models, and deploying applications on cloud platforms like Azure. Your expertise in these areas will play a crucial role in driving data-driven decision-making and enhancing our business processes.

Position Responsibilities:

• Develop and lead machine learning and AI driven projects that span the breadth of Group Functions (Corporate Functions) with high business impact Apply generative AI techniques to generate synthetic data, create realistic simulations, and enhance data analysis capabilities.
• Apply prompt engineering techniques, build with RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) applications, and fine-tune language models and improve their performance in specific tasks.
• Design and complete experiments to validate and optimize machine learning models, ensuring accuracy, efficiency, and scalability.
• Deploy machine learning models and applications on cloud platforms like Azure ML or Databricks, ensuring flawless integration and scalability.
• Stay up-to-date with the latest advancements in machine learning, generative AI, prompt engineering, RAG applications, and cloud technologies, and apply them to enhance our data science capabilities.
• Collaborate with data engineers and ML engineers to integrate data science solutions into existing systems and workflows.
• Communicate sophisticated technical concepts and findings to both technical and non-technical partners, ensuring clear understanding and agreement
• Peer review other Data Scientists’ work and participate in model and code reviews
• Clean, preprocess, and analyze large datasets to extract meaningful insights and patterns.
• Collaborate with multi-functional teams to identify and define business requirements, ensuring alignment with data science objectives.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor', Master's degree, or Ph.D. in Computer Science, Data Science, Statistics, Engineering, or a related field.
• 5+ years of experience in developing probabilistic models, data mining, and machine learning algorithms, including real world experience of applying analytics models, with a strong focus on machine learning, generative AI, prompt engineering, and RAG applications
• Proficiency in programming languages such as Python and experience with machine learning libraries/frameworks, e.g., PyTorch, scikit-learn, Hugging Face, SQL, graph databases (Neo4j/Cypher, Cosmos DB/Gremlin).

Preferred Qualifications:

• Knowledge of professional software engineering practices & standard methodologies for the full software development process, including coding standards, code reviews, source control management, build processes, testing, and operations.
• Strong collaboration and elaboration skills; demonstrates a strong commitment to organizational success; shares resources and demonstrates knowledge across the organization.
• Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to think critically and creatively to develop innovative solutions.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work optimally in multi-functional teams.

When you join our team:

We’ll empower you to learn and grow the career you want. We’ll recognize and support you in a flexible environment where well-being and inclusion are more than just words. As part of our global team, we’ll support you in shaping the future you want to see. #LI-Hybrid

About Manulife and John Hancock

Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services provider, helping people make their decisions easier and lives better. To learn more about us, visit https://www.manulife.com/en/about/our-story.html.

Manulife is an Equal Opportunity Employer

At Manulife/John Hancock, we embrace our diversity. We strive to attract, develop and retain a workforce that is as diverse as the customers we serve and to foster an inclusive work environment that embraces the strength of cultures and individuals. We are committed to fair recruitment, retention, advancement and compensation, and we administer all of our practices and programs without discrimination on the basis of race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, religion or religious beliefs, creed, sex (including pregnancy and pregnancy-related conditions), sexual orientation, genetic characteristics, veteran status, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, family status, disability, or any other ground protected by applicable law. It is our priority to remove barriers to provide equal access to employment. A Human Resources representative will work with applicants who request a reasonable accommodation during the application process. All information shared during the accommodation request process will be stored and used in a manner that is consistent with applicable laws and Manulife/John Hancock policies. To request a reasonable accommodation in the application process, contact [e-mail].

Referenced Salary

Location Toronto, Ontario
Working Arrangement Hybrid
Salary range is expected to be between $129,400.00 CAD - $179,400.00 CAD. Employees also have the opportunity to participate in incentive programs and earn incentive compensation tied to business and individual performance. The actual salary will vary depending on local market conditions, geography and relevant job-related factors such as knowledge, skills, qualifications, experience, and education/training. If you are applying for this role outside of the primary location, please contact [e-mail] for the salary range for your location.

Benefits

• Manulife offers eligible employees a wide array of customizable benefits, including health, dental, mental health, vision, short-and long-term disability, life and AD&D insurance coverage, adoption/surrogacy and wellness benefits, and employee/family assistance plans.
• We also offer eligible employees various retirement savings plans (including pension and a global share ownership plan with employer matching contributions) and financial education and counseling resources.
• Our generous paid time off program in Canada includes holidays, vacation, personal, and sick days, and we offer the full range of statutory leaves of absence.
• If you are applying for this role in the U.S., please contact [e-mail] for more information about U.S.-specific paid time off provisions.

We use data and analytics technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), and automated processing tools, to analyze and process the information you provide to us or third parties in the application process. For more information, please refer to our personal information collection statement.

We're Manulife. And we’re on a mission to make decisions easier and lives better. Better is what drives us. It’s what inspires us to find new ways to support customers and colleagues in living longer and healthier lives. It’s the reason we’re dedicated to investing in digital innovation and industry-leading AI, and accelerating a sustainable and economically inclusive future.

Joining us means you’ll be empowered to learn and grow your career. We’ll recognize and support you in a flexible environment where well-being and inclusion are more than just words. And as part of our global team, you’ll help shape the future you want to see – and discover that better can take you anywhere you want to go.

We’re proud of our accomplishments and recognition. Recent awards include: 2026 Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award Winner Manulife Named one of Forbes World’s Best Employers 2025 Financial Times World’s Best Employers Asia-Pacific 2026 We’ve been recognized as one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers 2026 #1 Life Insurer for AI Maturity by Evident 2026