Data Scientist

Hastings Direct; Leicester; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible hybrid working

Competitive bonus scheme

Life and income protection

Pension contributions

Job summary

Hastings Direct is seeking a Data Scientist to support the design, development and deployment of predictive pricing models that drive competitive positioning. This role sits within a team championing machine learning to improve performance on large datasets.

The interview process includes recruiter screening, intro with Hiring manager and a team interview (with case study). The company offers a hybrid working model and a strong 4Cs culture.

Qualifications

• Connect data, analytics and ML to real-world outcomes.
• Experience with cloud platforms (Azure/AWS/GCP).
• Familiar with Snowflake/Databricks/Spark data platforms.
• Experience with Git, testing and CI processes.
• Produce reliable, maintainable code and pipelines.
• Understanding of model governance and explainability.
• Experience in pricing, insurance or regulated environments is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Build, improve and maintain pricing models in Market Pricing.
• Create and maintain tools to support modelling activities.
• Investigate and incorporate powerful new rating factors.
• Collaborate with pricing teams to translate model outputs into actions.
• Build, improve and maintain data science and ML workflows.
• Investigate issues across data, model and pipeline workflows.
• Automate manual steps to improve quality, speed or control.
• Apply good engineering practices, including Git, code review and testing.

Skills

Cloud platforms (Azure/AWS/GCP)

Modern data platforms (Snowflake/Datab

Linux CLI

Git, code review & testing

Reusable code & pipelines

Model governance / responsible AI

Pricing/insurance domain experience

Job description

Job Title: Data Scientist Location: Leicester/Bexhill/London (Hybrid) Unfortunately we are currently unable to offer sponsorship for this role.

Welcome to Hastings Direct We're a digital insurance provider with bold ambitions to become the best and biggest in the UK market. Over recent years, we've made huge investments in our digital capabilities, underpinned by our strong 4Cs culture, to ensure we continue to deliver market leading experiences for our customers. Supporting over four million customers, every interaction with us is shaped by thoughtful design, data-led decision making and a deep understanding of customer needs.

Our Commercial, Digital and Marketing teams sit at the heart of this journey – combining entrepreneurial thinking, analytical insight and creativity to build market leading customer experience. From pricing and proposition design to intuitive digital journeys and compelling tone of voice, our teams are passionate about creating experiences that are not only effective, but genuinely enjoyable. As we continue to grow as an increasingly digitised business, our colleagues play a critical role in driving change, shaping the future and making a meaningful difference for our customers every day.

Role

We're looking for a Data Scientist to support the design, development and deployment of predictive pricing models that play a crucial role in driving the competitive positioning. This role is within a team of data scientists championing machine learning techniques to improve predictive performance using large datasets.

Accountabilities

• Build, develop and enhance models in the Market Pricing team to improve competitive positioning
• Create and maintain tools to support modelling activities
• Investigate and incorporate powerful new rating factors
• Collaborate with pricing teams to translate model outputs into actionable pricing strategies
• Build, improve and maintain data science and machine learning workflows used within Market Pricing
• Investigate issues across data, model and pipeline workflows
• Automate manual steps where this improves quality, speed or control
• Apply good engineering practices, including Git, code review, testing and documentation

Skills, Knowledge & Experience

Ability to connect data, analytics and machine learning models to real-world customer and business outcomes, ensuring solutions deliver measurable value

• Hands-on experience with cloud platforms such as Azure, AWS or GCP
• Exposure to modern data platforms such as Snowflake, Databricks, Spark or similar
• Familiarity with Linux environments and confidence using the command line
• Experience with Git, code review and testing
• Experience building reliable, reusable and maintainable code or pipelines
• Understanding of model governance, responsible AI or explainability
• Beneficial to have experience in pricing, insurance, financial services or another regulated environment

The interview process

• Recruiter screening call
• Intro with Hiring manager
• Interview with hiring team (with case study)

Disability Confident

As a Disability Confident employer, we're committed to ensuring our recruitment processes are fully inclusive – what this means to you is if you're applying for a job with us, you'll have fair access to support and adjustments throughout your recruitment journey. We also welcome applications through the Disability Confident Scheme (DCS).

Benefits

In addition to a competitive salary you will also receive…

• Flexible working – we champion a flexible hybrid working approach – please speak to your recruiter to discuss in more detail
• Competitive bonus scheme - all colleagues are eligible for our annual 4Cs performance bonus
• Financial wellbeing – as well as providing you with 4x your salary with our life assurance cover, income protection at no extra cost, and matched pension contributions up to 10%, we are proud to provide you with an award winning package which includes – discounts, cashback, free independent mortgage advice and free access to financial wellbeing support
• Mental wellbeing programme – we have the thrive mental health app, our colleague assistance programme available 24/7, our own in-house mental health first aiders, support groups and a dedicated team to make sure we are covering your needs
• There's more! – 25 days annual leave + bank holidays, with the option to buy or sell one of your weeks, access to our health care cash back plans, dental plans, discounted health assessments, Cycle to work and tech schemes, discounted and free onsite facilities, social events throughout the year and much more …

We call it the 4Cs. We focus on getting it right for our colleagues, customers, company and community. As one of our colleagues, you'll be helping to drive our growth, so in return, we'll give you all the support, training and development you need. Our 4Cs principles are simple: we believe by creating the right culture for our colleagues and giving them the right tools to do their job, we'll deliver good outcomes for every customer, helping us to grow the company profitably and sustainably and allowing us to invest in the communities we serve.

It's a dynamic, flexible, fun and constantly changing environment. You'll enjoy the scope to make a real difference for our customers, influence our company, benefit the communities we work in and have fun along the way.

Hastings Group is an equal opportunities employer which means we treat people fairly. We welcome applications from all suitably skilled persons regardless of their gender, age, race, disability, ethnic background, religion/belief, sexual orientation, gender reassignment or marital/family status.

Please also note that we have a thorough referencing process, which includes credit and criminal record checks.

At Hastings Direct, we're committed to creating an inclusive environment where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. If you require any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, we encourage you to be open with us. Our recruitment team is here to provide the support you need to ensure a fair and accessible experience for all.

Job posting end date: 23/08/2026