Lead Data Scientist

Howden Group; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Employee ownership

Career development

Job summary

Howden Group is seeking a Lead Data Scientist to join the Group Data Science team in London. This senior individual contributor role combines hands-on ML delivery with strategic influence across stakeholders and business units.

You will lead end-to-end AI projects, ensure production‑ready solutions, mentor data practitioners, and help shape scalable data platforms that drive measurable outcomes for Howden’s global operations.

Qualifications

• Proven track record of delivering production‑grade ML/AI projects.
• Experience collaborating with data engineering, platform, and product teams.
• Strong Python and ML library proficiency (XGBoost, PyTorch, TensorFlow).
• Experience with cloud platforms (Azure) and Databricks for scalable ML.
• Ability to communicate complex concepts to executives and stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end ML/AI solutions from discovery to production.
• Partner with stakeholders to define use cases and prioritise value.
• Design, develop, and deploy scalable AI applications.
• Drive best practices across ML/Ops, data science, and software engineering.
• Collaborate with Data Engineering, Platform, and Product teams to deliver production‑grade solutions.
• Help evolve Howden's AI capabilities and standards.
• Support agile delivery teams with technical leadership.
• Stay current with data science and cloud tech advancements.

Skills

Python

XGBoost

PyTorch

TensorFlow

Hugging Face

Azure

Databricks

MLOps

Stakeholder engagement

Agile teams

Job description

Who are we? Howden is a global insurance group with employee ownership at its heart. Together, we have pushed the boundaries of insurance. We are united by a shared passion and no-limits mindset, and our strength lies in our ability to collaborate as a powerful international team comprised of 24,000 employees spanning over 56 countries. People join Howden for many different reasons, but they stay for the same one: our culture. It’s what sets us apart, and the reason our employees have been turning down headhunters for years. Whatever your priorities – work / life balance, career progression, sustainability, volunteering – you’ll find like‑minded people driving change at Howden.

Location: London

Department: Group Data & Analytics

Reporting to: Senior Data Science Manager

About the Role

Howden Group Holdings, a leading international insurance broker operating in over 100 countries, is seeking an experienced Lead Data Scientist to join our Group Data Science team. This is a senior individual contributor role for a highly capable practitioner who has successfully delivered machine learning and AI products from concept through to production within large, complex organisations. The successful candidate will combine deep technical expertise with strong commercial acumen, helping shape and deliver scalable AI and machine learning solutions that drive measurable business outcomes across Howden's global operations. Working closely with business stakeholders, data engineers, and platform teams, you will lead the technical delivery of high‑value data science and AI initiatives, ensuring solutions are production‑ready, scalable, and adopted by the business. You will act as a technical leader and trusted advisor, helping to establish best practices while contributing directly to hands‑on delivery.

Role Responsibilities

• Lead the end-to-end delivery of machine learning and AI solutions, from discovery through to production deployment and ongoing optimisation
• Partner with business stakeholders to identify opportunities, define use cases, and prioritise work based on commercial value
• Design, develop, and deploy scalable machine learning, predictive analytics, and AI applications
• Drive technical best practices across data science, experimentation, model development, MLOps, and software engineering
• Collaborate closely with Data Engineering, Platform, and Product teams to deliver production‑grade solutions
• Contribute to the evolution of Howden's AI and data science capabilities, standards, and ways of working
• Support agile delivery teams, providing technical leadership and guidance throughout the product lifecycle
• Stay current with developments in Data Science, AI, and cloud technologies, helping bring innovative approaches into the organisation

Your Skills

• Proven track record of building and deploying production‑grade AI/ML applications that generate measurable business value
• Experience working with Data Engineering, MLOps and Product teams to bringing Machine Learning systems from research all the way to deployment and maintenance
• Excellent Python programming skills and hands on experience with libraries such as XGBoost, PyTorch, TensorFlow, or Hugging Face
• Experience working with cloud‑based data and AI platforms, particularly Azure and Databricks
• Strong stakeholder engagement and storytelling capabilities; able to translate technical complexity into executive‑level narratives
• Experience working within agile, cross‑functional product and delivery teams
• Strong problem‑solving skills and a commercial mindset, with a focus on outcomes rather than models alone
• Insurance, reinsurance, financial services, or other regulated industry experience is desirable
• Experience with Generative AI, LLM applications, agentic systems
• Exposure to mentoring or coaching other data scientists and technical practitioners

Why Join Howden?

At Howden, we are building data and AI capabilities that directly support our growth ambitions across the Group. As a Lead Data Scientist, you will have the opportunity to work on meaningful business challenges, develop innovative AI products, and help shape the future of data‑driven decision making across an employee‑owned global organisation. You will join a collaborative and entrepreneurial environment where technical excellence, innovation, and commercial impact are valued equally. Working alongside talented colleagues from across the business, you will play a key role in turning advanced analytics and AI into measurable outcomes for Howden and its clients.

What do we offer in return?

A career that you define. At Howden, we value diversity – there is no one Howden type. Instead, we’re looking for individuals who share the same values as us: Our successes have all come from someone brave enough to try something new. We support each other in the small everyday moments and the bigger challenges. We are determined to make a positive difference at work and beyond. Reasonable adjustments We're committed to providing reasonable accommodations at Howden to ensure that our positions align well with your needs. Besides the usual adjustments such as software, IT, and office setups, we can also accommodate other changes such as flexible hours* or hybrid working*.

Reasonable adjustments

We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations at Howden to ensure that our positions align well with your needs. Besides the usual adjustments such as software, IT, and office setups, we can also accommodate other changes such as flexible hours* or hybrid working*.

Permanent

Howden began in 1994, as just three people and a dog. Now there are 23,000 of us, and we're a leading global insurance group, managing $37bn of premiums for our clients. Our largest shareholder group is us – the people who work in the business – supported by three long‑term, minority growth‑equity partners who share our vision to build a business to last, one that will never be sold. The owner's mindset is something that's embedded in our culture; our people readily take ownership of their decisions, their actions, and their outputs. They’re invested in every sense. And we all know that by working together to drive the business forward, everyone will benefit from the extraordinary results we can achieve.