Head of Data Science & AI

AXA Group; Hong Kong; On-site; HKD 1,200,000 - 2,400,000; Full time

Job summary

AXA Hong Kong & Macau seeks a Head of Data Science & AI to lead Data Science, Advanced Analytics and AI development, partnering with business leaders to deliver scalable, governed AI products. This role sits within AXA's AI C oE and collaborates with governance, risk, and platform teams to accelerate AI adoption.

The candidate will oversee multidisciplinary teams in Data Science, ML, Generative AI, and AI Product Development, ensuring measurable business value and compliance with AXA's

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Statistics, Mathematics, Engineering, Information Technology, or related fields.
• Master's degree or PhD in a related field is highly desirable.
• Minimum 10 years of experience in Data Science, AI, ML, Advanced Analytics, or related disciplines.
• Minimum 5 years of leadership experience managing Data Science, Analytics, or AI teams.
• Proven experience delivering AI/Analytics solutions in enterprise environments.
• Experience with Generative AI, LLMs, RAG, and emerging AI technologies.
• Strong experience engaging senior business stakeholders and executive leadership.
• Experience in insurance, financial services, banking, or regulated industries preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead AXA Hong Kong & Macau Data Science & Analytics function.
• Build and lead high-performing teams of Data Scientists, ML Specialists, and Analytics Professionals.
• Deliver enterprise-grade AI models across ML, predictive analytics, Generative AI, LLMs, and AI products.
• Drive governance, security, risk, and regulatory compliance in AI solutions.
• Collaborate with AI Platform & Innovation, AI Governance & Data Management teams to scale AI adoption.
• Partner with business leaders to identify strategic AI opportunities and measurable business value.
• Represent AI in executive forums and strategic initiatives.

Skills

Leadership

AI/ML

Stakeholder mgmt

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/DS/Stats/Math/Engineering/IT

Master's degree or PhD desirable

Job description

Responsibilities:

Reporting directly to the Chief AI Officer (CAIO) of AXA Hong Kong & Macau, the Head of Data Science & AI is responsible for leading the organization's Data Science, Advanced Analytics, and AI development capabilities while supporting the CAIO in driving enterprise-wide Data & AI Transformation.

This role serves as a key leadership position within AXA's AI C oE and will be responsible for partnering with business leaders to identify strategic opportunities, develop AI and analytics solutions, and transform innovative ideas into scalable, secure, governed, and enterprise-grade AI products.

The successful candidate will lead multidisciplinary teams covering Data Science, Machine Learning, Advanced Analytics, Generative AI, and AI Product Development, ensuring AI solutions deliver measurable business value while complying with AXA's governance, security, risk, and regulatory requirements.

The role will work closely with the AI Governance & Data Management team and the AI Platform & Innovation team to establish a sustainable AI operating model and accelerate AI adoption across AXA Hong Kong & Macau.

Strategic Leadership & AI Transformation

• Act as a trusted partner to the Chief AI Officer (CAIO) in the execution of AXA Hong Kong & Macau's Data & AI strategy.

• Support the CAIO in driving enterprise-wide Data & AI Transformation across business and functional units.

• Contribute to the development and execution of AXA's long-term AI vision, operating model, capability roadmap, and organizational transformation initiatives.

• Drive the adoption of AI-enabled business processes and data-driven decision-making practices across the organisation.

• Represent the AI function in executive forums, transformation programmes, steering committees, and strategic initiatives as required.

Data Science & Advanced Analytics Leadership

• Lead AXA Hong Kong & Macau's Data Science & Analytics function.

• Build, develop, and lead a high-performing team of Data Scientists, Machine Learning Specialists, Analytics Professionals, and AI Practitioners.

• Establish best practices, methodologies, and standards across analytics and data science disciplines.

• Deliver advanced analytics solutions supporting key business units including Marketing, Customer Operations, Products, and Technology.

• Drive data-driven decision making through predictive, prescriptive, and advanced analytical capabilities.

• Identify opportunities to leverage data and analytics to improve business outcomes, operational efficiency, customer experience, and growth.

AI Solution Development & Model Engineering

• Lead the end-to-end design, development, training, evaluation, deployment, and optimization of AI and Machine Learning solutions.

• Develop enterprise-grade AI models across areas including:

• Machine Learning

• Predictive Analytics

• Generative AI

• Large Language Models (LLMs)

• Knowledge Intelligence

• Conversational AI

• Agentic AI applications

• Oversee AI experimentation, feature engineering, prompt engineering, model tuning, model evaluation, and performance optimisation.

• Ensure AI models are scalable, explainable, robust, secure, and aligned with business objectives.

• Drive continuous improvement of deployed AI solutions through monitoring, evaluation, and enhancement.

AI Product Development & Lifecycle Management

• Lead the development and operationalization of enterprise AI products throughout their lifecycle.

• Partner with business stakeholders to transform AI ideas, prototypes, and use cases into production-ready and sustainable AI products.

• Establish structured AI product development practices covering:

• Discovery

• Design

• Development

• Validation

• Deployment

• Adoption

• Monitoring

• Optimization

• Define business success measures and ensure AI products deliver measurable business value and user adoption.

• Promote a product-oriented approach to AI development that balances innovation, governance, scalability, and customer outcomes.

MLOps, LLMOps & AI Operations

• Establish and drive enterprise MLOps and LLMOps practices to support production AI solutions.

• Define standards and processes for:

• Model deployment

• Model version management

• Prompt lifecycle management

• AI observability

• Performance monitoring

• Model governance integration

• Incident management

• Continuous delivery and improvement

• Collaborate closely with the AI Platform & Innovation team to ensure AI solutions leverage enterprise platforms, reusable services, and common capabilities.

• Ensure operational resilience, scalability, and sustainability of AI products and services.

• Drive the transition from AI experimentation to enterprise-grade AI operations.

Business Partnership & Stakeholder Management

• Act as the primary AI and Data Science advisor to business stakeholders.

• Build strong partnerships with senior leaders across business and corporate functions.

• Identify, evaluate, and prioritize opportunities where AI and advanced analytics can create strategic value.

• Translate business challenges into AI and analytics solutions with clear business outcomes.

• Drive stakeholder engagement and business ownership throughout the AI lifecycle.

• Present AI strategies, product roadmaps, business cases, risks, and outcomes to executive stakeholders.

• Influence business leaders to adopt AI-driven approaches and embed AI capabilities into daily operations.

Responsible AI, Governance & Data Collaboration

• Partner closely with the AI Governance & Data Management team to ensure AI solutions comply with established governance frameworks, policies, and standards.

• Support the implementation of Responsible AI principles across the AI lifecycle.

• Ensure AI solutions meet security, privacy, ethical, regulatory, and risk management requirements.

• Embed governance-by-design and secure-by-design principles into AI product development.

• Collaborate on model governance, data quality, data management, and compliance initiatives.

• Promote a culture of responsible, transparent, and secure AI adoption across the organization.

Collaboration with AI Platform & Innovation Team

• Work closely with the AI Platform & Innovation team to leverage and influence enterprise AI capabilities and platforms.

• Provide requirements and feedback to support the evolution of AI platforms, tooling, and capabilities.

• Evaluate emerging AI technologies and identify opportunities for enterprise adoption.

• Support the industrialization of innovative AI concepts into scalable enterprise solutions.

• Foster collaboration between business, engineering, platform, governance, and data teams.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Statistics, Mathematics, Engineering, Information Technology, or related disciplines.

• Master's degree or PhD in a related field is highly desirable.

• Minimum 10 years of experience in Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Advanced Analytics, or related disciplines.

• Minimum 5 years of leadership experience managing Data Science, Analytics, or AI teams.

• Demonstrated experience developing, training, deploying, and operating AI and Machine Learning solutions in enterprise environments.

• Proven experience delivering business outcomes through AI and advanced analytics.

• Experience with Generative AI, Large Language Models (LLMs), Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), and emerging AI technologies.

• Strong experience engaging senior business stakeholders and executive leadership teams.

• Experience in insurance, financial services, banking, consulting, or other highly regulated industries is preferred.

About AXA Hong Kong and Macau

AXA Hong Kong and Macau is a member of the AXA Group, a leading global insurer with presence in 52 markets and serving 92 million customers worldwide. Our purpose is to act for human progress by protecting what matters.

As one of the most diversified insurers in Hong Kong, we offer integrated solutions across Life, Health and General Insurance. We are the largest General Insurance provider and a major Health and Employee Benefits provider. Our aim is to not only be the insurer to provide comprehensive protection to our customers, but also a holistic partner to the individuals, businesses and community we serve. At the core of our service commitment is continuous product & service innovation and customer experience enrichment, which is achieved through actively listening to our customers’ needs and leveraging and investing in technology and digital transformation.

We embrace our responsibility to be a driving force against climate change and a force for good to create shared value for our community. We are proud to be the first to address the importance of mental health through different products and services and thought leading iconic research. Our overall Sustainability Strategy, with emphasis on climate strategy and biodiversity commitment, is developed based on TCFD recommendations. We are committed to integrating environmental, social and governance factors across our business and strive to contribute to a sustainable future through 3 distinct roles - as an investor, an insurer and an exemplary company.

AXA is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to promoting Inclusion and Diversity (I&D) by creating a work environment where all employees are treated with dignity, respect, and where individual differences are valued. We welcome and treasure diverse profiles to join our big family, and to build an inclusive culture together which allows everyone to maximise their personal potential.

Our people strategies are designed to enhance employee well-being and professional growth, ultimately empowering them to excel within the company.