Lead Data Scientist – AI for Automated Underwriting (Hybrid)

Manulife and John Hancock; Boston (MA); Hybrid; USD 127,000 - 236,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Job summary

Manulife and John Hancock in Boston is hiring a Lead Data Scientist to develop advanced analytics and AI solutions for automated underwriting and related business problems. This hands-on role leads modeling, evaluation, and production deployment while mentoring fellow data scientists and guiding technical direction across projects.

The ideal candidate has 8+ years in statistics/ML, strong Python/R and SQL skills, and solid underwriting knowledge.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or advanced degree in Statistics, Mathematics, Data Science, Computer Science, Engineering, Actuarial Science, Economics, or related field.
• 8 years of experience applying statistics, machine learning, or predictive analytics to complex business problems.
• Proficiency in Python or R and SQL with experience handling large datasets.
• Experience leading analytical workstreams and providing technical guidance to data scientists.
• Solid life insurance underwriting knowledge and related analytics experience.
• Cloud analytics platforms and model governance experience is a plus; actuarial concepts familiarity is an asset.

Responsibilities

• Partner with underwriting, business, product and technology stakeholders to identify data science opportunities.
• Lead projects from problem definition through modeling, evaluation, implementation and enhancement.
• Develop statistical and ML models suited to the business problem and data.
• Analyze large datasets to identify patterns, generate insights, and support decisions.
• Define model evaluation approaches ensuring accuracy and interpretability.
• Evaluate new data sources and third‑party solutions through structured analysis.
• Collaborate with data engineers and ML engineers to deploy analytical solutions in production.
• Monitor model performance and recommend ongoing improvements.
• Prepare technical documentation for governance and management of models.
• Provide technical direction and mentor other data scientists.

Skills

Python

SQL

Statistics

Machine learning

Model evaluation

Leadership

Communication

Underwriting

Education

Bachelor's or higher in a quantitative field

Job description

Manulife and John Hancock in Boston is hiring a Lead Data Scientist to develop advanced analytics and AI solutions for automated underwriting and related business problems. This hands-on role leads modeling, evaluation, and production deployment while mentoring fellow data scientists and guiding technical direction across projects.

The ideal candidate has 8+ years in statistics/ML, strong Python/R and SQL skills, and solid underwriting knowledge.