Ontology Specialist, Coverage Intelligence

OhioX; Dublin (OH); Hybrid; USD 143,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical benefits

Dental benefits

Vision benefits

Flexible PTO

401(k) with company match

Employee Assistance Program

Parental Leave

Disability insurance

Life benefits

Job summary

Bold Penguin is seeking an Ontology Lead on the Coverage Intelligence team to own the formal knowledge model used by our AI systems to understand insurance coverage.

You will evolve an existing ontology into a governed, scalable model, set standards, and partner with coverage experts and data engineers to ensure accuracy and explainability.

This role suits someone with experience in complex, language-heavy domains and a passion for building precise, reusable knowledge assets.

Qualifications

• Degree in CS/Info Science/Linguistics or related field, or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years designing and maintaining ontologies, taxonomies or knowledge graphs in production.
• Strong command of knowledge representation: OWL, RDF, SKOS, SHACL and schema-based models.
• Experience eliciting knowledge from subject matter experts and translating it into precise, testable structures.
• Experience governing a model over time: versioning, change management, backward compatibility.
• Comfortable working hands-on with data models and schemas with engineers.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, explaining modeling decisions clearly.
• Autonomy, initiative, and high quality standards in a startup setting.
• Experience designing knowledge models for LLM/AI systems (grounding, retrieval, schema-constrained output).
• Understanding of legal or insurance concepts (preferred).
• Experience with legal, insurance or financial ontologies (preferred).
• Python (preferred).

Responsibilities

• Take ownership of the ontology and evolve it into a governed, scalable model of concepts, relationships, taxonomies and rules.
• Serve as the authority on the model of record and define concept meanings and relationships with engineers.
• Collaborate with coverage experts to capture policy interpretations and represent knowledge accurately.
• Establish governance for the ontology including versioning, change control and quality standards.
• Work with data and AI engineers to integrate the ontology into schemas, data contracts and agent reasoning.
• Align the model with enterprise data dictionaries and industry standards.
• Measure model quality by support for extraction, classification and coverage analysis and refine based on evidence.
• Extend the model as new business lines and use cases emerge.
• Help the wider team understand and use the ontology to avoid single-person dependence.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Skills

Ontology design

Knowledge representation

OWL RDF SKOS SHACL

Schema modeling (JSON Schema)

SME elicitation

Model governance

Autonomous work

AI/LLM grounding

Legal/insurance ontology

Python (preferred)

Education

Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Information Science, Linguistics or related field

Tools

Python

Job description

• Location Remote - United States
• Base Pay $142,600.00 - $180,000.00 / Year
• Other Compensation Annual Performance Bonus Eligible
• Job Category Knowledge Engineering, Data Modeling, Information Science
• Relocation Expense Covered No
• Employee Type FT Exempt

YOUR ROLE

As the Ontology Lead on the Coverage Intelligence team, you own the formal knowledge model that our AI systems use to understand insurance coverage inside the Digital Exchange, powered by DeX ai. You'll take an ontology framework already in use and evolve it into a governed, scalable model that engineers can build on and agents can reason against consistently and explainably. You set the standard for how insurance knowledge is represented, working closely with our coverage specialist, who brings deep coverage and legal expertise, and with the AI and data engineers who carry the model into production. This role suits someone who has built and governed ontologies in a complex, language-heavy domain, ideally legal or insurance, and who enjoys making expert knowledge precise.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Take ownership of our existing coverage ontology and evolve it into a governed, scalable model of concepts, relationships, taxonomies and rules.
• Serve as the authority on the model of record, making final decisions on what concepts mean and how they relate, in partnership with the engineers who implement it.
• Partner with coverage experts to capture how policies are read and interpreted, and represent that knowledge accurately and consistently.
• Establish governance for the ontology as a living asset, including versioning, change control and quality standards.
• Work with data and AI engineers to carry the ontology into schemas, data contracts and agent reasoning, keeping the product aligned with the model of record.
• Align the model with existing enterprise data dictionaries and industry standards so that concepts stay consistent across products.
• Measure the model’s quality by how well it supports accurate extraction, classification and coverage analysis, and refine it based on evidence.
• Extend the model as new lines of business, document types and use cases are added, from standard forms to non-standard and bespoke wording.
• Help the wider team understand and use the ontology, so knowledge does not depend on one person.
• Other duties and responsibilities as assigned.

Requirements

YOUR LOCATION

This is a fully remote role, with the exception of onboarding and optional in-office events.

SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Information Science, Linguistics or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years' experience designing and maintaining ontologies, taxonomies or knowledge graphs in production, not just at launch.
• Strong command of knowledge representation, from formal standards (OWL, RDF, SKOS, SHACL) to schema-based models (JSON Schema, typed data models) and property graphs, and the judgment to choose between them.
• Experience eliciting knowledge from subject matter experts and translating it into precise, testable structure.
• Experience governing a model over time, including versioning, change management and backward compatibility.
• Comfortable working hands-on with data models and schemas alongside engineers.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain modeling decisions to experts and engineers alike.
• Works autonomously with minimal direction, sets a clear path through ambiguity, and holds a high bar for quality.
• Thrives on the energy of a start up: comfortable with pace, changing priorities, and building the function while running it.
• Experience designing knowledge models consumed by LLM or AI systems, such as grounding, retrieval and schema-constrained output (strongly preferred).
• Understanding of legal or insurance concepts, such as contract structure, coverage grants, exclusions, conditions and endorsements (strongly preferred).
• Experience with legal, insurance or financial ontologies, e.g., FIBO, ACORD (preferred).
• Python (preferred).

Physical Requirements

• Must be able to sit/stand/walk for prolonged periods of time (up to 8 hours per day), at a desk working on a computer.
• Must be able to use standard office equipment for extended periods of time, including but not limited to, a mouse, keyboard, phone and video conferencing.
• Must be able to travel to the Bold Penguin office in Dublin, Ohio for New Hire Onboarding & Orientation (2 days, 2 nights); travel costs are covered by Bold Penguin.
• Must be able to travel occasionally (up to 10%) for corporate events and team planning sessions.

Summary

Bold Penguin is the premier digital broker for commercial insurance. Their technology expands top-of-funnel demand and increases yield for enterprise partners. Through digital distribution, wholesale capabilities, and AI-driven insights, they transform the lifecycle of both simple and complex risks, from prospecting to placement.

Benefits

• Medical, Dental, and Vision
• Flexible PTO Policy
• 401(k) with a company match
• Employee Assistance Program
• Parental Leave
• Disability and Life Benefits

Stay connected to the Glacier. We have great SLACK channels for work and play. We also like to video conference and hold all-hands "Waddles" regularly.

Penguin bling. Like swag themed after a certain Antarctic bird? Just. You. Wait.

Bold Penguin believes in inclusion. That's why we're proud to be an equal opportunity employer that considers all qualified applicants regardless of race, color, religion, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status. To learn more about our results-focused culture and employee-focused perks, read more on our careers page.