[Remote] Head of Data Science

Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. Porch Group is a leading vertical software and insurance platform, and they are seeking a transformative Head of Data Science to lead their data science strategy. This senior leadership role involves driving insights into risk and pricing optimization, while building a high-performing team to deliver measurable impact in the homeowners insurance space.

Responsibilities

• Define, execute, and lead the data science strategy in alignment with the company’s vision, goals, and objectives—establishing initiatives that drive premium growth, improve retention, enhance customer satisfaction, and maximize shareholder value
• Provide direction and guidance to a high-performing data science team; recruit, mentor, and develop data scientists and machine learning engineers while fostering a culture of innovation, continuous improvement, and technical excellence
• Embed AI-first thinking and hands-on AI tool adoption as a standard across the team, ensuring the organization remains at the forefront of applied machine learning and LLM-based capabilities
• Partner with senior executives, insurance business leaders, and cross-functional teams to define project scope, integrate data science across the organization, and deliver measurable results
• Manage the data science budget, establish project timelines, and define KPIs and metrics to assess the impact and effectiveness of data science initiatives
• Dive into operational data to identify opportunities to improve fidelity, accuracy, and accessibility; design and implement A/B tests and experiments to measure the impact of models and business tactics
• Own the data science technical roadmap and heavily influence data engineering and analytics roadmaps through regular collaboration with engineering and business stakeholders

Skills

• 12+ years of experience in data science, applied statistics, actuarial science, machine learning, or econometrics at the industry level (or 15+ years combining academia and industry)
• Strong technical data science skills including hands-on experience in statistical modeling, A/B testing, data pipeline architecture, working knowledge of modern LLM APIs, MLOps tooling, and cloud-native AI infrastructure
• Demonstrated ability to lead and inspire a team, with a track record of building high-performing organizations and fostering cultures of innovation and technical excellence
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to convey complex technical results to non-technical stakeholders, including senior executives and board-level audiences
• Highly analytical with strong intellectual curiosity and a drive to apply new modeling methods to optimize business performance
• Significant experience with data science technology stacks and the end-to-end process of taking models from development to production
• A can-do, problem-solver mindset—optimistic about the ability to tackle hard problems and consistently deliver
• PhD in a technical discipline
• 5+ years of experience in the homeowners insurance industry

Benefits

• Eligible to receive long-term incentive awards, subject to program guidelines and approvals
• Eligible to receive an annual bonus based on individual and company performance, subject to program guidelines and approvals
• Comprehensive coverage for your health, life, and financial wellbeing
• Three (3) Medical plan options, two (2) Dental plan options, and a Vision plan from which to choose
• Critical Illness, Hospital Indemnity and Accident plans are offered on a voluntary basis
• Pre-tax savings options including a partially employer funded Health Savings Account and employee Flexible Savings Accounts including healthcare, dependent care, and transportation savings options
• Company paid Basic Life and AD&D, Short and Long-Term Disability benefits
• Voluntary Life and AD&D plans
• Both traditional and Roth 401(k) plans are available with a discretionary employer match
• Supportlinc is part of our employer paid wellbeing program and provides employees and their families access to on demand guided meditation and mindfulness exercises, mental health coaching, clinical care and online access to confidential resources including will preparation
• LifeBalance is a free resource to employees and their families for year-round discounts on things like gym memberships, travel, appliances, movies, pet insurance and more
• Wellness programs include flexible paid vacation, company-paid holidays of typically nine per year, paid sick time, paid parental leave, identity theft program, travel assistance, and fitness and other discounts programs

Company Overview