Job Information
Thrivent Financial Senior Data Scientist – Underwriting Innovation & Product Analytics (Remote) in United States
We exist to help people achieve financial clarity. At Thrivent, we believe money is a tool, not a goal. Driven by a higher purpose at our core, we are committed to providing financial advice, investments, insurance, banking and generosity programs to help people make the most of all they’ve been given.
At our heart, we are a membership-owned fraternal organization, as well as a holistic financial services organization, dedicated to serving the unique needs of our clients. We focus on their goals and priorities, guiding them toward financial choices that will help them live the life they want today—and tomorrow.
Job Summary
The Senior Data Scientist – Underwriting Innovation & Product Analytics holds a key leadership position at Thrivent. You will be responsible for bringing transformational change to Thrivent by helping drive growth, delivering operational efficiencies and deriving impactful business insights. You will influence this change through your expertise in advanced analytics and your unique ability to communicate ideas with leadership and peers. Along with advanced data analysis and hypothesis testing, you will also be responsible for exploring and certifying innovative, new data sources and methodologies that have not previously been utilized at Thrivent. You will build predictive models and explore emerging AI technologies to creatively solve unique business challenges.
This role involves not only consulting with internal and external stakeholders to define analytic requirements and solutions, but also leading and educating others in advanced predictive analytics and data strategies. Exhibiting significant independence and strategic thinking, you will collaborate closely with business partners while providing mentorship and direction to junior team members. In addition to developing comprehensive knowledge of Thrivent’s products, systems, and processes, you will need to stay at the forefront of emerging technologies and industry best practices. The Senior Data Scientist plays a pivotal role in shaping the data science strategy and driving data-informed decision making within the organization.
Life and health insurance underwriting is one the most exciting domains for advanced analytics. It is ripe with opportunities and will provide challenges worthy of your experience and expertise.
**We are open to candidates working remotely anywhere across the United States.
Job Responsibilities and Duties
Strategic Business Problem Solving and Innovative Solution Leadership: Lead and innovate in solving complex business problems with data-driven strategies. Champion the development of sophisticated analytical frameworks and models, driving key decisions and company-wide initiatives.
Advanced Data Management and Engineering: Oversee and optimize complex data architectures, ensuring robust, scalable data solutions. Lead initiatives in data engineering, ensuring the integration of diverse data sources and maintaining data integrity across the organization.
Sophisticated Exploratory Data Analysis (EDA) and Thought Leadership: Conduct high-level EDA to drive strategic decision-making. Serve as a thought leader, introducing novel methodologies and insights that shape business strategies and operations.
Pioneering in Hypothesis Testing and Predictive Modeling: Lead in the development and implementation of state-of-the-art predictive models and advanced statistical analyses. Champion the use of cutting-edge machine learning techniques and algorithms, setting standards for model development and validation.
End-to-End Data Science Solution Delivery: Lead the development and implementation of data science solutions with a focus on end-to-end model deployment in production environments. Ensure these models deliver high-impact insights that drive significant improvements in business performance, monitoring model performance over time, and seamlessly integrating data science into operational workflows and decision-making processes.
Senior-Level Stakeholder Management and Consultation: Assume a senior role in stakeholder engagement, acting as a key consultant and advisor to business and executive leadership. Drive discussions, set project priorities, and steer the company’s strategic direction through expert data science consultation.
Critical Thinking and Strategic Analysis: Apply advanced critical thinking to evaluate and reshape business processes and strategies. Lead in the application of analytical rigor and statistical methods to drive innovation and effective problem-solving.
Leadership in Professional Development and Team Growth: Foster a culture of continuous learning and development within the data science team. Mentor and develop junior and mid-level data scientists, guiding their career growth and enhancing the team's overall skill set. Lead the establishment of robust talent development practices for emerging data science professionals within our company, including refining interview processes and implementing mentorship programs.
Driving Organizational Change through Data Science Initiatives: Lead major data science initiatives and projects, significantly impacting the organization's direction. Influence and shape the future of data science practices within the company, ensuring alignment with business goals.
Data Science Evangelism and Business Engagement: Actively engage with various business units to showcase and demonstrate data science solutions and POCs developed by the team. Champion the value and potential of data science across the organization, driving new business opportunities and expanding the data science portfolio. Lead efforts in educating and inspiring stakeholders about the transformative power of data science, thereby fostering a culture of data-driven decision-making and innovation.
Visionary in Industry Trends and Technological Advancements: Stay ahead of industry trends and emerging technologies in data science, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. Guide the organization in adopting new data science technologies and practices, maintaining its competitive edge in the market.
Leadership in Model Governance and Regulatory Strategy: Lead the enterprise in understanding and implementing advanced model governance and regulatory compliance strategies in the domain of data science, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. Influence and shape the organization's governance practices, ensuring models not only comply with current regulations but also anticipate future legal trends, thereby safeguarding the organization’s reputation and operational integrity.
University Partnerships: Enhance these internal talent recruitment initiatives through strategic partnerships with leading universities, leveraging these relationships to enrich our talent pool and ensure a continuous flow of skilled data science graduates.
Job Qualifications
Required:
Experience & Education:
5 or more years of relevant experience in data science or a closely related field. This experience should include hands-on work with data analysis, statistical modeling, machine learning, and delivering actionable insights from data.
Bachelor’s degree in Data Science or a related quantitative field such as Actuarial Science, Statistics, Mathematics or Computer Science.
Advanced Technical Skills
Expertise in Programming and Data Tools: Mastery in Python, with exceptional skills in writing efficient, scalable, testable, and maintainable code. Proficiency in a wide range of data science tools and libraries.
Advanced Data Engineering: Deep understanding of data architectures, pipeline design, and optimization. Ability to handle complex data integration and processing tasks.
Sophisticated Statistical Analysis and Machine Learning: Extensive knowledge of advanced statistical methods, machine learning algorithms, and their practical applications. Ability to innovate and develop bespoke models tailored to specific business needs.
Data Visualization and Business Intelligence: Expert ability to translate complex data findings into clear visual stories and actionable insights using advanced visualization tools and techniques.
MLOps and Production-Level Deployment: Deep understanding of machine learning operations, model deployment, monitoring, CI/CD, and maintenance in production environments.
Big Data Technologies Mastery: Proficient in using and optimizing big data technologies and frameworks for handling large-scale datasets.
Strategic Analytical Skills
Complex Problem-Solving and Innovation: Demonstrated ability in solving intricate business problems with innovative data-driven solutions.
Advanced Critical Thinking: Capacity for high-level critical analysis and strategic thinking, applying data insights to influence business strategy.
Research Leadership: Leading research initiatives to explore new data methodologies and technologies, applying findings to drive business value.
Leadership and Soft Skills
Strong Leadership and Mentorship: Proven experience in leading/mentoring data science teams, including development of junior and mid-level data scientists.
Exceptional Communication: Advanced skills in communicating complex data insights to a wide range of stakeholders, including executive leadership.
Data Science Evangelism: Ability to champion the role of data science within the organization, influencing business units and executive leadership in driving adoption of data-driven solutions.
Collaborative Teamwork and Stakeholder Management: Strong collaboration skills, with the ability to lead cross-functional teams and manage relationships with key business stakeholders.
Change Management and Strategic Influence: Skills in managing change, driving innovation, and influencing strategic decisions through data science insights.
Preferred:
Life Underwriting / Life Product Domain Knowledge: Experience analyzing large data sets and building and deploying predictive models in support of life insurance underwriting and/or life insurance product development and product profitability.
Cross-Discipline Collaboration: Track record of strong collaboration across multiple disciplines, including with both data scientists and actuaries.
Project Management: Advanced project management skills, including proficiency in managing complex data science projects from conception to implementation.
Drive for Results: Demonstrated ability to work independently and a drive to learn and master new technologies and techniques.
Education: Advanced degree (Master's degree or PhD) in Data Science or a related quantitative field, or relevant certifications in data science (e.g., AWS Certified Machine Learning, Databricks Certified Data Scientist Professional).
Additional Information
This position is a full-time remote opportunity.
If you are in the Minneapolis, MN or Appleton, WI location you would have access to our corporate offices in these areas.
#LI-Remote
Pay Transparency
Thrivent’s long-term growth depends on attracting, rewarding, and retaining people who are committed to helping others thrive with purpose. We accomplish this by offering a wide variety of market competitive compensation programs to attract, reward, and retain top talent. The applicable salary or hourly wage range for this full-time role is $140,056.00 - $189,487.00 per year OR $67.33 - $91.10 per hour, which factors in various geographic regions. The base pay actually offered will be determined by a variety of factors including, but not limited to, location, relevant experience, skills, and knowledge, business needs, market demand, and other factors Thrivent deems important.
Thrivent is unique in our commitment to helping people to be wise with money and live balanced and generous lives. That extends to our benefits.
The following benefits may be offered: various bonuses (including, for example, annual or long-term incentives); medical, dental, and vision insurance; health savings account; flexible spending account; 401k; pension; life and accidental death and dismemberment insurance; disability insurance; supplemental protection insurance; 20 days of Paid Time Off each year; Sick and Safe Time; 10 paid company holidays; Volunteer Time Off; paid parental leave; EAP; well-being benefits, and other employee benefits. Eligibility for receipt of these benefits is subject to the applicable plan/policy documents. Thrivent’s plans/policies are subject to change at any time at Thrivent’s discretion.
Thrivent provides Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) without regard to race, religion, color, sex , gender identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy, national origin, age, disability, marital status, citizenship status, military or veteran status, genetic information, or any other status protected by applicable local, state , or federal law. This policy applies to all employees and job applicants.
Thrivent is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation , please let us know by sending an email to human.resources@thrivent.com or call 800-847-4836 and request Human Resources.
At Thrivent, we believe money is a tool, not a goal. Driven by a higher purpose at our core, we are committed to providing financial advice, investments, insurance, banking and generosity programs to help people make the most of all they’ve been given. At our heart, we are a membership-owned fraternal organization, as well as a holistic financial services organization, dedicated to serving the unique needs of our customers. We focus on their goals and priorities, guiding them toward financial choices that will help them live the life they want today—and tomorrow.
For over 100 years, Thrivent has been helping people build their financial futures and live more generous lives. Today, it’s a Fortune 500 company that offers a full range of expert financial solutions, serving more than 2 million customers, as well as the communities in which they live and work.
Thrivent fosters a diverse workforce to serve our diverse clientele, reflecting a wide range of backgrounds and experiences. If you’re intrigued about our work and the possibility of becoming part of it, we invite you to visit Thrivent.com to learn more. You won’t just build a career; you’ll be part of an organization focused on growing, innovating, and serving.