Director, Data Scientist

$173,500 - $234,700/Yr

Prudential Financial - Newark, NJ

Part-time - Senior

Newark, NJ

Insurance Carriers and Related Activities

About the position

As a Director, Data Scientist supporting Group Insurance at Prudential, you will play a pivotal role in driving innovation and efficiency within the organization. You will collaborate with a diverse team of Machine Learning Engineers, Data Engineers, and Data Analysts to develop and implement machine learning models that enhance Life Data Analysis. Your work will focus on delivering stability, scalability, and integration of these models with existing products and services, ultimately aiming to solve complex business challenges and improve customer experiences. In this role, you will provide deep technical leadership across a portfolio of high-impact data science initiatives. This includes identifying optimal data sets, models, and testing techniques necessary for successful product delivery, as well as removing technical impediments that may arise. You will also manage team members involved in data analysis and model development, offering mentorship and hands-on guidance to ensure best-in-class model development practices. Effective communication is key in this position; you will be responsible for clearly articulating all aspects of model design and development to various stakeholders. You will continuously seek insights from the models you develop and generate innovative ideas for their improvement. Additionally, you will manage external vendors involved in the data science development process and leverage best practices in continuous integration and deployment to ensure successful model deployment. Your role will require a deep understanding of relevant technologies, and you will be expected to provide technical direction to your team while fostering a culture of learning and innovation. You will tackle significant and unique issues that require thorough analysis and evaluation of complex variables, impacting future concepts and technologies. Proficiency in programming languages such as Python, R, SQL, Java, or Scala will be essential for your success in this position.

Responsibilities

• Provide deep technical leadership to a portfolio of high impact data science initiatives.
• Identify the optimal sets of data, models, training, and testing techniques required for successful product delivery.
• Remove complex technical impediments.
• Manage team members in data analysis and model development, testing, training, and tuning.
• Mentor team members in technical skill development.
• Communicate clearly and concisely, in writing and verbally, all facets of model design and development.
• Continuously look for insights in models developed and generate new ideas for model improvement.
• Manage external vendors in the execution of parts of the data science development process.
• Leverage continuous integration and continuous deployment best practices, including test automation and monitoring, to ensure successful deployment of ML models and application code.
• Bring a deep understanding of relevant and emerging technologies, give technical direction to team members and embed learning and innovation in the day-to-day.
• Work on significant and unique issues where analysis of situations or data requires an evaluation of intangible variables and may impact future concepts, products or technologies.

Requirements

• Masters (Ph.D. preferred) in Statistics, Mathematics, Physics, Computer Science, or Engineering or experience in related fields with deep knowledge of statistical theory.
• Ability to lead independently with minimal guidance and effectively leverage diverse ideas, experiences, thoughts and perspectives to the benefit of the organization.
• Experience with agile development methodologies and Test-Driven Development (TDD).
• Knowledge of business concepts, tools and processes that are needed for making sound decisions in the context of the company's business.
• Ability to learn new skills and knowledge on an ongoing basis through self-initiative and tackling challenges.
• Excellent problem solving, communication and collaboration skills.
• Significant experience and/or deep expertise with several of the following: Statistics and Computing, Data Acquisition and Transformation, Database Management System, Data Analysis and Insights, Machine Learning, Programming Languages.

Nice-to-haves

• Experience with cloud technologies and services.
• Familiarity with data visualization tools beyond Python and R.
• Experience in the financial services industry.

Benefits

• Market competitive base salaries, with a yearly bonus potential at every level.
• Medical, dental, vision, life insurance, disability insurance, Paid Time Off (PTO), and leave of absences, such as parental and military leave.
• 401(k) plan with company match (up to 4%).
• Company-funded pension plan.
• Wellness Programs to help you achieve your wellbeing goals, including up to $1,600 a year for reimbursement of items purchased to support personal wellbeing needs.
• Work/Life Resources to help support topics such as parenting, housing, senior care, finances, pets, legal matters, education, emotional and mental health, and career development.
• Tuition Assistance to help finance traditional college enrollment toward obtaining an approved degree, many accredited certificate programs, and industry designations.
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan: Shares can be purchased at 85% of the lower of two prices (Beginning or End of the purchase period), after one year of service.