[Hiring] VP, Insurance Data Science @Openly

Role Description

As VP, Insurance Data Science , you'll set the strategic direction for how data science is applied across our insurance product — spanning the cost and demand modeling functions that shape our pricing and underwriting algorithms, and growth levers — while managing and developing the people who execute that vision. This is a role for a leader who is technically deep enough to set a high bar, people-focused enough to build a team that clears it, and commercially minded enough to connect modeling decisions to business outcomes. You'll report directly to the Chief Insurance Product Officer and serve as a key voice in how Openly builds and deploys its analytical edge.

Responsibilities

• Strategy & Leadership
  • Own the vision and delivery of Openly's data science capabilities — prioritizing initiatives that drive pricing precision, underwriting performance, and profitable growth.
  • Partner with pricing, underwriting, product, and engineering leadership to ensure data science efforts are tightly integrated with business strategy and operational workflows.
  • Serve as Openly's insurance product authority on data science methodology — staying current on advances in ML, AI, and insurance-specific modeling practice and bringing the right innovations to the team with rigor and judgment.
  • Represent Insurance Data Science in senior leadership conversations, translating complex modeling work into clear implications for business performance.
• Modeling & Research
  • Set the technical standard for Openly's cost and demand modeling suite — including GLMs, gradient boosting, neural approaches, and other ML methods — ensuring models are well-validated, production-ready, and coherent with actuarial frameworks.
  • Drive the modeling strategy for new initiatives across existing and expansion states, spanning both homeowners and personal auto product lines, ensuring data science capabilities scale with the business.
  • Govern the model lifecycle — from development through validation, deployment, monitoring, and refresh — establishing clear standards for when models are production-ready and when they need to be revisited.
  • Collaborate closely with actuaries to ensure model outputs can be operationalized within regulatory and pricing frameworks.
  • Advance Openly’s data science capabilities through collaborative strategic research with Data/Machine Learning Engineering.
• Engineering & Standards
  • Collaborate with engineering dept leadership on shared development standards — code quality, version control, peer review, testing, reproducibility, and documentation.
  • Ensure the Insurance Data Science team can operate at the right pace and scale through strategic investments in infrastructure, tooling, and access.
  • Actively partner with Data/ML Engineering to design, prioritize, and implement capabilities critical to scale.
  • Evaluate and introduce new tools, platforms, and data sources with a bias toward practical impact over novelty.
• People Leadership
  • Lead, expand, and develop the Insurance Data Science team — including senior data scientists, managers, and analysts — setting clear role expectations, investing in career growth, supporting the recruiting and hiring of external talent, and building a culture of technical excellence and intellectual rigor.
  • Own hiring and team structure decisions in partnership with the CIPO, building the capabilities Openly needs now and over the next several years.
  • Mentor senior individual contributors and managers, developing the next generation of data science leadership within the organization.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of experience in data science or a closely related quantitative/actuarial field, with at least 8 years in a leadership role managing highly analytical teams.
• Deep technical fluency in predictive modeling — GLMs, gradient boosting, and modern ML methods — with demonstrated experience delivering production models in a regulated, data-intensive industry.
• Proven experience across both cost modeling (loss ratio, frequency, severity, pure premium) and demand modeling (conversion, retention, price elasticity), and the strategic judgment to prioritize across a portfolio of modeling initiatives.
• Extensive experience in personal lines insurance with models directly driving pricing and underwriting decisions; familiarity with the actuarial context in which data science operates is a strong differentiator.
• Track record of building and leading high-performing data science teams — not just managing delivery, but developing people, raising the technical bar, and creating an environment where rigorous analytical work thrives.
• Strong communicator and cross-functional collaborator, equally fluent in technical depth with data scientists and in strategic implications with executive leadership.
• Commercially minded: you understand how modeling decisions translate to loss ratios, growth, and profitability, and you manage your team's work accordingly.
• Comfortable operating at a growth-stage company where strategic clarity and operational ambiguity coexist — and capable of creating structure without waiting for it to be handed to you.

Benefits

• Remote-first culture: We supported remote work long before it became standard, and we remain dedicated to a flexible work model.
• Competitive pay & equity: Top-tier base salary paired with ownership in Openly’s growth.
• Comprehensive health coverage: Medical, dental, and vision plans tailored to you and your family.
• Life & disability insurance: Full coverage including voluntary supplemental options.
• Paid parental leave: Up to 8 weeks (320 hours) of paid parental leave for eligible employees (with additional disability coverage available for birthing parents).
• 401(k) company contribution: Openly contributes 3% of your gross income, regardless of whether you make personal contributions.
• Home office setup: A $1,500 upfront allowance to build your ideal remote workspace, plus a $75 / month internet stipend.
• Professional development: $2,000 annually to invest in courses, conferences, or resources to help you grow.
• "Be Well" program: A $50 / month stipend dedicated to your personal health and wellness.
• Volunteer hours & referral rewards: Paid time off to give back to your community, plus generous financial rewards for referring great talent.
• Note: Select roles may also be eligible for cash incentives or sales commissions. Eligibility for all compensation and benefits is governed by applicable plan terms.