Data Scientist II

Western National Group & Umialik Insurance • Edina, MN

just now

About The Position

Western National Insurance Group is a private mutual insurance company with over 120 years of experience serving customers' property-and-casualty insurance needs in the Midwestern, Northwestern, and Southwestern United States. Known as “The Relationship Company®,” we define success as a measure of the relationships we’ve built over time. In everything that we do, we know that delivering a friendly and helpful interaction makes for a better experience for everyone involved. That’s the power of “nice”. At Western National, nice is something we work to bring to every person and organization with whom we partner and serve.

Western National is seeking a Data Scientist II to join our team!

The individual in this role will have the opportunity to develop statistical models that create predictions of future policy and claim outcomes. They will participate in all phases of the modeling process.

Requirements

• Intermediate understanding of assigned insurance lines.
• Strong presentation skills and the ability to present to technical and nontechnical audiences.
• Strong attention to detail, ensuring validity of data and results.
• Ability to take ownership of mistakes and creates solutions that prevent similar mistakes.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Ability to prioritize work to meet project deadlines.
• Advanced knowledge of coding languages (e.g. SQL, Python, R, etc.)
• Basic understanding of BI tools (e.g. Tableau, Power BI, SSRS).
• Bachelor’s degree required, master’s degree in science, technology, mathematics, or business preferred.

Nice To Haves

• Three to five years of experience in data science, actuarial analysis, and / or data analysis.
• Intermediate understanding of one to three insurance lines.

Responsibilities

• Develops pricing models using internal and external data sets and utilizes knowledge and skillset to interpret and optimize model results and translate the output into a delivery format that can be accessed and understood by the model users.
• Leverages experience for faster model development and less iterations required.
• Understands the data extraction process, where the data is sourced from, and what each data element represents.
• Understands business line rating methodologies and looks for opportunities to improve our rating sophistication.
• Develops a sound understanding of commonly used model methodologies and clearly articulates the primary benefits and detractors of various methodologies.
• Develops tools to monitor production models based on loss performance, usage, system performance, and data drift.
• Performs feature engineering to transform data into more meaningful predictive features.
• Documents model development process for technical and nontechnical resources.
• Communicates clearly with business partners to explain the model methodology and output and helps troubleshoot issues and / or questions from business partners.
• Designs and executes ad hoc analyses to uncover meaningful trends and patterns, partnering with business stakeholders to drive informed decision-making.
• Partners with and mentors data analysts to strengthen skills in SQL, analysis design, and basic Python and R, fostering strong analytical practices across the team.
• Assists Data Scientist III as needed.
• Reviews work with manager or peers to ensure accuracy prior to disbursement.
• Develops work independently while regularly seeking direction, clarification on priorities, and support when needed.
• Uses advanced analytical and mathematical skills.
• Consistently acts according to our customer experience standards, including responding quickly, maintaining a positive attitude, building rapport, demonstrating empathy, managing the customer’s expectations, using the proper communication channel for the situation, and taking ownership to ensure the customer’s issue is resolved.
• Performs special projects and other duties as assigned.
• Intermediate understanding of assigned insurance lines.

Benefits

• Medical insurance plan options and other standard employee benefits, including dental insurance, vision benefits, life insurance, disability insurance, and more!
• Health Savings Accounts (HSA) and Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
• 401(k) Plan (participants are eligible for 100% matching on the first 6% of their contributions)
• Wellbeing Program, including onsite fitness studio
• Paid Time Off – including holiday, vacation, and volunteer
• 100% company-paid tuition reimbursement for approved job-relevant coursework and access to The Institutes (Risk and insurance education)
• Paid parental leave
• Bonus opportunities
• Western National believes in supporting balance between work and life by providing a flexible work environment, which includes a variety of hybrid and remote work arrangements designed to balance individual, job, department, and company needs.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level