Senior Data Scientist/AI Engineer

hackajob is collaborating with Simply Business to connect them with exceptional professionals for this role.

Who Are We?

We insure small businesses and enable big dreams – not just for our customers, but for our people and communities too. With over 1,000,000 active insurance policies, we protect builders, bakers, landlords and more than 1,200 other trades.

We’re a technology company as well as one that sells insurance. That means we build, we fail, we learn and we improve. Through our global social impact strategy, called 'The Big Dreams Project’, we're working to help 10,000 small businesses start or grow by 2030.

Why not check out our advert on YouTube: Simply Business TV advert 2024: 'Simply the Best'.

Job Category

Technology

Position Type

Permanent

Target Openings

1

What Is the Opportunity?

Here’s what you’ll be doing:

At Simply Business, we’re putting AI and Data Science at the very heart of what we do. We are looking to unify our technical vision, and we need an experienced, pragmatic Staff Data Scientist to join us. Your mission will be to enable our wider team to deliver real-world value—and do it quickly.

What makes this role different? You aren’t just building models in a vacuum; you’re the bridge between Data Science and MLOps. You’ll have the autonomy to try an incredibly broad range of techniques—from LLMs to classic regression—while helping co-develop our long-term AI strategy and GenAI leverage.

As one of our Staff Data Scientists, you’ll:

• Work closely with cross-functional teams to build, test, and maximise the value of models ranging from LLMs to propensity and classification.

• Contribute to the end-to-end development and deployment of ML and AI models to prove and deliver tangible commercial value.

• Act as a technical bridge between Data Science and MLOps to embed best practice deployment techniques across the team.

• Take hands-on ownership of big projects, working with a large, event-based data set.

• Research, advise, and deploy models from day one in a high-paced, agile environment.

• Help shape our AI strategy, ensuring we continue to leverage GenAI for maximum impact.

We’re looking for someone who is:

• An experienced practitioner: You have 5+ years of experience as a Data Scientist or ML Engineer, covering both classic ML and Generative AI.

• A proven builder: You’ve successfully created multiple Data Science products that have moved the needle.

• A deployment expert: You have extensive experience with Databricks, AWS, or GCP—and real-time deployment experience is a must.

• Technically proficient: You possess strong Python skills and a proven aptitude for experimentation tools like MLflow or DBX for A/B testing.

• Pragmatic and collaborative: You enjoy working in a bridge role, sharing expertise to help others deliver faster.

• Informed and refreshing: You do your homework, share expertise, and aren't afraid to challenge the status quo to remove complexity.

We know it’s tough, but please try to avoid the confidence gap. You don’t have to match all the bullet points above to be considered for this role.

We encourage people of all different backgrounds and identities to apply. We are committed to maintaining an inclusive, supportive place for you to be you and do your very best work.

Ready to build the future of InsurTech?

If you’re a tech-minded pioneer who thrives on large, event-based data sets and wants to see your code deliver real-time impact rather than sitting on a shelf, we want to hear from you. Join us to lead our technical vision, experiment with the latest GenAI tools, and help 900,000 customers protect what matters most. Apply Now@

What are the benefits of working at Simply Business:

• we offer a great work-life balance where workloads are manageable and everyone has the flexibility to work hybrid

• on top of the 25 days annual leave (plus bank holidays), we offer the option to buy five more days of holiday with your flexible benefits

• our flexible parental leave allows you to approach an important time how you want - with six months full pay to the primary caregiver and four weeks full pay if you're the secondary caregiver

• our life event leave is an extra days leave every two years for those big moments in your life like moving house or your birthday. And our long-serving employees get a two week paid sabbatical after five years of service, then four weeks off after ten years of service

• private medical insurance through BUPA, that covers any pre-existing condition is a core benefit. Plus a health cash plan that covers your everyday medical expenses

• we offer a competitive salary based on your experience and the current market. Plus the potential to earn an annual bonus based on performance

• access to tools to support your personal development on our dedicated learning platform. As well as support for your mental health with access to counselling

• we match what you put into your pension up to five per cent. And pass on a tax-free sum that's four times your basic salary with our life assurance policy, with the option to increase it to ten times through our flexible benefit scheme

• our salary sacrifice car scheme gives you the option to buy a brand new, fully insured, and maintained car for a convenient fixed monthly amount taken from your gross salary (after 6 months service)

• our flexible benefits scheme gives you an allocated amount to use each year on benefits like critical illness cover, dental insurance, travel insurance, or a gym membership

Ready to join us and drive our success as a high-performing team? Apply today.

Employment Practices

Simply Business is committed to providing equality and opportunities for all employees and candidates considering a career with us. We offer a workplace where colleagues are treated with respect and dignity. We don’t (and won’t) discriminate either directly or indirectly on the grounds of race, colour, religion, belief, political opinion, disability, nationality, ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation or relationship status at any stage of the hiring process or during the course of your employment.