Lead Data Scientist

About Goosehead

Since 2003, Goosehead Insurance has been disrupting the insurance industry by giving clients the power of choice, utilizing a smarter marketing approach, and delivering world-class service. This is all powered by our focus on hiring and retaining extraordinary people. Our clients trust us with their most valuable possessions, so we're more than just a bit selective when it comes to hiring new team members.

Job Summary

We're seeking a seasoned Data Scientist with a proven record of solving high-impact problems and leading strategic initiatives. You are as comfortable architecting scalable Machine Learning systems as you are defining vision, mentoring talent, and influencing senior stakeholders. You think beyond models, creating frameworks and methodologies that set the standard for data science excellence. You are energized by ambiguity, unafraid to challenge convention, and excited to bring cutting-edge research into practical, measurable outcomes.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

• Define and drive the vision for data science at Goosehead, identifying transformative opportunities across the enterprise.
• Design, develop, and deploy production-grade machine learning systems that directly impact strategic priorities, including operational efficiency, intelligent automation, and client personalization.
• Develop new frameworks and reusable methodologies to advance experimentation, model interpretability, and decision intelligence at scale.
• Lead and mentor a team of data scientists, fostering a culture of technical excellence, creativity, and continuous learning.
• Serve as a thought partner to executive leadership, translating business challenges into data science strategies and articulating impact through clear storytelling.
• Establish and uphold best practices in data science operations - including reproducibility, model governance, and ethical AI principles.
• Stay ahead of the curve in AI research, LLMs, and emerging technologies; drive adoption of innovations that position Goosehead as an industry leader.
• Uphold and advocate for company standards in data security and client privacy.
• Ensure models, data flows, and ML pipelines are built with security and compliance in mind.
• Model a security-first mindset across the data science function and mentor team members in best practices.
• Promptly report any suspected data breaches or privacy incidents per internal protocols.
• Provide technical guidance and mentorship to junior team members.

Experience and Education

• 8 years of experience in data science, with a strong portfolio of impactful, end-to-end solutions in production environments.
• Background in insurance, financial services, or similarly regulated industries.

Required Skills and Abilities

• Expertise in Python and machine learning libraries (e.g., scikit-learn, XGBoost, TensorFlow, PyTorch).
• Deep experience with SQL and manipulating large-scale datasets across structured and unstructured formats.
• Demonstrated ability to lead teams and mentor junior scientists while maintaining hands-on technical excellence.
• Proven experience framing ambiguous business problems into structured, analytical solutions with measurable ROI.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to synthesize complex ideas for both executive and technical audiences.
• Experience with cloud platforms (Databricks, Azure, and/or Snowflake), containerization (e.g., Docker), and CI/CD for ML.
• Advanced understanding of LLMs and generative AI, including fine-tuning, RAG pipelines, and prompt engineering.
• Advanced familiarity with causal inference, uplift modeling, or reinforcement learning in real-world systems.

Benefits Summary

• High-quality voluntary health, vision, disability, life, and dental insurance programs
• 401K Matching Plan
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan
• Paid holidays, vacation, and sick leave
• Corporate-sponsored programs to enhance employee physical, financial, mental, and emotional wellness
• Financial Solution Program

Equal Employment Opportunity:

Goosehead is an equal-opportunity employer and complies with all applicable federal, state, and local laws, rules, guidelines, and regulations. Goosehead strictly prohibits and does not tolerate unlawful discrimination against employees, applicants, or any other covered person because of race, color, religion, creed, national origin, ancestry, ethnicity, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, transgender status, age, physical or mental disability, veteran status, uniformed service, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. All applicants for employment and all Goosehead employees are given equal consideration based solely on job-related factors, such as qualifications, experience, performance, and availability.

To learn more about our job opportunities, apply here. We look forward to speaking with you!

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