Lead Data Scientist

Senior Data Scientist  

Location: London 
Department: Group Data & Analytics 
Reporting to: Senior Data Science Manager  

About the Role 

Howden Group Holdings, a leading international insurance broker operating in over 100 countries, is seeking an experienced Lead Data Scientist to join our Group Data Science team. 

This is a senior individual contributor role for a highly capable practitioner who has successfully delivered machine learning and AI products from concept through to production within large, complex organisations. The successful candidate will combine deep technical expertise with strong commercial acumen, helping shape and deliver scalable AI and machine learning solutions that drive measurable business outcomes across Howden's global operations. 

Working closely with business stakeholders, data engineers, and platform teams, you will lead the technical delivery of high-value data science and AI initiatives, ensuring solutions are production-ready, scalable, and adopted by the business. You will act as a technical leader and trusted advisor, helping to establish best practices while contributing directly to hands-on delivery.

Role Responsibilities 

• Lead the end-to-end delivery of machine learning and AI solutions, from discovery through to production deployment and ongoing optimisation 

• Partner with business stakeholders to identify opportunities, define use cases, and prioritise work based on commercial value 

• Design, develop, and deploy scalable machine learning, predictive analytics, and AI applications 

• Drive technical best practices across data science, experimentation, model development, MLOps, and software engineering 

• Collaborate closely with Data Engineering, Platform, and Product teams to deliver production-grade solutions 

• Contribute to the evolution of Howden's AI and data science capabilities, standards, and ways of working 

• Support agile delivery teams, providing technical leadership and guidance throughout the product lifecycle 

• Stay current with developments in Data Science, AI, and cloud technologies, helping bring innovative approaches into the organisation. 

Your Skills 

• Proven track record of building and deploying production-grade AI/ML applications that generate measurable business value 

• Experience working with Data Engineering, MLOps and Product teams to bringing Machine Learning systems from research all the way to deployment and maintenance 

• Excellent Python programming skills and hands on experience with libraries such as XGBoost, PyTorch, TensorFlow, or Hugging Face 

• Experience working with cloud-based data and AI platforms, particularly Azure and Databricks 

• Strong stakeholder engagement and storytelling capabilities; able to translate technical complexity into executive-level narratives 

• Experience working within agile, cross-functional product and delivery teams 

• Strong problem-solving skills and a commercial mindset, with a focus on outcomes rather than models alone 

• Insurance, reinsurance, financial services, or other regulated industry experience is desirable 

• Experience with Generative AI, LLM applications, agentic systems 

• Exposure to mentoring or coaching other data scientists and technical practitioners  

Why Join Howden? 

At Howden, we are building data and AI capabilities that directly support our growth ambitions across the Group. As a Lead Data Scientist, you will have the opportunity to work on meaningful business challenges, develop innovative AI products, and help shape the future of data-driven decision making across an employee-owned global organisation. 

You will join a collaborative and entrepreneurial environment where technical excellence, innovation, and commercial impact are valued equally. Working alongside talented colleagues from across the business, you will play a key role in turning advanced analytics and AI into measurable outcomes for Howden and its clients.