Head of Data Science

Role Description

The future is bright for the Porch Group, and we’d love for you to be a part of it as our Head of Data Science. Porch Group is looking for a transformative Head of Data Science to lead our data science strategy at the intersection of insurance, technology, and home services. This senior leadership role sits at the heart of our insurance business, driving how we understand risk, optimize pricing, and leverage Porch’s unique property data to create durable competitive advantages. You will build and guide a high-performing team of data scientists and machine learning engineers, partnering closely with senior executives and insurance business leaders to deliver measurable impact. As we scale our homeowners insurance platform, your work will directly shape our underwriting edge, fuel premium growth, and maximize shareholder value. If you are energized by high-velocity problem solving, cutting-edge AI, and the opportunity to define the data science function at a publicly traded insurtech, this role is for you.

What You Will Do As A Head of Data Science

• Define, execute, and lead the data science strategy in alignment with the company’s vision, goals, and objectives—establishing initiatives that drive premium growth, improve retention, enhance customer satisfaction, and maximize shareholder value.
• Provide direction and guidance to a high-performing data science team; recruit, mentor, and develop data scientists and machine learning engineers while fostering a culture of innovation, continuous improvement, and technical excellence.
• Embed AI-first thinking and hands-on AI tool adoption as a standard across the team, ensuring the organization remains at the forefront of applied machine learning and LLM-based capabilities.
• Partner with senior executives, insurance business leaders, and cross-functional teams to define project scope, integrate data science across the organization, and deliver measurable results.
• Manage the data science budget, establish project timelines, and define KPIs and metrics to assess the impact and effectiveness of data science initiatives.
• Dive into operational data to identify opportunities to improve fidelity, accuracy, and accessibility; design and implement A/B tests and experiments to measure the impact of models and business tactics.
• Own the data science technical roadmap and heavily influence data engineering and analytics roadmaps through regular collaboration with engineering and business stakeholders.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of experience in data science, applied statistics, actuarial science, machine learning, or econometrics at the industry level (or 15+ years combining academia and industry).
• Strong technical data science skills including hands-on experience in statistical modeling, A/B testing, data pipeline architecture, working knowledge of modern LLM APIs, MLOps tooling, and cloud-native AI infrastructure.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and inspire a team, with a track record of building high-performing organizations and fostering cultures of innovation and technical excellence.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to convey complex technical results to non-technical stakeholders, including senior executives and board-level audiences.
• Highly analytical with strong intellectual curiosity and a drive to apply new modeling methods to optimize business performance.
• Significant experience with data science technology stacks and the end-to-end process of taking models from development to production.
• A can-do, problem-solver mindset—optimistic about the ability to tackle hard problems and consistently deliver.
• Preferred: PhD in a technical discipline.
• Preferred: 5+ years of experience in the homeowners insurance industry.

Requirements

• The application window for this position is anticipated to close in 2 weeks (10 business days) from 06/30/2026. Please know this may change based on business and interviewing needs.
• At this time, Porch Group does not consider applicants from the following states or jurisdictions for Remote positions: Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Mississippi, Nebraska, Montana, New Hampshire, West Virginia, or the District of Columbia.

Benefits

• Pay Range*: $206,300 – $288,800 annually
• Long-term incentive awards, subject to program guidelines and approvals.
• Annual bonus based on individual and company performance, subject to program guidelines and approvals.
• Comprehensive coverage for health, life, and financial wellbeing.
• Three (3) Medical plan options, two (2) Dental plan options, and a Vision plan.
• Voluntary Critical Illness, Hospital Indemnity, and Accident plans.
• Pre-tax savings options including a partially employer funded Health Savings Account and employee Flexible Savings Accounts.
• Company paid Basic Life and AD&D, Short and Long-Term Disability benefits.
• Voluntary Life and AD&D plans.
• Traditional and Roth 401(k) plans with a discretionary employer match.
• Supportlinc for mental health and wellbeing resources.
• LifeBalance for year-round discounts on various services.
• Flexible paid vacation, company-paid holidays, paid sick time, paid parental leave, identity theft program, travel assistance, and fitness discounts.