Applied AI & Data Scientist

Feel Good About Doing Good

The Knights of Columbus is a tax-exempt Catholic fraternal benefit society that provides financial security to members and their families through our life insurance, long-term care insurance, disability income insurance, investment and annuity products. Charity is at the core of our missions: our profits are donated to help those in need and to support our faith - $1.73B over the past ten years.

While we have many employees who are not Catholic, we follow the Church's teachings in our investment strategies and our employee benefits. As part of our religious mission, we support the pro-life cause by contributing to the March for Life and pregnancy resource centers, we oppose assisted suicide and euthanasia, we are evangelists for the Catholic faith, and we help Christians who are facing religious persecution in the Middle East. We all work together to support our two million members as they volunteer to help others in their parishes and communities around the world.

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We are a growing and purpose-driven community of professionals. Join us to discover how you can meet your goals and ours!

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Overview

The Applied AI & Data Scientist is an early-to-mid career individual contributor who supports the design, development, and deployment of machine learning and generative AI solutions that drive measurable business outcomes across Life Insurance, Investments, Membership, and Charities. The role combines strong data science fundamentals (statistics, predictive modeling, and experimentation) with modern applied AI techniques (LLMs, retrieval, and automation) within a governed, enterprise-scale data and AI ecosystem.

Reporting to the Director of Applied AI & Data Science, you will work closely with business partners, data analysts, data engineers, and Data & AI architects to translate business questions into reliable, explainable models and AI-enabled capabilities. You will contribute hands-on analysis and build components of production solutions on Snowflake, PostgreSQL, and approved AI platforms, following established MLOps/LLMOps and responsible AI standards.

Core Responsibilities

• Support end-to-end delivery of AI solutions: participate in problem framing, exploratory analysis, model development, and measurement of outcomes.
• Develop and validate machine learning models under guidance (e.g., classification/regression, time series, anomaly detection, NLP as appropriate).
• Contribute to GenAI solutions by building and improving Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) components (document preparation, chunking, metadata, and retrieval testing) and prompt templates following established patterns.
• Perform data analysis and feature engineering: data quality checks, joins, transformations, leakage checks, and creation of reusable features.
• Define and track model/LLM quality metrics with support (e.g., accuracy, calibration, stability; groundedness/factuality for LLM outputs), and help maintain evaluation datasets and test cases.
• Assist with explainability and documentation: summarize model behavior, limitations, and key drivers; contribute to model cards and audit-ready artifacts.
• Work with data engineers and platform teams to operationalize solutions: support pipeline integration, scheduling, monitoring, and troubleshooting.
• Apply responsible AI practices: follow privacy/security requirements, handle sensitive data appropriately, and participate in bias/fairness reviews.
• Communicate findings clearly: prepare concise readouts, visuals, and recommendations for technical and non-technical audiences.

Skills Qualifications

Required :

• Strong foundation in statistics and predictive modeling; ability to design validation approaches and interpret results.
• Proficiency in Python and SQL; experience with common data science libraries (pandas, NumPy, scikit-learn) and version control (Git).
• Experience working with cloud data platforms and relational databases; familiarity with Snowflake and/or PostgreSQL strongly preferred.
• Familiarity with machine learning lifecycle concepts: training/validation splits, feature engineering, reproducibility, and basic monitoring metrics.
• Ability to communicate clearly and collaborate in cross-functional teams.

Preferred :

• Hands-on exposure to GenAI/LLM solutions (prompting, embeddings, retrieval/RAG, or evaluation) through work projects or applied learning.
• Experience with visualization and storytelling tools (e.g., Power BI) to communicate insights.
• Familiarity with ML/LLM evaluation practices (test sets, error analysis, human review, groundedness checks).
• Experience with basic software engineering practices (unit testing, packaging) and/or API integration (FastAPI/Flask).
• Financial services experience or experience in regulated environments (model documentation, audit readiness, privacy/security constraints).

Education

Required :

• 3+ years of experience (or equivalent) in data science, analytics, or applied machine learning with demonstrated project delivery.

Compensation Data

,The wage range for this role takes into account a broad array of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions, including but not limited to: skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs. The range below applies as long as the work is performed in Connecticut; the Knights of Columbus reserves the right to adjust the wage range if the position is performed in another location. At the Knights of Columbus, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their role, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is $98,000 - $166,500.

Authorization to work in the United States is required.

This position is not eligible for visa sponsorship.

Physical Demands

Must be able to remain in a stationary position for a majority of the workday.
KofC Cares

Our mission is focused on family and faith, and we support our employees in seeking a balanced life.

Employee benefits include:

Time Away: 13 paid holidays per year in addition to vacation and paid sick leave, and flexible workweek schedules.

Professional Development: Certifications, designation, and tuition reimbursement.

Retirement Benefits: 401(k) retirement savings plan with matching company contributions, and cash balance retirement plans fully funded by the company.

Health and Wellness:

• Short-term disability and term life insurance fully paid for by the company;
• Up to 12 weeks of childbirth leave under STD policy.
• One week of fully paid parental leave for all new parents, including adoptive and foster parents.
• A variety of health insurance options, including premium-level family coverage and a pre-tax Health Savings Account with employer contributions. The Order's health plans do not cover abortion, sterilization, or contraception, and the Order has helped advocate for other employers who do not want to provide coverage.
• Long-term disability insurance;
• Dental insurance;
• Vision insurance;
• Health club membership reimbursement;
• Employee Assistance Program