Lead Model Developer

To reimagine technology to transform analytical decision-making, helping our customers make smarter decisions faster. 

Who we are

hx is an analytical technology company that’s pushing the boundaries of data-driven decision-making in insurance. Our team does this in many ways:

• Mainly, we’ve designed and built Renew, a SaaS platform that allows actuaries and underwriters to create powerful, flexible models using modern open-source technology without the hassle of doing boring things like database admin and UI formatting
• Our team of world-class actuaries, engineers and delivery experts support our clients in doing innovative and challenging things with our platform to help them launch more useful, advanced models, faster

We are currently doing this for some of the largest, and most cutting-edge names in specialty insurance today, and our client base is growing rapidly. We are looking to scale out our Consultancy team to do much more of this with clients, partners and the market in general – that’s where you come in!

What we are looking for

The hx Consultancy team is not a typical consultancy; the technical/actuarial work we do here is quite different from most places. We don’t take on traditional “transformations” ourselves (we have brilliant partners for that) – we specialise in handling the most difficult or interesting problems for our clients, where only a combination of the very best market expertise and Renew knowledge will do. Here are some example challenges we will take on this year:

• How do we make sure our clients are first-to-market with rapidly built, world class pricing models in Renew?
• What do we need to do to plug the gaps in the open-source libraries that cater to the specialty insurance sector?
• What are the novel datasets and techniques that should be par for the course in a modern set of pricing models?

The Consultancy team works very closely with our Product/Engineering teams as well as with our clients - we see model development work as a way to "eat our own cooking" and make our product better. You'll use and help develop cutting-edge tech, and work with super-bright, driven people (both inside hx and among our data, service and insurtech partners).

However, this only scratches the surface of opportunity – hx is growing very fast and our product is being used in an increasing (and sometimes unexpected!) number of ways across the market. If you join us, it’s likely your journey will be similarly fast-paced and surprising!

We need:

• Around 5+ years’ experience of practical pricing at the front line with underwriters (we don’t count years, but this should give you an idea of what we are looking for)
• A strong understanding of insurance and reinsurance pricing techniques such that you can from first principles tackle pricing model challenges across the any line of business - our customers use our platform for both long-tail and short-tail business and you should be comfortable with the various approaches involved.
• Work with client underwriters and actuaries to implement very loose ideas for models in any class, providing thoughtful challenge from an actuarial and technical perspective as well as implementation leadership
• Sufficient “production” experience with programming such that you are or can become very proficient using Python by the time you start
• Have a passion for coaching and mentoring others and unlocking the potential in your colleagues
• A self-starting attitude: you enjoy managing your own time and work, within a tight-knit, high-pressure but high-support environment. You proactively drive your own personal development and stay up-to-date with the latest industry trends and challenges

We highly value:

• An existing market presence, or desire to build one, to help hx support initiatives in Lloyd’s, the IFoA, or elsewhere
• The ability to promote hx’s work, e.g. by writing on our blog, presenting at (virtual) meetups/conferences, or supporting other partnerships
• Passion for experimenting with new approaches and technologies through your work, extracurriculars and hackathons

What will you do?

In your first week you’ll:

• Get set up, get to know hx and your team
• Meet everyone at our weekly company breakfast and attend daily stand-ups
• Get started on the Renew platform and ship your first models independently within days
• Meet all our key clients to understand their current pricing landscape and pricing goals
• Wrap the week at our weekly all-hands Show & Tell

Within your first month you’ll:

• Have direct responsibility for your delivery to client projects, managing your own deadlines
• Be working directly with customer actuarial teams, underwriters and other customer teams in solving their hardest actuarial problems
• Be consistently contributing to and improving our internal and external training and development materials

Within three months you’ll be:

• Responsible for the day-to-day oversight of in-flight client and internal projects
• Feeding into, and helping groom, the internal backlog of the Consultancy Team tasks to ensure we continuously improve our internal processes, but also make effective use of time between client projects
• Contributing to the overall strategy and direction of the Consultancy Team from a model development perspective
• Implementing and improving our model development standards and ways of working
• Actively developing and mentoring other members of the team, with the opportunity for line management if that’s part of your desired career trajectory
• Feeding back insights from your work with Renew into the Product and Engineering Teams to reflect our customers’ needs

What do we offer?

• Competitive salary + very staff-friendly EMI share options
• £5,000 annual learning & development allowance
• 33 days annual leave (inc. public holidays)
• £250 gadget-for-the-office budget (on hiatus due to Covid)
• Top-spec equipment (laptop, wireless keyboards, screens, etc)
• Huge opportunity for personal development and mastery as we grow together
• Regular remote hackathons, lunch & learns, snacks, socials and games nights
• Team breakfasts and lunches, snacks, drinks fridge, socials, fun office @ the Peckham Levels
• Annual team trip somewhere warm (sadly on hold due to COVID19)

What’s next?

1. Initial call with our Talent team to kick things off 
2. Introductory call with your future manager (with your choice of questions)  
3. Technical assessment with your future colleagues
4. Meet the team (with your choice of who) + COO + Meet the CEO 
5. We offer! 

Diversity @ hx

We are committed to diversity and equal opportunity. We’re a talented and high-energy, but low-ego and kind team who believes that the more inclusive we are, the better our work and culture is. We are not yet where we want to be in terms of balance, but it is our mission to build a team that represents a variety of backgrounds and perspectives and we are working hard towards that goal.