Senior ML Ops Engineer in London

Welcome to Hastings Direct. We are a digital insurance provider with ambitious plans to become the best and biggest in the UK market. We have made huge investments in our pricing and data capabilities over the past few years, along with nurturing our 4Cs culture. We provide insurance for over four million customers, but we know there’s even bigger opportunity out there – our Pricing, Data and Analytics community values curiosity, collaboration and constructive challenge. We are always looking for new ideas and diverse perspectives to question established thinking and drive meaningful change. Great pricing is built on trust, innovation and precision, so our aim is to ensure customers receive a fair and accurate price based on their individual risk, supporting fair outcomes while delivering sustainable and profitable growth for our company. Pricing is more than just a number – it’s a strategic capability. At the heart of Hastings is deep risk insight – continually improving how we assess, segment and price risk through data and analytics.

As part of Hastings' ongoing commitment to Data Science & Modelling to power our growth ambitions, we need experienced people to help us deliver our objectives. This effort has the full support of the business, benefits from a state‑of‑the‑art tech stack and inputs from the entire Pricing, Data and Analytics community at Hastings, and a network of data scientists and machine learning engineers across the Market Pricing team & beyond. To build upon the foundations and success of our Market Pricing team, we are looking for an experienced individual with strong programming skills and a passion for data to lead the ML Ops team. This role is key to advancing and maintaining our technical market price models, which are critical to the next phase of our commercial strategy.

As a Senior ML Ops Engineer in the Market Pricing team, you will be reporting to the Head of Market Pricing, working closely with the Motor and Home Market Modelling teams, stakeholders across all Pricing teams, Data and ML Engineering teams. You will play a pivotal role in the deployment and maintenance of machine learning models and data science solutions to extract the crucial predictive insight that underpins our pricing strategies and helps maintain our competitive edge. You will provide strategic guidance and tooling to benefit the wider Pricing, Data and Analytics community and support data‑driven innovation.

How you will make a difference:

• Build reusable, maintainable, automated, and innovative processes and pipelines.
• Stretch the team's capabilities in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and use of Cloud technologies.
• Work cross-functionally with the wider Pricing, Data and Analytics teams to develop the market pricing data landscape.
• Advocate for data science and software development best practices.
• Lead, support, and mentor junior colleagues.
• Engage commercial stakeholders to gather detailed business requirements and coordinate project activities.

What we’re looking for:

• Proven track record of delivering commercial value using supervised machine learning techniques.
• Advanced Python programmer, and experience with data manipulation and analysis libraries (e.g. NumPy, Pandas, scikit‑learn).
• Advanced knowledge of data science technologies including tooling and platforms.
• Advanced SQL knowledge.
• Advanced Git skills.
• Ability to drive projects from initiation to completion.
• Keen interest in emerging Machine Learning techniques.
• Experience with Cloud deployments (e.g. Azure/AWS/GCP).
• Ability to work cross-functionally with other technical teams.

Interview Process:

• Recruiter screening call.
• 1st Round – Intro call with Hiring manager.
• 2nd Round – Case study round followed by call with Hiring leader.

What we will give you:

• Competitive salary and £5k car allowance.
• Flexible hybrid working approach – please speak to your recruiter to discuss in more detail.
• Competitive bonus scheme – all colleagues eligible for our annual 4Cs performance bonus.
• Physical wellbeing – private medical insurance (PMI) coverage provided.
• Financial wellbeing – life assurance, income protection, matched pension contributions up to 10%, and an award‑winning package including discounts, cashback, free mortgage advice and financial support.
• Mental wellbeing programme – Thrive mental health app, 24/7 colleague assistance programme, in‑house mental health first aiders, support groups and a dedicated team.
• Annual leave – 27 days + bank holidays, with options to buy or sell one of your weeks; access to health care cash back plans, dental plans, discounts, Cycle to Work, tech schemes, onsite facilities, social events and more.

Equal Opportunities:

Hastings Group is an equal opportunities employer which means we treat people fairly. We welcome applications from all suitably skilled persons regardless of their gender, age, race, disability, ethnic background, religion/belief, sexual orientation, gender reassignment or marital/family status. Please note that we have a thorough referencing process, which includes credit and criminal record checks.