Staff Data Scientist

TheZebra.com meets customers right where their search for car and home insurance begins: online. We provide easy-to-use tools and services, plus friendly, licensed agents who offer advice and guidance at any point along the way. The Zebra has helped customers compare over 74 million quotes since 2012. At its heart, both insurance and tech industry veterans collaborate together to simplify insurance shopping for customers. In today’s digital world, The Zebra’s customer-centered approach offers people the choices they want and simplicity they need.

The Zebra was recently named one of Austin Business Journal's 2026 Best Place to Work. Our motto is "All Stripes Welcome.” Building the best product, the best teams, and the best company comes from inviting a diverse array of voices, backgrounds and perspectives to contribute, making everyone feel welcome. Our Zeebs are passionate about learning, growing, and working together to tackle exciting problems.

As a Staff Data Scientist, you’ll work cross-functionally with product managers, engineers, and analysts to identify, scope, and deliver high-impact data science initiatives. You’ll own the full data science lifecycle—from exploring and preparing data in our warehouse to building, deploying, and evaluating models in production, as well as measuring their real-world impact.

You’ll also help shape the technical direction of data science and AI at The Zebra. Our data scientists are hands-on builders who write and deploy production code themselves, supported by platform engineers—no handoffs required.

Beyond individual contributions, you’ll provide technical leadership across the team—setting best practices, mentoring other data scientists, and driving alignment on high-impact, ambiguous problem areas. You’ll operate with a high degree of autonomy, translating business goals into data science strategy and influencing product and engineering decisions. Success in this role means consistently tying work to measurable business outcomes while navigating tradeoffs and reducing ambiguity across stakeholders.

We’re looking for someone who pairs strong technical expertise with pragmatic, impact-driven thinking. You prioritize simple, scalable solutions and iterate quickly. A strong product mindset, business intuition, and the ability to frame ambiguous problems analytically are critical, along with the ability to build trust and communicate effectively across technical and non-technical audiences.

Our company headquarters are in Austin, TX, but our employees work remotely across the US. For folks who live around Austin, we offer the option to join us in our office or opt for hybrid setup. Whether you prefer the structure of an office, the convenience of remote work, or a mix of both, we support what works best for you!

Please note: at this time we are not able to hire in California or Massachusetts.

• Build machine learning models to personalize our product and connect users with the policies that best fit their needs

• Work closely with cross-functional stakeholders to understand business needs and develop ML based solutions

• Analyze product data, design experiments, and drive the collection and integration of new data sources

• Write clean, maintainable production code to operationalize models using best practices from software engineering

• Perform peer code reviews, mentor other data scientists, and drive continuous improvement in our platform and practices

• Set and maintain technical standards for development, deployment, and maintenance of machine learning models

• Identify areas of opportunity for the business and help communicate the role of data science in those opportunities

As we evaluate candidates across all roles, we look for folks with a strong sense of ownership, great communication and collaboration skills, and a dedication to continuous improvement.

• 7-10+ years experience in a technical data role with 7+ years of hands-on experience building machine learning / statistical models

• MS / PhD in a quantitative field is a plus but not required

• Proven mathematical foundation and knowledge of a variety of ML and statistical methods (e.g. regression, classification, clustering, experimental design)

• Solid foundation in software engineering with a strong proficiency in both core Python and the Python data ecosystem (sklearn, pandas/polars, etc)

• Basic familiarly with engineering topics like CI/CD, unit testing, orchestration, cloud ecosystems is required

• Experience mentoring junior data scientists is a plus

• Experience leading the data science function is a plus

• Experience modeling customer/human behavior in a B2C context

• Familiarity with reinforcement learning especially contextual bandits

• Familiarity with causal inference

• Familiarity with marketing measurement methods

• When we say “All Stripes Welcome,” we mean it. Considering viewpoints outside of our own as individuals creates a better, more inclusive experience for everyone

• We live and breathe inclusion. You will be part of a wide array of voices, opinions, and experiences that inform everything we do

• We believe in innovation. You will be part of experimentation; creative problem solving; cross-functional collaboration; testing new approaches, tools and ideas and learning from those tests; and understanding when innovation can drive real impacts and when it may not be needed.

• We trust our teams. You’ll own your work, balancing personal accountability with team accountability. Together, we take pride in individual and team contributions; make thoughtful decisions; and want our teammates to succeed.

• We care about each other. You’ll join a team that truly lives their values, both in and out of the office. Our Zeebs have honest conversations, give direct feedback, and remember that we are all people here to do great work.

• We take thoughtful action. You will be empowered to do the right things as efficiently as possible, not just checking boxes off a list without thinking.

Inclusive and healthy environments are crafted intentionally. Here are some other wonderful perks of working here:

• Competitive Compensation & Stock Option Offering

• Health, Dental, Vision & Disability Coverages

• End early Fridays (no meetings after 2pm CST on Fridays!)

• Sabbatical program for tenured employees

• HSA offering + employer contribution

• Fertility support through Carrot

• $100 monthly wellness perk

• $300 pet reimbursement program

• 401k with match

• Unlimited PTO (paid time off) + flexibility to enjoy it

• Paid Parental Leave Program

• Learning & Development Opportunities

The base salary range for this position is $175,000 - $200,000 per year. The final salary amount will be determined based on a variety of factors, including experience, skills, internal equity, and insights gained throughout the interview process

Headquartered in Austin, Texas, The Zebra seeks to bring transparency and simplicity to car and home insurance shopping – it's Insurance in black and white.®

We've garnered attention across the industry and across the nation. Check out all of our awards & recognition!

Our core motto is "All Stripes Welcome." As part of our dedication to maintaining an inclusive and diverse workforce, we provide equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetics. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform core job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation!