Senior Associate, Data Scientist

Transform data into decisions on New York Life Direct’s Advanced Analytics team. This hybrid role in Tampa, FL helps power a technology-, data-, and AI-enabled organization while staying grounded in values that support lasting impact. You’ll lead end-to-end data science workstreams that move from problem framing through model development, evaluation, and clear communication of results.

New York Life Direct is the nation’s #1 direct-to-consumer provider of life insurance. You’ll contribute to work that supports more Americans in building financial security and peace of mind, including the AARP Life Insurance Program, endorsed by AARP and developed exclusively for AARP members.

What you’ll do

• Lead and deliver data-driven insights and analytical solutions that support key business initiatives across New York Life Direct.
• Own analytics and data science projects across the lifecycle: problem framing, data exploration, feature engineering, model development, evaluation, and communication of results.
• Apply statistical and machine learning methods to analyze structured and unstructured data, producing insights that inform business decisions and strategy.
• Partner with cross-functional stakeholders to define business problems, translate them into analytical approaches, and deliver actionable recommendations.
• Lead model development, testing, and deployment in collaboration with engineering teams, using best practices for model lifecycle management.
• Find opportunities to improve processes, enhance model performance, and increase efficiency.
• Independently translate business questions into scalable analytical frameworks and deliver analytics solutions that can be used in practice.

What you bring

• Master’s degree in a quantitative field (or equivalent experience).
• Typically 1–3+ years applying data science or analytics in a business or applied setting.
• Experience with Python and/or R, with familiarity with SQL.
• Strong foundation in statistics, machine learning, and analytical problem-solving.
• Demonstrated ability to independently execute end-to-end analytical projects and deliver actionable insights on real-world datasets.
• Strong communication skills, able to influence technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision and manage competing priorities.

Tools you’ll use

• Python, R, SQL, AWS, SageMaker

Nice to have

• Exposure to experimentation, model evaluation, or model monitoring.
• Experience in financial services, insurance, or direct-to-consumer businesses.
• Familiarity with cloud-based tools and platforms such as AWS and SageMaker.
• Experience applying generative AI in business settings.

Compensation and benefits

Salary range: USD $80,000–$110,000 per year. This role is overtime eligible: Exempt. You may be eligible for an annual discretionary bonus and also may participate in an incentive program in addition to base salary. Sales bonus eligible: No.

• Leave programs
• Adoption assistance
• Student loan repayment programs
• Annual discretionary bonus eligible

New York Life offers a comprehensive benefits package for employees, including unique offerings for a modern workforce. For more details, visit the NYL Benefits Site.

Inclusion and culture

Fostering an inclusive workplace is fundamental to how New York Life serves its communities. The company is recognized as one of Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies, with a commitment to improving local communities through employee giving and volunteerism supported by the Foundation.

Location: Tampa, Florida, United States. Hybrid: 3 days per week.

Requisition ID: 95090. Department: NYL Direct. Job Function: NYL Direct.