Tata AIA Life Insurance - Vice President - Data Science

Role Summary:
We are seeking a highly experienced Vice President Data Science to lead and advance analytics opportunities within the BFSI sector.
The ideal candidate will bring deep expertise in advanced analytics, machine learning, and large-scale business intelligence, combined with strong leadership skills to manage high-impact data science programs.
This role involves building and scaling analytics functions, delivering end-to-end solutions, and collaborating closely with stakeholders across business units and external partners.
The VP will also be responsible for managing delivery excellence, stakeholder engagement, and team development while aligning analytics strategy with organizational objectives.

Key Responsibilities:
Stakeholder Management:

- Build and maintain strong relationships with internal stakeholders across TDA-BSG and Tata AIA departments.

- Partner with external vendors and partners to drive analytics adoption and innovation.

- Translate complex data science methodologies into actionable insights for business leaders.

- Design, plan, and scope analytics projects in alignment with business priorities.

- Provide regular updates, reports, and presentations to senior management and channel partners.

Project Management & Training:

- Lead end-to-end project delivery, ensuring adherence to timelines, budgets, and stakeholder expectations.

- Ensure compliance with Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and maintain updated documentation.

- Mentor and coach junior team members, fostering a culture of learning and continuous improvement.

- Conduct internal training sessions to build data literacy and analytical capability across teams.

Delivery & Execution:

- Establish and manage large-scale data science teams (20+ data scientists) across multiple geographies.

- Define and oversee the analytics delivery framework to ensure scalability, efficiency, and impact.

- Apply advanced machine learning and AI models to address business problems such as fraud detection, customer segmentation, lapsation, and promotion optimization.

- Drive innovation by leveraging cutting-edge models such as BERT/DistilBERT (NLP), ANN, LSTM, Transformers, Bagging/Boosting, and Generative AI models.

- Lead implementation of ML-Ops pipelines to automate training, deployment, and monitoring of models in production.

Skills & Competencies:

Technical Skills:

- Proficiency in Python (NumPy, Pandas, Scikit-learn, etc.) and SAS.

- Expertise in handling massive datasets using distributed tools such as Apache Spark, Vaex, or Dask.

- Strong understanding of cloud analytics platforms (Azure, GCP, AWS).

- Deep knowledge of data processing, statistical methods, and model development.

- Hands-on experience with end-to-end project implementation beyond POCs.

- Familiarity with ML-Ops and automated model deployment pipelines.

- Strong SQL and database design knowledge.

Behavioral Skills:

- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.

- Creative and analytical problem-solving ability.

- Strong leadership and people management skills.

- Ability to influence stakeholders and drive alignment across teams.

- Effective decision-making and relationship-building skills.

Qualifications:

Graduate/Postgraduate degree in Engineering, Statistics, Mathematics, Economics, or related fields from Tier-I/II colleges.

Advanced certifications in Data Science, Machine Learning, or Cloud Analytics preferred.

Experience:
16+ years of experience in advanced analytics, with proven success in building and leading data science functions.
Demonstrated track record of delivering high-impact analytics programs in BFSI or related sectors.
Experience managing multi-geography teams and large-scale BI/analytics units.

Why Join Us?

This is a unique opportunity to lead data science at scale within one of Indias leading financial services organizations.
You will drive innovation, shape business decisions, and create measurable impact while working with cutting-edge technologies and a high-performing team