Director of Data Science in Disability

About the Role

At MetLife, data isn't just a tool — it is a catalyst for growth. As part of our Data & Analytics organization, you'll unlock trusted insights that drive bold decisions, power personalized customer experiences, and deliver lasting business impact. We're building the future of data — one that's governed responsibly, engineered for scalability, and designed for growth.

MetLife is seeking an experienced director in Data Science for the Disability product initiatives within its Group Benefits business. The objective of these initiatives is to responsibly expand MetLife's market share in the Disability & Absence space and to improve employer and participant satisfaction with MetLife's Disability offerings, while meeting cost targets. Reporting directly to the CDAO for Group Disability insurance, this position will oversee all Advance Analytics and AI efforts for this product line.

Key Responsibilities

• Data Science in Disability & Absence: Claims auto-adjudication logic and models, claims scoring and claims duration models, fraud waste and abuse analyses and models, triage models.
• Advanced analytics leadership: Educate business partners in dental and vision and the related technology areas about the potential for analytics to add significant business value, influence relevant stakeholders and increase the use of advanced analytics in those business areas.
• Initiative delivery: Co-develop and execute the data and analytics roadmap for Dental and Vision, aligned with business objectives and enterprise data strategy.
• Claims automation: Enhance auto-adjudication models to substantially increase auto-adjudication rates, as well as processing speed, while maintaining accuracy.
• Data Science: Ideate, design and execute various data science solutions that provide meaningful business outcomes, in collaboration with major stakeholders.
• Global team and resource management: Fully integrate a global team spanning by balancing U.S. employees, India-based employees (both in multiple locations) and consulting resources. Drive consistent culture and performance standards to maximize effectiveness.
• Proactive D&A leadership: Proactively identify and propose data-driven solutions to business challenges, leading analytics organization beyond traditional service provider role to become strategic innovation partner driving business transformation.

Required Qualifications

• Master's degree in Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science, or related quantitative field, B.S. degree with relevant experience or continuing education.
• 10+ years of progressive experience in data science field with leadership experience.
• 3 to 5+ years of Disability, life, medical or P&C insurance experience.
• Solid understanding of HIPAA, the state insurance regulatory environment and other regulations relevant to data and data science in U.S. consumer insurance.
• Demonstrated expertise in advanced analytics, statistical modeling, and data science, including classical, modern (ML/non-parametric) and AI methodologies.
• Proficiency in statistical programming languages (Python, R).
• Demonstrated expertise with LLMs, prompt engineering/design, RAG architectures, fine tuning, and evaluation frameworks.
• Expertise in data governance, Data/ML Ops, and/or data engineering, and related software and procedures.
• Proficiency in SQL.
• Proven track record of leading analytics teams and delivering business value via creative data solutions while interacting with many stakeholders in a complex organization.
• Excellence in stakeholder management and executive communication.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with employee benefits plans is a plus.
• Experience with building AI agents (e.g., LangChain) is a plus.
• Expertise in Business Intelligence is a plus.
• Experience with Hadoop and MS Azure is a plus.

Location & Pay

This is a hybrid role requiring a minimum of 3 days per week in office. The expected salary range for this position is $170,000 - $210,000. This role may also be eligible for annual short-term incentive compensation and stock-based long-term incentives. All incentives and benefits are subject to the applicable plan terms.

Benefits We Offer

Our U.S. benefits address holistic well-being with programs for physical and mental health, financial wellness, and support for families. We offer a comprehensive health plan that includes medical/prescription drug and vision, dental insurance, and no-cost short- and long-term disability. We also provide company-paid life insurance and legal services, a retirement pension funded entirely by MetLife and 401(k) with employer matching, group discounts on voluntary insurance products including auto and home, pet, critical illness, hospital indemnity, and accident insurance, as well as Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and digital mental health programs, parental leave, paid time off, paid holidays, volunteer time off, tuition assistance and much more!

About MetLife

Recognized on Fortune magazine's list of the "World's Most Admired Companies", Fortune World's 25 Best Workplaces™, as well as the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For®, MetLife, through its subsidiaries and affiliates, is one of the world's leading financial services companies; providing insurance, annuities, employee benefits and asset management to individual and institutional customers. With operations in more than 40 markets, we hold leading positions in the United States, Latin America, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.

As part of our New Frontier strategy, MetLife is building an AI-enabled, people-centered future. We're looking for people who bring curiosity, adaptability, and a growth mindset as we use AI to enhance how we serve customers, support communities, and evolve the way work gets done. At MetLife, AI is a responsible partner that supports human judgment, creativity, and continuous improvement while helping us build trust, inclusion, and long-term value.

Our purpose is simple — to help our colleagues, customers, communities, and the world at large create a more confident future. United by purpose and guided by our core values — Win Together, Do the Right Thing, Deliver Impact Over Activity, and Think Ahead — we're inspired to transform the next century in financial services. At MetLife, it's #AllTogetherPossible. Join us!

About the Role

When you join MetLife's Global Technology team, you'll be part of a forward-thinking group dedicated to shaping the future of digital solutions for customers worldwide. You'll develop, maintain and support technology applications and delivery, leveraging AI, automation, and contemporary ways of working to enhance experiences and drive business outcomes. Your work will simplify complex processes, improve tech resiliency, and ensure high-performing, seamless solutions that power life's most important moments.

The Senior Software/Platform Engineer is part of the Corporate Treasury IT organization, operating in a fast-paced, global, and multi-cultural environment. The ideal candidate brings strong hands-on expertise in .NET-based distributed systems, RESTful APIs, microservices architecture, and cloud-native engineering on Azure. This role demands ownership, deep troubleshooting capability, and the ability to design resilient, scalable, and secure enterprise platforms across US supporting our global Treasury applications. This is an exciting opportunity to lead the design and modernization of mission-critical treasury platforms by leveraging microservices, AKS, and cloud-native technologies to build highly scalable, resilient systems that directly impact enterprise financial operations and business continuity.

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as a core member of an Agile/Scrum team responsible for designing, developing, and maintaining scalable enterprise applications using .NET, C#, REST APIs
• Hands-on Azure infrastructure experience required; AZ-104/AZ-305 certifications preferred
• Design and build cloud-native microservices deployed on Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) with strong understanding of containerized workloads
• Implement and manage Istio service mesh capabilities including traffic routing, observability, security policies, and service-to-service communication
• Perform deep troubleshooting and root cause analysis across distributed systems, microservices, and cloud infrastructure

Required Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in enterprise software development, with strong hands-on expertise in .NET, C#, and RESTful API development
• 5+ years of hands-on experience working with Azure cloud infrastructure or AWS or GCP, including:
  • Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)
  • Azure Service Bus
  • Azure Monitor, Application Insights
• Hands-on expertise in containerization (Docker) and orchestration using AKS
• Strong working knowledge of Istio service mesh (traffic management, security, observability) or related technologies
• Strong experience with distributed systems troubleshooting, performance tuning, and debugging complex production issues

Preferred Qualifications

• Familiarity with infrastructure as code (Terraform, Bicep, ARM templates)
• Exposure to service mesh governance, zero-trust networking, and secure workload identity (e.g., Managed Identity, federated credentials)
• Experience with Azure API Management (APIM)
• Experience with Azure Key Vault
• Experience with observability tools (Prometheus, Grafana, App Insights, Open Telemetry)
• Exposure to modern AI concepts such as generative AI and machine learning
• Experience with platforms like Claude AI, Copilot Studio, or similar ecosystems
• Experience with modern AI concepts, including agentic AI, MCP servers, and/or the creation of AI plugins and skills
• Experience designing and building solutions utilizing generative AI and machine learning, including addressing responsible use of AI considerations

Location & Pay

This is a hybrid role requiring a minimum of 3 days per week in office. The expected salary range for this position is $110,000 - $137,700. This role may also be eligible for annual short-term incentive compensation and stock-based long-term incentives. All incentives and benefits are subject to the applicable plan terms.