Senior Data Scientist in Toronto

The Opportunity

We are seeking a highly skilled and motivated Senior Data Scientist to join the Group Functions Advanced Analytics team. As a Senior Data Scientist, you will develop and implement robust analytical solutions for various parts of Manulife and JH businesses, applying traditional and emerging machine learning and AI techniques including but not limited to outlier detection, link analysis, and generative AI techniques, such as applying prompt engineering, working with RAG applications, fine‑tuning LLM models, and deploying applications on cloud platforms like Azure. Your expertise in these areas will play a crucial role in driving data‑driven decision‑making and enhancing our business processes.

Responsibilities

• Develop and lead machine learning and AI driven projects that span the breadth of Group Functions (Corporate Functions) with high impact on fraud detection and prevention, cost savings, expense efficiency, operational insights, customer satisfaction, etc.
• Develop analytical solutions using ML, graph analytics and link analysis, etc. to support investigations of fraud or misconduct.
• Clean, preprocess, and analyze large datasets to extract meaningful insights and patterns.
• Apply prompt engineering techniques, build with RAG (Retrieval‑Augmented Generation) applications, and fine‑tune language models and improve their performance in specific tasks.
• Collaborate with multi‑functional teams to identify and define business requirements, ensuring alignment with data science objectives.
• Apply generative AI techniques to generate synthetic data, create realistic simulations, and enhance data analysis capabilities.
• Design and complete experiments to validate and optimize machine learning models, ensuring accuracy, efficiency, and scalability.
• Deploy machine learning models and applications on cloud platforms like Azure ML or Databricks, ensuring flawless integration and scalability.
• Stay up‑to‑date with the latest advancements in machine learning, generative AI, prompt engineering, RAG applications, and cloud technologies, and apply them to enhance our data science capabilities.
• Collaborate with data engineers and ML engineers to integrate data science solutions into existing systems and workflows.
• Communicate sophisticated technical concepts and findings to both technical and non‑technical partners, ensuring clear understanding and agreement.
• Peer review other Data Scientists’ work and participate in model and code reviews.

What motivates you

• You obsess about customers, listen, engage and act for their benefit.
• You think big, with curiosity to discover ways to use your agile approach and enable business outcomes.
• You thrive in teams and enjoy getting things done together.
• You take ownership and build solutions, focusing on what matters.
• You do what is right, work with integrity and speak up.
• You share your humanity, helping us build a diverse and inclusive work environment for everyone.

What we are looking for

• Bachelor's, Master's degree, or Ph.D. in Computer Science, Data Science, Statistics, Engineering, or a related field.
• 5+ years of experience in developing probabilistic models, data mining, and machine learning algorithms, including real world experience of applying analytics models, with a strong focus on machine learning, generative AI, prompt engineering, and RAG applications.
• Proficiency in programming languages such as Python and experience with machine learning libraries/frameworks, e.g., PyTorch, scikit‑learn, Hugging Face, SQL, graph databases (Neo4j/Cypher, Cosmos DB/Gremlin).
• Knowledge of professional software engineering practices & standard methodologies for the full software development process, including coding standards, code reviews, source control management, build processes, testing, and operations.
• Strong collaboration and elaboration skills; demonstrates a strong commitment to organizational success; shares resources and demonstrates knowledge across the organization.
• Strong problem‑solving skills and the ability to think critically and creatively to develop innovative solutions.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work optimally in multi‑functional teams.
• Good to have the knowledge of Graph Analytics.
• Good to have the knowledge of Agile methodologies.

What can we offer you

• A competitive salary and benefits packages.
• A growth trajectory that extends upward and outward, encouraging you to follow your passions and learn new skills.
• A focus on growing your career path with us.
• Flexible work policies and strong work‑life balance.
• Professional development and leadership opportunities.

Manulife is an Equal Opportunity Employer. At Manulife/John Hancock, we embrace our diversity. We strive to attract, develop and retain a workforce that is as diverse as the customers we serve and to foster an inclusive work environment that embraces the strength of cultures and individuals. We are committed to fair recruitment, retention, advancement and compensation, and we administer all of our practices and programs without discrimination on the basis of race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, religion or religious beliefs, creed, sex (including pregnancy and pregnancy‑related conditions), sexual orientation, genetic characteristics, veteran status, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, family status, disability, or any other ground protected by applicable law.

Salary & Benefits

The annual base salary for this role is listed below. Primary Location: Toronto, Ontario. Salary range is expected to be between $92,190.00 CAD - $171,210.00 CAD.