Principal Data Scientist I

CURRENT ROOT EMPLOYEES - Please apply using the career page in Workday. This career site is for external applicants only.

As part of Root's interview process, we kindly ask that all candidates be on camera for virtual interviews. This helps us create a more personal and engaging experience for both you and our interviewers. Being on camera is a standard requirement for our process and part of how we assess fit and communication style, so we do require it to move forward with any applicant's candidacy. If you have any concerns, feel free to let us know once you are contacted. We’re happy to talk it through.

The Opportunity

We believe that a disruptive insurance company must have a principled quantitative framework at its foundation. At Root, we are committed to the rigorous development and effective deployment of modern statistical machine learning methods to problems in the insurance industry.

As a Principal Data Scientist at Root, you will serve as a high-impact technical leader driving forward our most complex and strategic quantitative pursuits. This role spans pricing, underwriting, and beyond—giving you wide latitude to shape experimentation, theory development, and applied research across the organization. You’ll help evolve Root’s core modeling strategy while incubating new capabilities in areas with emerging data science capabilities, such as agent distribution, policy and billing management, and customer service.

You will pair deep empirical and theoretical skill with a hands-on mentality. You’ll frequently review and elevate the work of experienced peers while also rolling up your sleeves to build prototypes, develop white papers, or challenge entrenched assumptions. You’ll be a cross-functional partner in designing systems and products with data science at their core. 

Root is a “work where it works best” company, meaning we will support you working in whatever location that works best for you across the US. We will continue to have our headquarters in Columbus to give more flexibility and more choice about how we live and work.

Salary Range: $200,000 - $270,000

How You Will Make an Impact

• Pioneer foundational modeling and research initiatives across a range of domains—including pricing, underwriting, agent/partnership strategy, and emerging business areas

• Challenge and reshape internal mental models—identify flawed assumptions or outdated conventions in how Root approaches modeling, and guide teams toward clearer, more robust alternatives

• Identify when modeling rigor is slipping (e.g., overfitting to internal consensus, inadequate evaluation), and intervene to restore discipline and clarity

• Go deep in unlikely places—select messy, ignored, or under-owned parts of the business where modeling could drive transformative value, and take the first real shot at formalizing them

• Communicate findings and perspectives clearly and forcefully to diverse audiences, from technical peers to senior executives

• Act as a thought partner to senior leadership on modeling strategy, experimentation frameworks, and long-term research architecture

• Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams to ensure alignment and synergy across departments on a multi-year horizon

• Drive adoption of modern best practices in statistical modeling, empirical validation, applied machine learning, and generative AI adoption

What You Will Need to Succeed

• Advanced degree (PhD or Master’s) in a quantitative discipline such as statistics, economics, applied mathematics, computer science, or a related field

• 10-15+ years of experience applying advanced statistical and machine learning methods to real-world problems, with a strong track record of impactful and paradigm-altering work

• Experience in a Principal or Staff-plus role at a high-performing, analytically mature organization

• Demonstrated success launching or leading net-new modeling initiatives, products, or research domains within an organization

• Ability to oscillate between strategic oversight and deep individual contributor work as needed

• Exceptional ability to reason from both theory and data, and to assess and strengthen the work of others through that lens; a radar for when someone is confidently wrong

• Strong verbal and written communication skills, with a proven ability to influence diverse technical and non-technical audiences

• Expertise in Python or R, SQL, and modern data science tooling; comfort with cloud-based infrastructure (e.g., AWS, GCP) and scalable modeling workflows

Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At Root, Inc., we are dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway!

At Root, we judge people based on the merit of their work, not who they are. If you are passionate about what this role entails and solving real problems, we encourage you to apply. We want to learn about you and what you can add to our team.

We’re harnessing the power of technology to revolutionize insurance. Using machine learning and mobile telematic platforms, we’ve built one of the most innovative FinTech companies in the world. And we’re just getting started.

Our success is in large part due to our unwavering standards in hiring. We recognize that our products are only as good as the people building and promoting them. We want individuals who find solutions by going through the cycle of ideation to implementation with curiosity, rigor, and an analytical lens. Ask anyone who works here and you’ll hear similar reasons for why they joined:

Autonomy—for assertive self-starters, the opportunities to contribute are limitless.

Impact—by challenging the way it’s always been done, we solve problems that have a big impact on our business.

Collaboration—we encourage rich discussion and civil debate at every turn.

People—we are inspired by the collection of crazy-smart people around us.