SageSure is looking for an experienced and innovative Director of Catastrophe Risk R&D to spearhead research and development efforts in natural hazard modeling, exposure assessment, and enhancing internal catastrophe view of risk to shape how the company evaluates, measures, and responds to catastrophe risk.
Requirements
- 10+ years of experience in catastrophe modeling, risk analytics, insurance/reinsurance, or related applied research fields.
- 3+ years of experience in leading analytical and technical teams with responsibility for research strategy.
- Deep understanding of natural hazards (hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires, floods, SCS) and their impacts on the built environment.
- Proficiency with catastrophe models (RMS, AIR, etc.) and their underlying assumptions
- Experience with programming/data analysis tools (Python, R, SQL) and geospatial tools (GIS, QGIS, ArcGIS).
- Strong background in probabilistic risk modeling, statistics, and simulation techniques.
- Experience in building and evaluating Hurricane/ Cyclone risk models, incorporating scientific insights into modeling frameworks.
Responsibilities
- Define and drive the catastrophe risk research agenda, including model evaluation, development of proprietary views of risk, and enhancement of decision-support tools for underwriting and portfolio risk management.
- Evaluate and customize third-party catastrophe models (e.g., Moody’s RMS, Verisk), and development of in-house modeling capabilities.
- Incorporate climate and emerging scientific insights into the catastrophe modeling framework, including scenario analysis and long-term risk outlooks.
- Leverage exposure, claims, hazard, and socioeconomic data to identify risk trends and inform product development and reinsurance strategy.
- Partner with underwriting, actuarial, reinsurance, and technology teams to ensure R&D outputs meet business needs.
- Translate technical findings into strategic insights for senior leadership and external partners.
- Mentor and grow a team of catastrophe risk research analysts, fostering innovation, scientific rigor, and professional development.
Other
- Master’s or PhD in Earth Science, Atmospheric Science, Civil/Structural Engineering, Applied Mathematics, Statistics, or a related quantitative field.
- Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams and manage complex research programs.
- Exceptional communication skills, capable of conveying technical information to executive and non-technical audiences.
- Strategic thinker with a proactive and collaborative approach to problem-solving.
- Prior experience in a senior cat modeling/R&D role within a global (re)insurer, broker, or model vendor
