Director I, Catastrophe Modeling

Ryan Specialty

. Build, manage, and mentor a team of catastrophe modeling analysts and technical/automation developers .

Posted 10/5/2026full-timeRemote • Illinois • United StatesLead💰 $116,000 - $145,000 per yearWebsite

Core Competencies

Role fit

Core Competencies

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Demonstrates expertise in catastrophe modeling and portfolio risk analytics, with a strong focus on team leadership, technical standards, and data engineering. Proficient in translating model outputs into actionable underwriting guidance and managing vendor relationships for advanced analytics.

Highest-signal resume keywords

Catastrophe ModelingRMS and AIR ProficiencySQL ProgrammingPython AutomationPortfolio Risk Analytics

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills

Catastrophe ModelingPortfolio Risk AnalyticsSQL ProgrammingPython ProgrammingR ProgrammingVBA DevelopmentData EngineeringExposure Data PreparationPML and AAL MetricsETL Processes

Soft Skills

Team LeadershipMentoringCommunication SkillsPresentation SkillsCollaboration

Tools & Technologies

RMSAIR TouchstoneAzure DatabricksPySparkDelta LakeAlteryxGitQA DashboardsData Lakehouse PatternsGeospatial Data Handling

Industry Keywords

ReinsuranceCatastrophe Risk AnalyticsPortfolio RollupsModel BlendingClimate-Adjusted RiskData ContractsBatch ProcessingLoss EstimatesExposure SummariesQuantitative Discipline

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

AzureCloudETLPySparkPythonSDLCSQLVBA

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Build, manage, and mentor a team of catastrophe modeling analysts and technical/automation developers
Mentor and train portfolio modeling managers and establish consistent technical standards
Set the technical roadmap and priorities for catastrophe modeling, data engineering, and reporting tooling
Translate model output into underwriting guidance and appetite decisions
Represent catastrophe risk analytics in executive and reinsurance discussions, including catastrophe event response briefings
Coordinate Analyze Re-related portfolio rollups and ensure accurate aggregation across books of business
Oversee delivery of portfolio and modeling outputs to external carriers and reinsurance partners
Align rollup structures and delivery cadence with treaty and program needs
Lead research initiatives in advanced catastrophe analytics, including secondary uncertainty, model blending, and climate-adjusted risk views
Evaluate emerging modeling science, vendor model updates, and academic/industry research
Partner with Capital Management, Pricing, Reserving, and Data Engineering
Standardize handoffs and data contracts between catastrophe modeling and partner teams
Own RMS and AIR vendor and platform strategy, including licensing, upgrades, and roadmap decisions
Evaluate tools and vendors for perils, models, and IT infrastructure
Build business cases for new tooling or vendor changes
Oversee RMS and AIR catastrophe modeling across multiple lines of business
Direct production of PML, AAL, exposed limits, EP curves, and tail-risk/TVaR metrics
Set standards for exposure data preparation, validation, and cleansing
Lead catastrophe event response and produce exposure summaries and loss estimates
Direct ETL and data pipelines ingesting and normalizing exposure data to RMS/AIR standards
Oversee automated AIR/RMS workflow utilities and reusable reporting assets using SQL, Python, R, and Excel/VBA
Champion Azure Databricks and cloud-based analytics using PySpark and Delta Lake
Ensure data quality controls, QA dashboards, and documentation/SOPs are maintained

Requirements

What you’ll need

8+ years of progressive experience in catastrophe modeling, portfolio risk analytics, or cat-modeling-adjacent data engineering
Prior people leadership or team-lead experience managing modeling professionals or managers
Deep hands-on proficiency in RMS and/or AIR Touchstone, including exposure preparation, batch processing, results extraction, and interpretation of EP curves and loss tables
Strong SQL skills
Experience directing or building automation with Python, R, VBA, and/or Alteryx
Track record of translating catastrophe model output into underwriting or portfolio management decisions
Ability to lead teams through real-time catastrophe event response
Experience coordinating portfolio rollups and external deliverables to carriers or reinsurance partners
Experience partnering with Capital Management, Pricing, Reserving, or Data Engineering
Excellent communication skills and experience presenting technical analysis to underwriting and executive stakeholders
Experience with Analyze Re or comparable portfolio roll-up/aggregation platforms preferred
Experience with Azure Databricks, PySpark, and Delta Lake/data lakehouse patterns preferred
Knowledge of reinsurance structures and portfolio risk metrics such as PML, AAL, and TVaR preferred
Familiarity with geospatial data handling and mapping, including geopandas, shapefiles, and spatial joins preferred
Experience with Git and SDLC practices preferred
Prior experience leading vendor evaluations preferred
Background in or exposure to applied research within catastrophe modeling or a related quantitative discipline preferred

Benefits

Comp & perks

Paid company holidays
Vacation days
Sick days
Personal days
Paid parental leave
Mental health services
Bonuses for full-time roles
Benefits for full-time roles
Reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities