{"id":1924085,"url":"https://alion.io/job/ryan-specialty-director-i-catastrophe-modeling","title":"Director I, Catastrophe Modeling","company":{"id":1903736,"name":"Ryan Specialty","domain":"ryanspecialty.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/ryanspecialty","size_band":"1001-5000","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Workday","truth_index":{"grade":"B","score":75,"open_postings":14,"ghost_share":0,"stale_share":1,"repost_share":0,"time_to_fill_p50_days":24,"computed_at":"2026-10-25T05:49:26Z"}},"role":"Leadership","role_family":"Leadership","seniority":"head","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Chicago, United States","United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":{"min":116000,"max":145000,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":145000},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":8,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"Alteryx","optional":false},{"name":"Azure","optional":false},{"name":"Databricks","optional":false},{"name":"Delta Lake","optional":false},{"name":"ETL/ELT","optional":false},{"name":"pySpark","optional":false},{"name":"Python","optional":false},{"name":"SQL","optional":false},{"name":"Git","optional":true},{"name":"Spark","optional":true}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-10-05T19:10:29Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-10-05","last_verified_at":"2026-10-24T01:05:31Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":19,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":19},"description":"Position Summary\nThe Director I of Catastrophe Modeling leads catastrophe risk analytics for the Central Underwriting organization, sitting at the intersection of modeling science, data engineering, and underwriting strategy. This role owns both the technical execution of cat modeling (RMS, AIR) and the tooling, pipelines, and automation that make that modeling fast, accurate, and scalable - while building and managing the team that delivers it. The Director translates portfolio-level model output into underwriting guidance, sets technical standards for the function, and represents catastrophe risk analytics to underwriting and executive leadership.What will your job entail?\nWhat You’ll Do\nTeam & Strategic Leadership\nBuild, manage, and mentor a team blending catastrophe modeling analysts and technical/automation developers.\nMentor, guide, and train portfolio modeling managers across the team, building bench strength and consistent technical standards for the broader cat modeling function.\nSet the technical roadmap and priorities for cat modeling, data engineering, and reporting tooling in support of Central Underwriting.\nServe as the primary bridge between catastrophe modeling analytics and underwriting leadership, translating model output into underwriting guidance and appetite decisions.\nRepresent catastrophe risk analytics in executive and reinsurance discussions, including cat event response briefings.\nPortfolio Rollups & External Delivery\nCoordinate Analyze Re-related portfolio rollups, ensuring consistent, accurate aggregation across books of business.\nOversee delivery of portfolio and modeling outputs to external carriers and reinsurance partners, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and consistency of format.\nPartner with reinsurance and ceded-re contacts to align rollup structures and delivery cadence with treaty and program needs.\nResearch & Advanced Analytics\nLead research initiatives that extend advanced analytics capabilities within the catastrophe modeling domain (e.g., secondary uncertainty, model blending, climate-adjusted view of risk).\nEvaluate emerging modeling science, vendor model updates, and academic/industry research for applicability to the portfolio.\nChampion a culture of continuous improvement, piloting new methods and tools ahead of enterprise-wide adoption.\nCross-Functional Partnership\nPartner closely with Capital Management, Pricing, Reserving, and Data Engineering to streamline processes and align catastrophe outputs with capital, pricing, and reserving needs.\nStandardize handoffs and data contracts between cat modeling and these partner teams to reduce rework and improve turnaround.\nVendor & Tooling Engagement\nOwn vendor and platform strategy for RMS and AIR, including licensing, upgrades, and platform roadmap decisions.\nLead evaluation and assessment of tools and vendors for specific perils, models, and IT infrastructure, including Analyze Re and emerging modeling platforms.\nBuild the business case for new tooling or vendor changes, balancing analytical capability, cost, and infrastructure fit.\nModeling & Portfolio Analytics\nOversee catastrophe modeling using RMS and AIR across multiple lines of business, ensuring quality and consistency of account, portfolio, and reinsurance-layer analyses.\nDirect the production of portfolio-level metrics - PML, AAL, exposed limits, EP curves (OEP/AEP), and tail-risk/TVaR measures - used in underwriting and reinsurance decisions.\nSet standards for exposure data preparation, validation, and cleansing prior to model runs.\nLead catastrophe event response for the underwriting organization, ensuring rapid, accurate exposure summaries and loss estimates.\nData Engineering, Tooling & Automation\nDirect the design of ETL pipelines and data pipelines that ingest and normalize exposure data (policy schedules, CRE, shapefiles) to RMS/AIR data standards.\nOversee development of automated AIR/RMS workflow utilities (imports/exports, batch runs, result extraction, QA checks) and reusable reporting assets in SQL, Python, R, and Excel/VBA.\nChampion adoption of Azure Databricks and cloud-based analytics (PySpark, Delta Lake) as the future-state platform for modeling data and results.\nEnsure data quality controls, QA dashboards, and documentation/SOPs are in place and consistently followed across the team.\nTech Stack\nModeling Platforms: RMS (Risk Modeler, Underwrite IQ), AIR (Touchstone), and Analyze Re for portfolio rollups.\nLanguages & Tools: SQL, Python, R, VBA, Alteryx (Designer and Server).\nData: Exposure schedules, shapefiles, ELTs/EDMs, event results, treaty structures.\nCloud: Azure Databricks, Azure Data Lake/Blob, Delta Lake (strongly preferred).\nQualifications\nRequired\n8+ years of progressive experience in catastrophe modeling, portfolio risk analytics, or cat-modeling-adjacent data engineering, including prior people leadership or team-lead experience managing other modeling professionals or managers.\nDeep hands-on proficiency in RMS and/or AIR Touchstone - exposure preparation, batch processing, results extraction, and interpretation of EP curves and loss tables.\nStrong SQL skills and demonstrated experience directing or building automation with Python, R, VBA, and/or Alteryx.\nTrack record of translating catastrophe model output into underwriting or portfolio management decisions.\nProven ability to lead teams through real-time catastrophe event response.\nExperience coordinating portfolio rollups and external deliverables to carriers or reinsurance partners.\nDemonstrated experience partnering cross-functionally with groups such as Capital Management, Pricing, Reserving, or Data Engineering.\nExcellent communication skills, with experience presenting technical analysis to underwriting and executive stakeholders.\nPreferred / Nice-to-Have\nExperience with Analyze Re or comparable portfolio roll-up/aggregation platforms.\nExperience with Azure Databricks, PySpark, and Delta Lake / data lakehouse patterns.\nKnowledge of reinsurance structures and portfolio risk metrics (PML, AAL, TVaR).\nFamiliarity with geospatial data handling and mapping (geopandas, shapefiles, spatial joins).\nExperience with version control (Git) and SDLC practices (branching, code review, release management).\nPrior experience leading vendor evaluations for modeling platforms, peril models, or analytics infrastructure.\nBackground in or exposure to applied research within catastrophe modeling or a related quantitative discipline.\nCore Competencies\nLeadership: Builds and develops technical teams and mentors other managers; sets clear priorities and holds a high bar for quality.\nStrategic & Analytical Thinking: Connects portfolio model output to underwriting strategy and enterprise risk appetite.\nTechnical Depth: Retains credibility with hands-on modelers and developers while operating at a leadership level.\nCross-Functional Collaboration: Builds durable partnerships with Capital Management, Pricing, Reserving, and Data Engineering.\nCommunication: Clearly conveys technical insight to underwriting, executive, and reinsurance audiences.\nExecution & Automation Mindset: Prioritizes scalable, repeatable tooling over one-off analysis.\nCuriosity & Research Orientation: Continually pushes the domain forward through new methods and advanced analytics.\nRyan Specialty is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to building and sustaining a diverse workforce throughout the organization. Ourvision is an inclusive and equitable workplace where all employees are valued for and evaluated on their performance and contributions. Differences in race, creed, color, religious beliefs, physical or mental capabilities, gender identity or expression, sexualorientation, and many other characteristics bring together varied perspectives and add value to the service we provide our clients, trading partners, and communities. Thispolicy extends to all aspects of our employment practices, including but not limited to, recruiting, hiring, discipline, firing, promoting, transferring, compensation, benefits, training, leaves of absence, and other terms, conditions, and benefits of employment.\nHow We Support Our Teammates\nRyan Specialty seeks to offer our employees a comprehensive and best-in-class benefits package that helps them - and their family members - achieve their physical, financial, and emotional well-being goals. In addition to paid time off for company holidays, vacation, sick and personal days, Ryan offers paid parental leave, mental health services and more.\nThe target salary range for this position is $116,000.00 - $145,000.00 annually.The wage range for this role considers many factors, such as training, transferable skills, work experience, licensure and certification, business needs, and market demands. The pay range is subject to change and may be modified in the future. Full-time roles are eligible for bonuses and benefits. For additional information on Ryan Specialty Total Rewards, visit our website https://benefits.ryansg.com/.\nWe provide individuals with disabilities reasonable accommodations to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment in accordance with applicable law. Please contact us to request an accommodation at \nThe above is intended to describe this job's general requirements. It is not to be construed as an exhaustive statement of duties, responsibilities, or physical requirements. Nothing in this job description restricts management's right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time. 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