ABOUT DESCARTES UNDERWRITING

Descartes was born out of the conviction that the ever-increasing complexity of risks faced by corporations, governments and vulnerable communities calls for a renewed approach in insurance. Our team brings together industry veterans from the most renowned institutions (AXA, SCOR, Swiss Re, Marsh, Aon, ...) and scientists on top of their field to bring underwriting excellence. After 5 years of existence, Descartes has secured a leading position in parametric insurance for weather and climate-related risks utilizing machine learning, real-time monitoring from satellite imagery & IoT. After a successful Series B raise of $120M USD, we launched Descartes Insurance, a 'full stack' insurer licensed to underwrite risk by the French regulator ACPR. With a growing corporate client base (350+ and counting), our diverse team is headquartered in Paris and operates out of our 13 global offices in North America, Europe, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan. Descartes is trusted by a panel of A-rated (re)insurers to carry out its activities.

ABOUT YOUR ROLE

Due to our consistent growth, we are seeking to expand our Data, Software and DevOps team. At the core of our company, your missions will focus on:

• Testing and refactoring code already used in existing project;
• Introducing object oriented patterns in functional code;
• Harmonizing data structures to streamline computation pipelines;
• Time profiling and optimizing python code;
• Implementing and testing scientific models.

🔔 KEY MISSIONS 🔔

• Develop, optimize and update software for:
  • Calculation of risk models;
  • Data collection, preparation and visualization;
  • Export of outputs adapted to users;
  • Testing and validation of existing solutions;
  • Monitoring of contracts and associated data.

• Support, test and correct the tools of:
  • Continuous integration and continuous development (CI/CD);
  • Data storage;
  • Version management of scrips, codes, languages and computer systems;
  • Modularization and containerization of IT solutions;
  • Connection to external and internal API’s.

• To participate in:
  • The assessment and definition of user needs;
  • Modeling the risks of underlying contracts;
  • The choice of technical solutions;
  • Discussions with IT partners;
  • Improving the skills of technical staff;
  • Managing the access and rights of users of internal tools.

TECH STACK 🖥️

• Cloud provider: GCP
• Code versioning tool: Git + Gitlab
• OS: Linux
• Code base: Python

ABOUT YOU 

EXPERIENCE & QUALIFICATIONS 💻🖥️

[Hard skills]

• Solid knowledge in one of the following languages python, C/C++ or java;
• Good knowledge in python;
• Solid scientific background:
  - Master in computer science, mathematics, physics, climate science;
  - Contact with scientific domain (e.g. robotic, physics engine in video game, data science).
• Production with Docker;
• Experience in TDD;
• Good knowledge in English and fluency in French;
• Familiar with production development workflow (code reviews, fast forward git policy).
  

[Soft skills]

• Contribute to a rigorous data engineering culture;
• Ability to understand break epic track in achievable issues;
• Excellent communication skills, in both formal and informal settings, and in English and French;
• Mentoring junior engineers.
  

[Nice-to-have]

• Experience working with public API with python;
• Experience optimizing and profiling python code;
• Experience in a microservices architecture;
• Experience in HPC;
• Contribution to an open source project.

MINDSET 💥

• Strong interest in climate issues (it’s not a hoax, many people suffer from it)
• Being comfortable to work alongside corporate insurers (some still wear suits 👔)
• You enjoy CI/CD automation (or at least appreciate the elegance of a well-crafted pipeline)
• Willingness to help junior developers (remember how you were when you started 💬)
• Strong team spirit and ability to work (you’ll have to review code and have your code reviewed)
• Rigorous, creative and meticulous mind (we handle large insurance, we take our time)
• Strong desire to learn (there’s no limitation to the tech used, we’re happy to test and learn new tools)
• Eagerness to work in a multi-cultural environment (policies and teams are from all around the world 🗺️)
  
  

WHY JOIN DESCARTES UNDERWRITING?

• Opportunity to work and learn with teams from the most prestigious schools and research labs in the world, allowing you to progress towards technical excellence;
• Commitment from Descartes to its staff of continued learning and development (think annual seminars, training etc.);
• Work in a collaborative & professional environment;
• Be part of a dynamic international team, passionate about diversity;
• Join a company with a true purpose – help us help our clients be more resilient towards climate risks;
• A competitive salary, bonus and benefits;
• You can benefit from a punctual home office days

At Descartes Underwriting, we cherish value of diversity whatever it may be. We are committed to fighting against all forms of discrimination and for equal opportunities. We foster an inclusive work environment that respects all differences.

With equal skills, all our positions are open to people with disabilities.

RECRUITMENT PROCESS

• Step 1: Call and HR Interview with our Talent Recruiter
• Step 2: Technical project submitted via GitHub
• Step 3: Technical interview
• Step 4: Manager interview
• Step 5: Final round interview with the team
  (Candidates can opt to have the manager interview before the technical project and interview)