Research Scientist

Chelsea Avondale is the world’s most cutting edge home insurance group. We have developed the most sophisticated risk modelling and platform technologies for home insurance and deploy that technology through our own insurance company.

Our team consists of some of the brightest minds in scientific risk modelling, systems engineering, and insurance. Our operations include our scientific research & engineering division (Skynet Software) and Canadian property & casualty insurance company (Max Insurance).

Together, our group is working to transform the Canadian and global insurance landscape.

This role will be joining the cornerstone of our organization - our engineering division, Skynet Software.

What you’ll do in this role

• Work with an established team of scientists and engineers from diverse modelling and research backgrounds.
• Build and compose complex physics-based models of severe natural hazards like wildfire, flood and windstorm, run them on high-performance computing systems, and apply your own judgment to evaluate the results.
• Leverage the latest frontier AI models to assist with learning, understanding, building and validating.
• Own the development cycle from data cleaning and exploratory analysis through implementation, calibration and validation, including benchmarking against historical events.
• Critically evaluate scientific literature, using AI to support discovery and synthesis while verifying sources, and engage industry experts to solve specific research problems.
• Develop modular, maintainable scientific code in Python, using AI coding tools for development, testing and documentation.
• Curate and augment datasets such as satellite imagery, geospatial data and weather observations, maintaining statistical credibility.
• Assess model outputs across time and space using GIS tools.
• Manage individual project priorities, deadlines and deliverables.

Required experience and skills

• At minimum an undergraduate degree in Applied Mathematics, Physics or a related quantitative discipline.
• Essential: practical experience with AI tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, DeepSeek, Gemini, Qwen, GLM or Grok, including familiarity with concepts like context, agents, skills. You must have used these tools for building and orchestrating complex projects.
• Demonstrated AI experience in coding, literature review and building — in particular, using AI to help construct and compose complex physics-based models on high-performance computing systems, then applying your own scientific judgment to evaluate them.
• Experience writing high-performance scientific code in Python.
• Broad knowledge of mathematical modelling, numerical solutions to differential equations, optimization, uncertainty quantification and Monte Carlo simulation.
• Experience with statistical evaluation of large, multidimensional datasets.
• Experience with geospatial data, including remote sensing products and GIS tools.
• Experience designing and running numerical experiments in geophysical or environmental applications.
• Responsive, clear communicator, able to explain methods and results to colleagues and stakeholders.

Skynet Software welcomes and encourages applications from people with disabilities. Accommodations are available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process.