The Senior Hazards Scientist leads Mercury’s evolving understanding of extreme weather and climate-related catastrophe risk. This role applies scientific research to support pricing, underwriting, and reinsurance strategy for perils such as wildfires, urban conflagrations, fire-following earthquakes, severe convective storms, and hurricanes. Working as part of a multidisciplinary team, the Sr. Hazards Scientist receives strategic direction then independently defines and manages individual projects that translate cutting-edge science into insurance-relevant tools, models, and insights.

State specific pay scales for this role are as follows:

$105,245 to $199,452 (CA, NJ, NY, WA, HI, AK, MD, CT, RI, MA)

$86,110 to $181,320 (NV, OR, AZ, CO, WY, TX, ND, MN, MO, IL, WI, FL, GA, MI, OH, VA, PA, DE, VT, NH, ME)

$103,332 to $163,188 (UT, ID, MT, NM, SD, NE, KS, OK, IA, AR, LA, MS, AL, TN, KY, IN, SC, NC, WV)

The expected base salary for this position will vary depending on a number of factors, including relevant experience, skills and location.

Essential Job Functions: 

• Lead and independently contribute to original research and synthesize findings from the broader scientific community on the physical drivers of natural catastrophes, including their climate variability, long-term trends, and spatial patterns across Mercury’s footprint.

• Partner with catastrophe scientists and lead risk assessments using both third-party platforms (e.g., Verisk-AIR, Moody’s-RM, KCC, etc.) and by developing proprietary models to improve loss assumptions and hazard views.

• Lead and independently contribute to the development of scientific datasets, event catalogs, and physical hazard frameworks tailored to insurance and reinsurance applications.

• Lead and independently contribute to the analysis of extreme weather and climate datasets to produce climate-conditioned views of risk and forward-looking hazard projections.

• Lead technical validation of vendor risk scores and support internal benchmarking efforts using policy-data, claims, and other proprietary datasets.

• Lead cross-functional collaboration with Actuarial, Product, Underwriting, and R&D teams to ensure scientific rigor in pricing and capital allocation decisions.

• Drive internal education, white papers, and occasional public-facing insights to strengthen Mercury’s position as a leader in climate and catastrophe science.

• Lead and develop reports, presentations, and data visualizations to effectively communicate findings to technical and non-technical teammates.

• Lead and develop real-time risk analytics and detailed loss estimates to assess event impact.

• Lead the refinement of model assumptions by testing adjustments to event frequency, vulnerability curves, and loss scaling to incorporate proprietary insights and market expertise.

• Remain at the forefront of scientific advancements in event simulation, hazard characterization, and high-resolution modeling of natural perils.

• Represent Mercury in external research collaborations, industry working groups, and technical forums.

Minimum Education: Ph.D. or equivalent combination of education and experience is required with an emphasis in natural or physical sciences such as meteorology, atmospheric science, environmental science, earth systems science, oceanography, climate science, applied physics, applied mathematics, engineering, remote sensing, geoscience, hydrology, geophysics, computer science, or a closely related discipline.

Preferred Education: Ph.D. with an emphasis in natural sciences and a concentration in wildfire, severe convective storms, and/or tropical cyclones.

Experience:

Minimum Experience: At least 3-years of experience + Ph.D. or equivalent combination of education and experience

Preferred Experience: At least 8-Years of experience + Ph.D. or equivalent combination of education and experience.

Skills & Abilities:

Minimum:

· Technical background quantifying the probability, severity, and spatial characteristics of extreme weather and climate-related events.

· Experience working with large-scale weather, climate and hazard datasets (e.g., ERA5, NARR, HRRR, HAZUS, MTBS, FPA-FOD, LANDFIRE, GRIDMET, MODIS, NCEI Storm Events Database, SPC Storm Reports, CMIP6, LOCA, CORDEX, IBTrACS, NEXRAD, MRMS, SLOSH, HURDAT2) to analyze physical drivers of risk.

· Experience with statistical modeling, machine learning, or downscaling methods applied to natural hazards or climate risk.

· Knowledge of extreme weather perils such as wildfire, severe convective storms, and hurricanes and familiarity with associated event simulation techniques.

· Programming and data analysis skills using tools such as Python, R, or similar and experience with geospatial libraries and data pipelines.

· Clear and concise communication skills, with proven ability to collaborate effectively across interdisciplinary teams and engage with both technical and business stakeholders.

· Highly motivated and driven individual with excellent critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

· Proactive mindset capable of driving research and directing multiple project streams with competing priorities and delivering high-quality outputs independently.

· Demonstrated passion to contribute to a growing scientific capability within a primary insurance context and engaging in cross-sector collaboration with academia, vendors, and the re/insurance market.

· Ongoing learning on the latest scientific research, modeling techniques, and industry trends.

· Collaboration is key; partner with Actuaries, Research and Development, State Product Management, Underwriting, and other stakeholders to translate catastrophe risk assessments into effective business decisions.

Preferred:

· Experience working within an insurance, reinsurance, catastrophe modeling firm, consulting firm, or similar environment.

· Experience translating complex scientific findings into actionable insights for use in pricing, underwriting, exposure management, and reinsurance decisions.

· Experience with catastrophe modeling platforms (e.g., Verisk-AIR, Moody’s-RMS, KCC, etc), with ability to interpret and critique hazard and vulnerability assumptions.

· Experience developing or refining hazard footprints, stochastic event sets, or scenario-based views of risk for insurance applications.

Why choose a career at Mercury?

At Mercury, we have been guided by our purpose to help people reduce risk and overcome unexpected events for more than 60 years. We are one team with a common goal to help others. Everyone needs insurance and we can’t imagine a world without it.

Our team will encourage you to grow, make time to have fun, and work together to make great things happen. We embrace the strengths and values of each team member. We believe in having diverse perspectives where everyone is included, to serve customers from all walks of life.

We care about our people, and we mean it. We reward our talented professionals with a competitive salary, bonus potential, and a variety of benefits to help our team members reach their health, retirement, and professional goals.

Learn more about us here: https://www.mercuryinsurance.com/about/careers

We offer many great benefits, including:

• Competitive compensation
• Flexibility to work from anywhere in the United States for most positions
• Paid time off (vacation time, sick time, 9 paid Company holidays, volunteer hours)
• Incentive bonus programs (potential for holiday bonus, referral bonus, and performance-based bonus)
• Medical, dental, vision, life, and pet insurance
• 401 (k) retirement savings plan with company match
• Engaging work environment
• Promotional opportunities
• Education assistance
• Professional and personal development opportunities
• Company recognition program
• Health and wellbeing resources, including free mental wellbeing therapy/coaching sessions, child and eldercare resources, and more

Mercury Insurance is an equal opportunity employer.  All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.