"Data Scientist KTP Associate"

University of Salford - Research and Knowledge Exchange

Opportunity Overview

This post is a role that will develop bespoke AI-driven tools to automate motor insurance claim analysis, enhancing efficiency and accuracy. The KTP will embed advanced machine learning capabilities, reduce case turnaround times, and unlock scalable growth, transforming data handling in the UK's high-volume, fraud-prone motor insurance sector.

The position will be based at the company premises in Staffordshire, (ST18) working across departmental teams to ensure the work is embedded effectively, delivering internal training and creating documentation to support long-term adoption.

Key Responsibilities

This project presents a multifaceted challenge, offering substantial opportunities for technical, commercial, and professional development.

You will be responsible for designing and implementing bespoke AI models, capable of extracting structured data from complex, unstructured legal documents.

You will also need to manage multimodal datasets and ensure the models meet high standards of accuracy, fairness, and compliance. A key challenge will be understanding the complexity of the motor insurance industry, including the end-to-end process and navigating regulatory frameworks, requiring rapid learning and close collaboration with domain experts.

The key objectives for this KTP Project are the following:

• To gain a deep understanding of Whichrate’s business goals, systems, and manual court pack analysis processes
• Lead the requirements gathering and specification for an AI-driven claims analysis tool
• Design and implement advanced machine learning and natural language processing models
• Develop and deploy a functional Minimum Viable Product (MVP) for automated court pack analysis
• Drive user training, change management, and knowledge transfer across the business
• Support the commercialisation and continuous improvement of the AI solution

About the KTP host company

Whichrate is a specialist technology company providing data-driven services to the UK motor insurance and legal sectors. Its core business is built around a proprietary data warehouse containing over 65 million UK vehicle hire rates, spanning more than 13 years, with up to 60,000 new records added daily.

Whichrate's strategic vision is to become the UK's leading provider of intelligent, data-driven solutions for the motor insurance and legal sectors. The company aims to achieve this by embedding advanced AI capabilities into its operations, enabling scalable, efficient, and accurate handling of motor insurance claims.

What's in it for you?

• Competitive salary
• Flexible working - Position based at Whichrate's Staffordshire based offices, with visits to the University as and when required
• Professional development - You will receive extensive practical and formal training, gain highly desirable specialist business skills, broaden knowledge and expertise within an industrially relevant project, and gain valuable experience from your industry and academic mentors. You will also benefit from a dedicated Personal Development Budget of £6,000 (over and above your annual salary).

Job Description