James Holt

About James Holt

I am a data scientist with a passion for learning, exploring, and solving problems. I have over 4 years of industry experience and more than 8 years as a professional scientist, with three published papers and presentations at international conferences. I’m fascinated by advances in technology, data science, earth sciences, and the latest video games!I completed my Ph.D. in earthquake seismology at the University of Liverpool in 2019, followed by a postdoc at the University of Utah where I published two papers on earthquake magnitude estimation while teaching myself data science skills.In October 2021, I joined Bayer as a contractor data scientist, working on random forest models for crop-seed yield forecasting using proprietary agricultural and weather data. This was my first industry experience, where I learned to communicate with technical and non-technical stakeholders and became familiar with Agile project management.In June 2022, I became a full-time data scientist at Coyote Logistics (A UPS Company), where I maintained a live API multi-model service for truck load auction cost prediction. I led the pricing team, expanded model coverage to Canadian truck lanes (expected 20%+ revenue increase), and deployed a linear pricing model that eliminated pricing bias for rare load classes (expected 20-30% revenue improvement). I also mentored associate data scientists on software development, experimental design, and modeling best practices.In February 2024, I became a data scientist at USAA in the P&C insurance organization, working on property policy underwriting problems. In July 2025, I was promoted to Senior Data Scientist.​

Experience

1. Senior Data Scientist

   USAA

   Feb 2024 — Present · Dallas-Fort Worth, TX, US

Education

• University of Liverpool

  Bachelor's Degree, Geophysics

  2012 — 2015

• University of Liverpool

  MRes, Decision Making under Risk and Uncertainty

  2015 — 2016

• University of Liverpool

  Doctor of Philosophy - Ph.D., Geophysics and Seismology

  2016 — 2019

Skills

• Environmental Science
• Matlab
• Project Management
• Teamwork
• Seismology
• Python
• Programming
• Arcgis
• Microsoft Word
• Unix
• Geophysics
• Physics
• Microsoft Excel
• Earth Science
• Modeling
• Data Analysis
• Science
• Research
• Statistics
• Field Work
• Geological Mapping
• Numerical Analysis
• Time Management
• Data Modelling
• Linux
• Geology
• Basic Python
• Mathematical Modeling
• Microsoft Office
• University Teaching