Head of Applied Science & Engineering - Ranking

Zalando
Anywhere
Workplace: OnsiteFull timeFunction: Administration & Executive AssistanceSkills: ["Scientific rigor","Mentorship","Stakeholder management","Strategic thinking","Cross-functional collaboration"]

Lead the scientific strategy and execution behind Ranking across Zalando’s discovery surfaces. Define the long-term vision for relevance and visibility, driving impact for millions of customers through machine learning, AI, and experimentation. Build and scale a team of applied scientists, partner across Product, Engineering, Analytics, and Design, and advance model governance, offline/online evaluation, and large-scale production ranking systems aligned to business and marketplace health.

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Zalando
Zalando
4 hours ago

Head of Applied Science & Engineering - Ranking

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Last checked: 4 hours agoStatus: Live

Job Summary

Lead the scientific strategy and execution behind Ranking across Zalando’s discovery surfaces. Define the long-term vision for relevance and visibility, driving impact for millions of customers through machine learning, AI, and experimentation. Build and scale a team of applied scientists, partner across Product, Engineering, Analytics, and Design, and advance model governance, offline/online evaluation, and large-scale production ranking systems aligned to business and marketplace health.
Location: Anywhere
Workplace: Onsite
Employment Type: Full time
Job Function: Administration & Executive Assistance
Seniority: Sr. Director level

Key Responsibilities

  • •Define and drive the long-term Applied Science strategy and roadmap investment aligned to customer needs and business priorities.
  • •Lead development of advanced ML models for retrieval, ranking, and personalization to improve discovery and product ranking.
  • •Build, inspire, and manage a high-performing team of applied scientists, fostering rigor, mentorship, and continuous learning.
  • •Optimize for business outcomes by balancing relevance, diversity, monetization, and operational efficiency.
  • •Establish and scale best practices for model governance, offline evaluation, online experimentation, and standardized scientific methods across teams.

Pay and Benefits

Equity and Bonus:Equity
Perks:HolidayVolunteering DaysEquityRelocationFamily ServicesHealth InsuranceWellness StipendLearning Budget

Key Requirements

  • •Proven experience leading high-performing Applied Science or Machine Learning organizations with measurable business impact.
  • •Define technical vision and deliver outcomes through AI and machine learning across strategic and execution horizons.
  • •Deep expertise in ML for ranking and recommender systems, including learning-to-rank and personalization.
  • •Strong experimentation and evaluation background, including causal inference, statistical modeling, and online/offline methodologies.
  • •Experience deploying and operating large-scale ranking systems in production, translating customer problems into scientific solutions.
Skills:Scientific rigorMentorshipStakeholder managementStrategic thinkingCross-functional collaboration
Tech Stack:Machine learningAIRetrievalRankingPersonalizationRecommender systemsLearning-to-rankExperimentationCausal inferenceStatistical modelingEvaluation methodologiesOnline experimentationOffline evaluationModel governanceData infrastructureScalable machine learning platforms

Company Brief

Zalando
Zalando operates a leading European online marketplace for fashion and lifestyle products, offering clothing, shoes and accessories from international brands and local labels, plus logistics and marketing services to partner brands and retailers.
Industry: Online Marketplaces
Company Size: Enterprise (1,001+ employees)
Revenue: USD 1B+
Growth: Public Company
Valuation: Public Company (Market Cap in USD)
Funding: IPO / Publicly Listed
Headquarters: Berlin, Germany
Founded: 2008
WebsiteLinkedIn