Senior Principal Applied Scientist - Ranking and Recommendations (all genders)

Zalando
Anywhere
Workplace: OnsiteFull timeFunction: Research & Scientific (R&D)Experience: 8+ yearsEducation: phdSkills: ["Leadership","Mentorship","Collaboration","Problem-solving","Strategic advisory"]

Build and optimize Zalando’s next-generation ranking and recommendation systems to improve fashion discovery and personalization across the customer journey. Lead research and production delivery of deep learning, recommender systems, and multi-objective optimization, working with scientists, engineers, and product partners. Own long-term roadmaps, advise senior leadership on scientific investments and decisions, and mentor senior and principal scientists while advancing the science stack for millions of customers.

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Zalando
Zalando
19 hours ago

Senior Principal Applied Scientist - Ranking and Recommendations (all genders)

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Last checked: 19 hours agoStatus: Live

Job Summary

Build and optimize Zalando’s next-generation ranking and recommendation systems to improve fashion discovery and personalization across the customer journey. Lead research and production delivery of deep learning, recommender systems, and multi-objective optimization, working with scientists, engineers, and product partners. Own long-term roadmaps, advise senior leadership on scientific investments and decisions, and mentor senior and principal scientists while advancing the science stack for millions of customers.
Location: Anywhere
Workplace: Onsite
Employment Type: Full time
Job Function: Research & Scientific (R&D)
Seniority: Mid level

Key Responsibilities

  • •Research, deploy, and architect deep learning and recommender systems (including multi-objective optimization) to enhance ranking and recommendations for the Zalando customer journey.
  • •Drive architectural and design principles by collaborating with multiple teams to build a science stack aligned to product strategy.
  • •Develop long-term roadmaps across research topics spanning multiple product areas and translate them into concrete business goals.
  • •Serve as a leadership team sparring partner and trusted advisor to senior leadership on investments, strategic direction, and make-or-buy decisions.
  • •Mentor senior and principal scientists, share knowledge within the science community, and deliver large, high-uncertainty delivery projects in production.

Pay and Benefits

Perks:RelocationEquityFlexible HoursPaid HolidaysFree BeveragesFruits

Key Requirements

  • •PhD in Machine Learning and AI (or equivalent experience) with 8+ years of industry experience in deep learning and sequential decision-making.
  • •Expertise in deep learning with multi-armed bandits and/or large-scale sequential decision-making for personalization, ranking, or recommendations.
  • •Experience leading and shaping research roadmaps across multiple product areas and collaborating with senior applied science leaders.
  • •Proven track record applying ML across the product lifecycle, including architecture, design patterns, and research roadmaps.
  • •Hands-on experience in Python and deep learning frameworks (PyTorch or TensorFlow) for RL implementations, plus cloud proficiency (AWS).
Experience:8+ years
Education:PhD / Doctorate in Machine Learning and AI
Skills:LeadershipMentorshipCollaborationProblem-solvingStrategic advisory
Tech Stack:PythonPyTorchTensorFlowAWSDeep LearningRecommender SystemsMulti-objective OptimizationMulti-armed banditsReinforcement Learning (RL)

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