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About the Role

Lead the scientific strategy and execution for Search across Europe’s largest fashion & lifestyle platform. Define the long-term vision for Search relevance and discovery, leveraging machine learning, AI, and experimentation to help millions of customers find the right products quickly and confidently. Lead a team of managers, and principal applied Scientists & engineers responsible for developing and deploying state-of-the-art query understanding, retrieval, and ranking models for Search. Shape the future of Search by balancing customer experience, business outcomes, and scientific innovation.

Responsibilities

Define and drive the long-term Applied Science strategy, aligning roadmap investments with customer needs and business priorities.
Lead the development of advanced ML models for query understanding, retrieval, ranking, and personalization to improve Search relevance.
Build and inspire high-performing teams of Applied Scientists and ML engineers, fostering a culture of scientific rigor, mentorship, and continuous learning.
Optimize for business outcomes by balancing relevance, diversity, monetization, and operational efficiency.
Accelerate innovation by investing in scalable machine learning platforms, data infrastructure, and experimentation frameworks.
Establish best practices for model governance, offline evaluation, online experimentation, and standardized scientific methods across teams.
Drive adoption of emerging AI/ML techniques, ensuring the organization stays at the forefront of technological advancements.
Collaborate cross-functionally with Product, Engineering, UX, and leadership to define priorities and influence the broader organizational strategy.

Requirements

Proven experience leading high-performing Applied Science or Machine Learning organizations.
Track record of defining technical vision and delivering business impact through AI and machine learning.
Ability to attract, develop, and retain exceptional scientific talent.
Deep expertise in machine learning, information retrieval, learning-to-rank, NLP, or related disciplines.
Strong understanding of experimentation, causal inference, statistical modeling, and evaluation methodologies.
Experience deploying and operating large-scale machine learning systems in production.
Demonstrated ability to translate customer problems into scientific solutions that deliver measurable business impact.
Experience balancing customer experience, operational considerations, and commercial objectives.
Strong strategic thinking with the ability to prioritize long-term investments alongside near-term delivery.
Exceptional communication and stakeholder management skills.
Experience leading complex, cross-functional initiatives across engineering, product, analytics, and business teams.
Ability to influence senior leadership through data, scientific reasoning, and clear communication.

Skills

Machine learning
Information retrieval
Learning-to-rank
NLP
Experimentation
Causal inference
Statistical modeling
Evaluation methodologies
AI
ML platforms
Data infrastructure
Experimentation frameworks
Model governance
Offline evaluation
Online experimentation
Scientific methods

Location

Europe

Work Type

Full-time

Experience Level

Leadership experience

Benefits

27 days of holiday a year
2 paid volunteering days a year
Employee shares program
40% off fashion and beauty products sold and shipped by Zalando
30% off Lounge by Zalando
Discounts from external partners
Relocation assistance available
Family services
Health and wellbeing options
Mental health support and coaching
Training platform
Biannual peer-to-peer review

About the Company

Zalando's vision is to be the leading pan-European ecosystem for fashion and lifestyle e-commerce – one that thrives on diversity and is truly inclusive by design.
Diverse teams fuel innovation and creativity.
Actively seek out talent from all backgrounds.

Equal Opportunity

Inclusive by design
Encourage applications even if you don't meet every single requirement.
Actively seek to reduce bias in hiring and employment processes, focusing on qualifications, skills, and contributions.
Refrain from including personal details such as photo, age, or marital status in CV.
Committed to providing an exceptional and accessible candidate experience.
Provide accommodations to support throughout the hiring process.