Head of Applied Science & Engineering - Search
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Overview
Join Growth Content Creator as the Head of Applied Science & Engineering to lead the scientific strategy for Search on Europe's largest fashion platform, leveraging AI and machine learning to enhance product discovery. We are looking for a Head of Applied Science to lead the scientific strategy and execution for Search across Europe’s largest fashion & lifestyle platform. This leader will 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.
WHAT WE'D LOVE YOU TO DO
- •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.
OUR OFFER
- •27 days of holiday a year to start for full-time employees
- •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 (subject to prior agreement)
- •Family services, including counseling and support
- •Health and wellbeing options (including Wellhub, formerly Gympass)
- •Mental health support and coaching available
- •Drive your development through our training platform and biannual peer-to-peer review
WE'D LOVE TO MEET YOU IF YOU BRING..
- •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.