Head of Applied Science - NLP, CV, IR

Key Skills

Computer Vision (CV), HTML, JavaScript, Large Language Models - LLMs, Natural Language Processing (NLP), NeurIPS

Job Description

The Zalando eCommerce Platform Sciences team assists customers in their fashion discovery journey and helps them find what they are looking for across Zalando. We are developing the next generation of our discovery systems, utilizing state-of-the-art methods in natural language processing (NLP), computer vision (CV), and information retrieval (IR), including generative and large language models (LLMs).

As a Head of Applied Science, you will lead an area where you will guide a team of exceptional scientists and engineers to develop models and cutting-edge products (in Deep Learning, especially in NLP, CV, and IR) that enhance the experience of over 51 million customers. You will partner with your Product counterparts to define and deliver new ways to discover fashion products across all Zalando experiences.

INCLUSIVE BY DESIGN

At Zalando, our vision is to be inclusive by design. And this vision starts with our hiring - we do not discriminate on the basis of gender identity, sexual orientation, personal expression, ethnicity, religious belief, or disability status. You are welcome to leave out your picture, age, or marital status from your application. We only assess candidates on their qualifications and merit. ​

We want to provide you with a great candidate experience. Feel free to inform us of any accommodations you may need, so we can best support you throughout the hiring process.

do.BETTER - our diversity & inclusion strategy: https://corporate.zalando.com/en/our-impact/dobetter-our-diversity-and-inclusion-strategy

Our employee resource groups: https://corporate.zalando.com/en/our-impact/our-employee-resource-groups

WHAT WE'D LOVE YOU TO DO (AND LOVE DOING)

Lead teams of talented scientists to deliver customer impact in the area of discovery to support customers in finding relevant content and contributing to our scientific endeavors, including publications in top-tier journals and conferences.

Accountable for the long-term architectural roadmap, raising the bar for the teams and holding regular design reviews for critical projects. Support the team by reducing ambiguity by making scope limiting decisions and work with product and other stakeholders to create value and drive game changing projects.

Utilize your extensive scientific experience in leading teams in researching, deploying, and architecting machine learning and deep learning solutions in NLP, CV and IR to enhance the discovery journey of millions of our customers.

Act as a sponsor for critical initiatives at the business unit or company level, raise the bar in your teams and lead prioritization, as well as measure progress and impact with KPIs. Collaborate with multiple teams and job families to create a cutting-edge science stack that aligns with the product strategy and drive architectural and design principles.

Manage and coach principal and senior scientists, foster collaboration with other teams, and actively share knowledge and expertise within Zalando’s science community.

WE'D LOVE TO MEET YOU IF...

• PhD in NLP, CV, IR, machine learning, or related fields (or equivalent experience), accompanied by 8+ years of industry experience, especially deep learning based NLP, CV and/or IR methods, of those 4+ years in people management and leading technical work.
• In addition to the scientific depth and research track, you must possess exceptional research management and communication skills, and above all, be a strong people leader who understands how to effectively manage and coach an applied science team.
• Extensive track record of leading teams to solve large-scale real-world problems using machine learning throughout the entire product cycle, creating customer impact. Extensive experience in collaborating with product, science, and engineering managers and solving business problems through scientific solutions.
• Experience in developing long-term research roadmaps and applying scientific methods to tackle research problems. Strong publication records at top-tier venues such as ACL, CVPR, SIGIR, ICLR, NeurIPS, ICML, JMLR, PAMI, etc.
• Experience in Python and deep learning frameworks such as PyTorch or TensorFlow. Familiarity with LLMs and proficiency in cloud computing platforms such as AWS is also desired.

OUR OFFER

Zalando provides a range of benefits, here’s an overview of what you can expect. Ask your Talent Acquisition Partner to learn more about what we offer.

• Employee shares program

• 40% off fashion and beauty products sold and shipped by Zalando, 30% off Zalando Lounge, discounts from external partners

• 2 paid volunteering days a year

• Hybrid working model with 60% (or more) remote per week, actual practice is up to each team to best support their collaboration

• Work from abroad for up to 30 working days a year

• 27 days of vacation a year to start

• Relocation assistance available (subject to prior agreement)

• Family services, including counseling and support

• Health and wellbeing options (including Gympass)

• Mental health support and coaching available