Principal Applied Scientist

Principle Applied Scientist (all genders)
Zalando’s Customer Care Technology team is at the forefront of transforming how we serve our 50 million active customers. We build innovative products that empower customers to quickly and easily solve their issues through self-service, while also providing our 4,500 specialists with cutting-edge tools to deliver seamless, personalized support. From AI-driven automation to intelligent human interaction, our technology ecosystem makes customer care faster, smarter, and more efficient.
We’re looking for a passionate Principal Applied Scientist to play a pivotal role in this transformation. Joining our Machine Learning team in Berlin, you’ll develop state-of-the-art models in-house, harness the power of large language models, and fine-tune them to deliver impactful, real-world solutions.
INCLUSIVE BY DESIGN
WHAT WE’D LOVE YOU TO DO (AND LOVE DOING)
**Lead Applied Science Innovation**: Take ownership of driving cutting-edge AI and machine learning solutions for the Customer Care department, directly influencing the future of how we serve millions of customers.
**Solve Complex Problems**: Use your deep scientific expertise to tackle challenging business problems, developing and deploying production-level systems that have a real-world impact.
**Drive Business Value**: Leverage your understanding of both Zalando and our Customer Care organization to identify the most valuable areas for applied science to make a difference.
**Advance Research**: Conduct groundbreaking research in areas like Natural Language Processing, generative models, and other AI technologies to push the boundaries of what’s possible.
**Collaborate Across Teams**: Work closely with peers, engineering, product leaders, and other stakeholders to discover new ways to enhance customer experiences and streamline operations.
**Mentor & Inspire**: Engage with the broader Zalando Applied Science community, sharing your knowledge and expertise to mentor and guide team members, raising the bar for scientific excellence.
**Ensure Operational Excellence**: Optimize efficiency, security, and cost-effectiveness while ensuring your team’s software runs smoothly in production. Respond to production incidents and create post-mortems to continuously improve processes.
WE’D LOVE TO MEET YOU IF
**Deep Expertise in NLP and AI**: With extensive research experience in natural language processing, deep learning, and related fields, you're ready to tackle complex challenges and innovate in customer care transformation.
**Hands-on Experience with Large Language Models**: You're familiar with cutting-edge models like GPT, Vertex, Llama, and have a knack for leveraging them to build intelligent, scalable solutions.
**Architecting ML Systems at Scale**: You have deep expertise in the technical architectures of large-scale machine learning systems, with a focus on efficiency, scalability, and performance.
**Rapid Prototyping & Production**: You're skilled at quick experimentation, prototyping, and moving from proof of concept to production-ready machine learning solutions with ease.
**Coding Excellence**: You’re proficient in Python and its key libraries (pandas, numpy, matplotlib) as well as machine learning/deep learning frameworks like scikit-learn, TensorFlow, Keras, and PyTorch.
**Tech Stack Know-How**: Your hands-on experience with Docker, Git, AWS or other cloud providers, SQL, and Databricks means you’re ready to deploy solutions efficiently and securely.
**Attention to Code Quality**: You write high-performance, reusable code with a focus on robustness and testing, ensuring your solutions stand the test of time.
**Clear Communicator**: You excel at explaining complex technical concepts, benefits, and impact to both technical and non-technical stakeholders, ensuring alignment and buy-in across the board.
**Collaborative & Engaged**: You thrive in team environments, actively contributing to applied science communities and sharing your expertise through presentations and discussions, while also mentoring others.
If this role excites you, we encourage you to apply—even if you don't meet every single qualification. You might be the perfect fit for this position or another opportunity
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
Family services, including counseling and support
Health and wellbeing options (including Gympass)
Mental health support and coaching available