Principal Applied Scientist - Agentic Systems (all genders) Applied Science & Research Zurich

THE ROLE & THE TEAM

Agentic Systems is building Zalando Assistant, our own agentic fashion assistant, with the goal of making it the starting point for fashion. We combine state-of-the-art machine learning (including GenAI/LLMs, agentic systems, personalization, and neural search) with Zalando’s catalog, data, and fashion expertise to deliver an experience that inspires customers in a new way.

The team has grown, and we’re looking for a Principal Applied Scientist to lead research-related projects and raise our best practices. You will take on the hardest scientific problems in the product, set technical direction across teams, and work with a group of exceptional scientists and engineers to build machine learning products that improve the experience of millions of customers.

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

• Lead research projects end to end, from problem framing and approach to experimentation, production deployment, and monitoring. Shape the science stack for Zalando Assistant so that it aligns with product strategy, and drive architectural and design principles across teams.
• Define and drive the scientific roadmap for complex fashion and agentic-assistant challenges, ensuring we apply state-of-the-art solutions where they create customer value. Contribute to our scientific standing through internal peer reviews and, where appropriate, external publications at top-tier conferences and journals.
• Raise the bar for how the team works: set best practices in experimentation, evaluation, and statistical rigor, and make sure results reflect real improvements rather than noise.
• Mentor scientists across the team, review their technical work, and share knowledge with Zalando’s wider science community.
• Partner closely with applied science leaders, engineering, and product managers to deliver machine learning solutions to our customers and uncover new opportunities for growth.

WE’D LOVE TO MEET YOU IF

• PhD in NLP, deep learning, search & recommendation, or a related field (or equivalent experience), 10+ years of industry experience, including leading research or applied science work at scale.
• Experience in developing long-term research roadmaps and applying scientific methods to tackle research problems. A strong inclination to collaborate with product, science, and engineering managers and solve business problems through scientific solutions.
• Extensive track record of addressing large-scale real-world problems using machine learning throughout the entire product cycle, encompassing problem analysis, data processing, literature review, production deployment, monitoring, and maintenance. 
• Strong publication records at top-tier venues such as SIGIR, KDD, WWW, ICLR, NeurIPS, ICML, JMLR, etc.
• Extensive hands-on experience in deep learning with proficiency in Python and frameworks like PyTorch or TensorFlow.

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.

• 27 days of holiday a year to start for full-time employees (+1 day for every calendar year up to 30 days)
• 40% off fashion and beauty products sold and shipped by Zalando, 30% off Lounge by Zalando, discounts from external partners
• Family support, including counselling and dedicated services for parents and carers
• Company pension scheme
• Employee shares programme
• Health and wellbeing options, including Wellhub & SportAbo in Zurich)
• Swiss SBB Halbtax (half-fare card)
• Mental health support and coaching
• Development through our training platform and biannual peer-to-peer review
• 2 paid volunteering days a year
• Relocation assistance (subject to prior agreement)

INCLUSIVE BY DESIGN

If you think you have what it takes, we encourage you to apply even if you don't meet every single requirement. You may just be the right candidate for this or other roles!

At Zalando, our vision is to be the leading European technology platform for fashion and lifestyle – one that thrives on diversity and is truly inclusive by design. We believe that diverse teams fuel innovation and creativity, and we actively seek out talent from all backgrounds.

We actively seek to reduce bias in our hiring and employment processes, focusing on your qualifications, skills, and contributions. To support this, we kindly ask that you refrain from including personal details such as your photo, age, or marital status in your CV, ensuring a fair and equitable evaluation based solely on your abilities and potential.

We are committed to providing an exceptional and accessible candidate experience for everyone. If you require any accommodations to support you throughout the hiring process, please let us know – we are here to assist you.

Discover more about our commitment to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace: https://jobs.zalando.com/en/our-culture/diversity-and-inclusion

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Bewerben Über Zalando

Zalando wurde 2008 in Berlin gegründet und ist die führende europäische Technologieplattform für Mode und Lifestyle. Wir verbinden 62 Millionen aktive Kund*innen mit mehr als 7.000 Marken in 29 Märkten. Unser Geschäft basiert auf einer einzigartigen, KI-gestützten Daten- und Infrastrukturplattform. Für unsere Kund*innen bietet unser Multi-App-Ansatz – bestehend aus Zalando, ABOUT YOU und Lounge by Zalando – ein inspirierendes, hochgradig personalisiertes Einkaufserlebnis. Für unsere Partner bauen wir das Betriebssystem für den E-Commerce. Über ZEOS, Tradebyte und SCAYLE öffnen wir unsere Logistik-, Software- und Servicekapazitäten für Marken und Einzelhändler*innen zur nahtlosen, grenzüberschreitenden Skalierung ihres Geschäfts.

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