As one of our Principal Applied Scientists (AI and Machine Learning), you drive our scientific roadmap to create the next generation of risk management and fraud detection systems and devise new AI-based solutions along the whole value chain of Zalando Payments. You work closely with 10-20 applied scientists across several cross-functional teams and drive research & development initiatives. You raise the bar for scientific work and documentation and co-organize the applied science guild. As part of the leadership team, you work on eye-level with our Team Leads, Principal Engineers and Principal Product Managers. You act as direct contact for internal and external stakeholders, incl. upper management and translate their requirements into actionable R&D initiatives. WHAT WE’D LOVE YOU TO DO (AND LOVE DOING) Bring synergies among various ML products we have in the department, while ensuring the solutions we build address the most important customer problems. Work closely with team leads, product managers, applied scientists and engineers to identify areas of opportunity and resource requirements to deliver impactful projects. Lead research-related solution designs of high stakes projects. When developing a model, you draw from the simplest tricks to the latest research papers to improve model performance, and know how to implement them in an elegant, stable and scalable way. Bring in your hands-on experience in developing and deploying machine learning algorithms and pipelines. Support our teams during the complete research and development cycle, from data collection and architecture design to testing, implementation and maintenance. Mentor and train other Applied Scientists. Contribute to the wider Applied Science community at Zalando by sharing knowledge and developing best practices. WE'D LOVE TO MEET YOU IF You enjoy finding solutions to (new) complex problems and don’t mind getting your hands dirty (with pen and paper or in your IDE of choice). Masters or PhD in Computer Science, Mathematics, Statistics or similar quantitative fields. 5 years of industry experience with a strong command of Python, Machine Learning related libraries such as PyTorch, pandas, scikit-learn, TensorFlow, and big data frameworks such as Spark. Industry experience within Payments or Fraud detection is desirable. Profound understanding of statistics and machine learning from simple linear models to neural networks (e.g., LSTM, Transformers), including solid theoretical/mathematical foundations and a good experience about what works in practice. You possess excellent communication skills and you use them to move the teams forward. You can present your ideas with clarity, verbally and in writing and facilitate decision making in a timely manner. 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 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 Drive your development through our training platform and biannual peer-to-peer review Learn all about Zalando and our values here: https://jobs.zalando.com/en/?gh_src22377bdd1us Please note that all applications must be completed using the online form - we do not accept applications via email.