Senior Principal Applied Scientist (all genders)

Zalando GmbH; Zürich; On-site; CHF 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employee shares program

40% off fashion and beauty products

2 paid volunteering days a year

Hybrid work model with up to 60%remote

Work from abroad for up to 30 days

25 days vacation

Health and wellbeing options

Swiss SBB Halbtax

Mental health support

Training platform and peer reviews

Job summary

Zalando invites a Sr. Principal Applied Scientist to lead the Size & Fit research initiative, applying GenAI, diffusion models, 3D try-on, and advanced computer vision across a dataset serving millions of customers.

You will mentor scientists, publish in top venues, and collaborate with Product, Design, and Engineering to ensure scalable, reliable ML systems with strong MLOps discipline.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Computer Vision, AI, or related field with 5+ years post‑doctoral experience.
• Extensive track record leading large-scale ML applications through full product lifecycle.
• Deep hands-on expertise in AI/ML model building and deployment with Python and PyTorch.
• Specialized domain depth in 3D computer vision, GenAI, diffusion models, NeRFs, and 3D reconstruction.
• Fluent English with strong communication to technical and leadership audiences.
• Mentorship of junior and senior scientists.
• Strong publication record in CVPR, ICCV, ECCV, NeurIPS, ICML, PAMI, IJCV.

Responsibilities

• Lead & empower in Computer Vision and Machine Learning and foster peer-review culture.
• Collaborate with Product Management and Design to translate goals into technical roadmaps.
• Advance research with GANs, diffusion models, GenAI, and related AI/ML techniques.
• Ensure durable, repeatable MLOps and high system reliability.
• Mentor and develop junior and senior team members.
• Own end-to-end ML applications from problem framing to deployment and monitoring.
• Demonstrate technical mastery in model building and rapid prototyping.
• Bring deep domain depth in 3D CV and scalable AI/ML solutions.
• Communicate clearly with technical peers and senior leadership.
• Promote research excellence through publications.

Skills

Computer Vision

Machine Learning

GenAI

3D Vision

Python

PyTorch

ML Deployment

MLOps

Research Leadership

Publications

Education

Ph.D. in Computer Science / ML / CV / AI

Tools

Python

PyTorch

ML Frameworks

Job description

The Role & The Team

The Size and Fit team is tackling one of the key challenges in the fashion industry: helping online customers confidently find what they love and decide on the right size and fit of clothes and shoes they buy. By doing so, we directly improve customer satisfaction, reduce returns, and drive sustainable, profitable growth. As an interdisciplinary team of applied scientists, software engineers, product managers, and design experts, we work holistically to deliver high-impact solutions with a focus on immediate, scalable results. While developing and maintaining proven, highly-adopted solutions such as ML-based size recommendations, we push the boundaries of what's possible in online fashion by rapidly iterating our approaches with cutting‑edge AI, including diffusion models, image and video generation, and 3D try‑on experiences, to shape the future of Size & Fit.

As a Sr. Principal Applied Scientist on the Size & Fit team, you'll leverage your deep scientific expertise and leadership to tackle these challenges. You will use our unique, large‑scale datasets to drive bold, hands‑on research and develop game‑changing, production‑scale solutions for over 50 million customers. You will apply cutting‑edge GenAI and Computer Vision models to help customers express their unique fit preferences, act as a key advisor on our scientific roadmap, and mentor other scientists to deliver innovative, business‑oriented outcomes.

What we'd love you to do (and love doing)

• Lead & Empower: Raise the scientific bar—specifically in Computer Vision and Machine Learning —by fostering a culture of rigorous peer review and knowledge sharing.
• Collaborative Strategy: Partner with Product Management and Design to refine requirements for initiatives that delight customers. You will translate ambiguous business goals into technical solutions, MVPs, and iterative roadmaps.
• Research & Innovation: Stay at the forefront of Computer Vision techniques (GAN’s, Diffusion Models, etc.) and AI/ML. Interest in Data Engineering and ML Engineering is a plus. You will encourage your team to engage with the global research community through publications in prestigious conferences.
• Operational Excellence: Act as an advisor by implementing durable, repeatable processes that promote agility. Ensure the systems your team builds and maintains adhere to high standards of MLOps and technical reliability.
• Mentorship & Growth: Support the professional development of both junior and senior team members. You will provide constructive, "egoless" feedback, handle performance management, and coach your colleagues to become world‑class researchers and engineers.
• Academic Foundation: You hold a Ph.D. in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Computer Vision, AI, or a closely related field, paired with 5+ years of post‑doctoral industry or academic experience.
• Full‑Lifecycle Ownership: You possess an extensive track record of driving large‑scale ML applications through the complete product lifecycle—from initial problem analysis and data processing to literature review, production deployment, monitoring, and long‑term maintenance.
• Technical Mastery: You maintain deep hands‑on expertise in AI/ML model building & deployment, with proficiency in Python, PyTorch, and modern machine learning frameworks; you excel at rapidly prototyping, iterating on, and deploying hands‑on scientific solutions that turn complex business challenges into immediate, scalable wins.
• Specialized Domain Depth: You bring in‑depth experience in 3D Computer Vision (leveraging GenAI, diffusion models, NeRFs, Gaussian splatting, and 3D reconstruction) and/or scaled application of modern AI/ML techniques built to solve high‑impact business problems.
• Exceptional Communication: You are fluent in English and can communicate complex ideas with clarity to both technical peers and senior leadership, facilitating timely decision‑making across the organization.
• Talent Mentorship: You are an active mentor and talent advocate, dedicated to developing, guiding, and elevating both junior and senior applied scientists.
• Research Excellence: You boast a strong, proven publication track record in premier venues such as CVPR, ICCV, ECCV, NeurIPS, ICLR, ICML, PAMI, or IJCV.

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 Lounge by Zalando, discounts from external partners
• 2 paid volunteering days a year
• Hybrid working model with up to 60% 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
• 25 days of vacation a year for full‑time employees
• Health and wellbeing options (SportAbo in Zurich)
• Swiss SBB Halbtax (half‑fare card)
• Mental health support and coaching available
• Drive your development through our training platform and biannual peer‑to‑peer review

Inclusive By Design

At Zalando, our vision is to be the leading pan‑European ecosystem for fashion and lifestyle e‑commerce - one that is inclusive by design. We only assess candidates based on qualifications, merit, and business needs. We welcome applications from people of all gender identities, sexual orientations, personal expressions, racial identities, ethnicities, religious beliefs, and disability statuses. We only want to know why you’re great for this role, so please avoid including your picture, age, and marital status in your CV as well.

Please feel free to inform us of any accommodations you may need, so we can best support and assist you throughout the hiring process.

About Zalando

Founded in Berlin in 2008, Zalando is the leading European technology platform for fashion and lifestyle. Connecting 62 million active customers with more than 7,000 brands across 29 markets, our operations are built on a unique AI‑powered data and infrastructure platform. For our customers, our multi‑app approach - comprising Zalando, ABOUT YOU, and Lounge by Zalando - delivers an inspiring, highly personalized shopping experience, serving different customers with different needs. For our partners, we are building the operating system for e‑commerce. Through ZEOS, Tradebyte, and SCAYLE, we open our logistics, software, and service capabilities to brands and retailers, enabling them to seamlessly scale their businesses across borders.