Principal Applied Scientist – Network Optimization
Job location
Berlin, Germany
Type
Full Time
Responsibilities:
As a Principal Applied Scientist, you will report to the Head of Applied Science for Network Optimizations and serve as a senior technical leader, collaborating extensively with key stakeholders across Logistics Operations, B2B business units, and other Applied Science teams within Fulfillment Core. In this role, you will deeply engage with the domain, leveraging your expertise to develop advanced mathematical models that optimize product availability, ensuring the right products are in the right locations at the right time, all while navigating and upholding our network constraints.
In partnership with our highly skilled senior engineers (Principal+), you will lead the development and deployment of mathematical models in production, ensuring their robustness and adaptability over time. Your expertise will also contribute to the ongoing maintenance and refinement of these models to meet evolving business needs.
You will help optimize a wide range of business processes (e.g., inventory distribution strategies, warehouse processes, or order placement strategies) and configurations (e.g., warehouse network resilience, delivery connections) by leveraging various mathematical approaches, including Discrete Event Simulation, Mixed-Integer Linear Programming, and metaheuristics.
As a member of Fulfillment Core, you will also provide input to other research initiatives across the business unit.
More generally, you will be part of our vibrant community of Applied Scientists at Zalando, participating, for example, in regular exchange meetings, reading groups, and mentoring opportunities.
Requirements & Skills:
You bring extensive experience in solving complex mathematical challenges, particularly in areas such as Network Simulation (Discrete Event Simulation) and Optimization within Supply Chain domains like Retail, E-Commerce, Airlines, or Logistics.
Your educational foundation is in Industrial Engineering or Operations Research, or a closely related mathematical discipline.
You have extensive expertise and significant industry experience in mathematical programming, including mixed-integer linear programming, metaheuristics, and constraint programming.
You are proficient in at least one programming language (e.g., Python or C/C++, or Java) suitable for a production-grade environment and are familiar with fundamental software development practices, including version control, data structures, and databases.
You are highly self-motivated, with a strong sense of ownership and accountability.
You have a customer-focused mindset and excel in teamwork: You like interacting with stakeholders and understanding their challenges, and you enjoy collaborating with your colleagues.
You are comfortable working in a diverse, inclusive, and international environment where English is the working language.
