Principal Data Scientist
Job description
About the role
A career driven by you. Join AutoScout24 Group and experience life in the fast lane. We're not just leading the market; we're creating it. We're constantly innovating, evolving and transforming things for our customers. We're driven, ambitious and determined to do our best work, together. For a career that doesn't stand still, where you can put your ideas in the driving seat and change the way the world moves, join our international community. As Principal Data Scientist, you will define and drive the data science strategy across AutoScout24, with a strong focus on AI, machine learning, and Generative AI. You will work closely with product, engineering, and business leaders to turn data into scalable products that create clear business impact. You will lead senior data scientists and act as a technical role model across the company.
Key facts
What you'll do
Define and own the data science and AI strategy across the organization, setting the vision and guiding principles for data science and AI initiatives.
Lead development and scaling of predictive and generative AI models for marketplace and fintech use cases, from ideation through production deployment.
Partner with product and business leaders to align ML initiatives with company goals, ensuring data science efforts directly support business outcomes.
Design scalable ML systems and cloud-based workflows for training and deployment, with a strong focus on AWS, to support reliable and efficient operations.
Champion advanced experimentation and measurement frameworks to quantify business impact of data products and validate model performance.
Architect and govern data platforms that ensure quality, reliability, and security for production ML, establishing standards and best practices.
Mentor and grow a team of senior data scientists, fostering excellence, ownership, and best practices within the data science community.
Collaborate closely with engineering to operationalize models and drive robust, scalable, and maintainable solutions that integrate seamlessly into production environments.
Champion data-driven decision-making and influence strategic roadmap priorities through insights and evidence, promoting a culture of experimentation and learning.
Act as a technical leader and thought partner to stakeholders across the business, translating complex concepts into actionable strategies and clear recommendations.
Requirements
8+ years of experience in data science, machine learning, or a related technical role, with a proven track record of delivering impactful data-driven solutions.
Strong proven experience in building and scaling machine learning models in production environments, including deployment, monitoring, and iterative improvement.
Expert-level proficiency in Python and a deep understanding of machine learning frameworks and libraries, enabling effective model development and optimization.
Solid knowledge of cloud platforms, with extensive experience in AWS services for data processing, storage, and model deployment in scalable architectures.
Demonstrated ability to design and implement scalable data platforms and pipelines that ensure quality, reliability, and security for production ML workloads.
Experience leading and mentoring data scientists, with a track record of fostering high-performance technical teams and enabling professional growth.
Strong communication skills, with the ability to influence and align stakeholders at all levels of the organization through clear, evidence-based storytelling.
Deep curiosity and a methodical approach to experimentation, measurement, and evidence-based decision-making, using data to drive continuous improvement.
Nice to have
Experience with Generative AI and related deployment patterns, including prompt engineering, model fine-tuning, and evaluation methods.
Knowledge of fintech or marketplace domains, with familiarity with relevant use cases, regulations, and user needs.
Experience with data governance, privacy, and compliance considerations, ensuring responsible and secure data practices.
Practical notes
This is a full-time position based in Munich, Germany. The role is hybrid, combining office-based and remote work. Travel requirements are minimal, and the position does not involve visa sponsorship at this time. The deadline for applications is not specified.