Manager Data Scientist – AI – Talabat

This Manager Data Scientist role at Talabat in Dubai is focused on AI, likely leading data science work that powers recommendation systems, demand forecasting, logistics optimisation, or similar machine-learning-driven features across Talabat’s food delivery and q-commerce platform. As a manager-level data science role, it combines hands-on technical leadership with people or project management responsibility.

Day to day, expect leading data science projects from problem framing through model development to production deployment, working closely with engineering and product teams to turn models into real features, mentoring other data scientists, and translating technical work into business impact that leadership can understand and act on. Talabat operates at genuine scale across multiple markets, so models here deal with meaningful volumes of real-world data.

It suits an experienced data scientist or machine learning practitioner with some team or project leadership experience, who is comfortable both doing technical work and guiding others, and who can communicate model impact clearly to non-technical stakeholders.

Being part of the Delivery Hero Group gives this role access to data science practices and resources at a global group level, while still being grounded in Talabat’s specific regional market dynamics.

AI and data science work at a company like Talabat directly powers some of the features that most affect customer experience and operational efficiency: recommendations that drive order value, demand forecasting that affects delivery times and rider allocation, and optimisation models that affect cost efficiency across a large delivery network. A Manager Data Scientist leading this kind of work has a meaningful effect on both the customer-facing experience and the underlying operational economics of the business, since better models in food delivery and q-commerce translate fairly directly into better margins and better customer retention. Because this role also involves mentoring other data scientists, its influence extends beyond the models it directly builds to the overall quality and rigor of the broader data science team's output. Within the Delivery Hero Group, strong AI capability at the Talabat level also contributes to how well the wider group's technology and data strategy performs across its various markets. In a competitive food delivery and q-commerce market, the sophistication of a company's underlying AI capability is increasingly a genuine competitive differentiator, which makes this role's influence on the business significant.

Leading AI and data science work at a company operating at Talabat's scale offers exposure to genuinely large, real-world datasets and production machine learning systems, which is valuable, differentiated experience compared to data science roles working primarily with smaller or more theoretical datasets. The role builds both deep technical skills in applied machine learning and genuine leadership skills, since it requires guiding other data scientists and communicating technical work in ways that influence business decisions, a combination that's highly sought after in senior data science and AI leadership roles. Being part of the Delivery Hero Group also provides access to data science practices, tools and knowledge-sharing at a global group level, which broadens exposure beyond what a single-market company might offer. People who perform well as Manager Data Scientists in a business like this are well positioned to move into Senior Manager or Head of Data Science roles, or into broader AI/ML leadership positions at other technology-driven companies, since production AI experience at genuine operational scale is one of the more valuable and portable skill sets in the current market. It's a strong platform for anyone building a long-term career in applied AI leadership. It's also worth noting that experience gained in a role like this tends to read well on a CV precisely because it shows a candidate can operate within a structured, process-driven organization, which many employers specifically look for when hiring for their next level of responsibility.

• Strong experience in data science or machine learning, with some project or team leadership experience
• Hands-on skills in building, validating and deploying machine learning models
• Experience with large-scale, real-world data, ideally within e-commerce, delivery or a similarly operational business
• Strong programming skills (e.g. Python, SQL) and familiarity with ML frameworks
• Ability to translate technical findings into clear business recommendations for non-technical stakeholders
• Experience mentoring or guiding other data scientists or analysts
• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in data science, computer science, statistics or a related quantitative field