Manager Data Scientist – AI – Talabat

Talabat, the leading on-demand food and Q-commerce app in the region and part of the Delivery Hero Group, is hiring a Manager, Data Scientist focused on AI to help turn the platform’s enormous volume of delivery, ordering and customer behavior data into models that improve how the business actually operates. This is a senior individual-contributor-plus-leadership role, likely overseeing or closely guiding a small data science team working on AI-driven solutions across the platform.

Expect work spanning the design and deployment of machine learning models — demand forecasting, delivery optimization, personalization or fraud detection are typical problem areas for a platform like this — translating business problems into data science projects, and working closely with engineering and product teams to get models actually into production rather than leaving them as proofs of concept. A senior data scientist at this level is also expected to mentor junior team members and help set technical direction for how AI is applied across the business.

This suits an experienced data scientist or applied ML practitioner with strong technical depth and genuine product sense, comfortable operating in a fast-moving, consumer-tech environment where models need to work in production, not just in a notebook.

On-demand delivery platforms run on thin operational margins where small improvements in forecasting, routing or personalization translate directly into real cost savings and revenue gains at scale, which is exactly why this AI-focused data science role carries outsized business weight relative to its individual scope. Better demand forecasting means more efficient rider allocation and fewer delivery delays; better personalization means higher order values and customer retention; stronger fraud detection protects margin that would otherwise leak away quietly. Because Talabat operates at genuine scale across the region, even modest percentage improvements in model performance compound into meaningful absolute impact on delivery times, costs and revenue. This role's success in actually getting models into production, not just designing them, is the difference between data science that influences real business outcomes and data science that stays theoretical. As competition in regional Q-commerce intensifies, the sophistication of a platform's underlying AI systems is becoming a genuine competitive differentiator, making this role's work directly relevant to Talabat's ability to keep winning against other delivery platforms.

Working as a Manager, Data Scientist on AI at Talabat offers genuinely rare exposure to applied machine learning at real consumer-platform scale, with access to the kind of large, rich, real-time behavioral datasets that most companies simply don't have. You build hands-on experience taking models from design through to production deployment, which is a distinctly different and more valuable skill set than research-oriented data science, and one that's increasingly what employers across the industry are looking for. The role's mentoring component also builds leadership experience early, positioning this as a natural step toward a Head of Data Science or Director of AI role for someone who wants to move further into technical leadership. Being part of the wider Delivery Hero Group gives access to data science practices and technical resources shared across one of the world's largest food delivery networks, broadening exposure well beyond a single regional market. For a data scientist who wants their work to visibly affect millions of real customer interactions rather than stay confined to an internal dashboard, this role offers a genuinely high-impact, high-visibility platform to build a career on. It is work that leaves a visible, measurable mark on a product used by millions of people, which is exactly the kind of portfolio evidence that senior data science roles expect to see.

• Strong experience in data science or applied machine learning, ideally in a consumer tech or marketplace setting
• Proven track record taking models from design through to production deployment
• Solid grounding in statistics, machine learning techniques and model evaluation
• Experience mentoring or guiding junior data scientists or analysts
• Strong collaboration skills working with engineering and product teams
• Advanced degree in a quantitative field (computer science, statistics, mathematics or similar) is a plus