Manager Data Scientist – AI – Talabat

This Manager, Data Scientist – AI role sits within Talabat, the leading on-demand food and q-commerce platform in the region and part of the Delivery Hero Group. The role combines hands-on data science leadership with people management, building and guiding models that power decisions across one of the busiest delivery platforms in the Middle East.

Expect the role to involve leading data science projects related to AI-driven features — likely spanning areas like demand forecasting, recommendation systems, delivery time estimation, or pricing optimization — while also managing and developing a team of data scientists. At manager level, the job is as much about setting technical direction and mentoring talent as it is about personal modeling work.

Because Talabat operates at genuine scale across food delivery and q-commerce (talabat mart), the data available is large and operationally rich, which means models built here have to be both technically sound and genuinely deployable in a live, high-volume production environment, not just accurate in a notebook.

It suits an experienced data scientist with proven people management skills who wants to apply machine learning to real, large-scale operational problems in a fast-moving q-commerce business.

AI-driven decisions sit behind many of the moments that determine whether a q-commerce platform like Talabat delivers a great customer experience — accurate delivery time estimates, relevant recommendations, and efficient demand forecasting all depend on the quality of the models this team builds and maintains. This Manager role matters because leading a data science team well means the difference between models that genuinely improve operational efficiency and customer experience at scale, versus models that look good in testing but fail to deliver real value once deployed. Because Talabat operates both food delivery and q-commerce (talabat mart) across multiple markets, improvements driven by this team's work compound across a very large volume of daily orders, meaning even incremental model improvements can have a meaningful effect on efficiency and customer satisfaction at scale. Strong technical leadership here also helps Talabat retain and develop data science talent in a highly competitive market for AI skills.

This role offers genuine leadership experience in applied AI at a scale that few companies in the region can offer, working on live, operationally critical machine learning systems rather than research projects without a direct path to production. Managing a data science team while remaining technically engaged builds a rare and valuable combination of people leadership and hands-on AI expertise, which is exactly the profile that senior data science and AI leadership roles require. Being part of the Delivery Hero Group also means exposure to a global organization's data science practices and infrastructure, broadening perspective beyond a single regional market. For a data scientist who has built strong technical credibility and is ready to step into people leadership, this role is a strong platform toward Head of Data Science, Director of AI, or similar senior technical leadership roles, either within Talabat and Delivery Hero's wider structure or at another major technology or q-commerce company afterward. Working inside a well-known platform at real scale also means a more substantial, more credible resume line than the same type of work at a smaller, lesser-known company, which tends to open doors faster later in a career. Because the technology and e-commerce sector in the region continues to grow quickly, skills built in a role like this stay in demand, giving someone who performs well here real flexibility in choosing their next move rather than being boxed into one narrow path.

• Strong background in data science and machine learning, with experience leading technical projects end to end
• Proven experience managing or mentoring a team of data scientists or analysts
• Experience deploying machine learning models into a live, high-volume production environment
• Strong understanding of how AI/ML models translate into measurable business impact in an operational context
• Proficiency in Python or similar languages, and standard machine learning frameworks and tools
• Experience working with large-scale, real-world operational datasets
• Strong stakeholder communication skills for translating technical work into business outcomes