Meet Sahar Mbarek, an Applied Scientist at Zalando, and find out what makes her passionate about working at Zalando and current projects in the Size & Fit team.
Could you briefly introduce yourself to our readers?
Hi readers! I am Sahar Mbarek. I love to be continuously challenged and to work on new and complex problems. That’s why I became an Applied Scientist over three years ago and joined Zalando as a Junior applied scientist after finishing my masters in computer science and intelligent systems in the university of Passau, Germany. Since then, I have been working on generating high-quality, personalized, large-scale outfit content to inspire customers on a daily basis. I have recently joined the Size & Fit team to further support our customers to choose the right size and fit for a more sustainable shopping experience.
What are your current responsibilities?
As an Applied Scientist at Zalando, I use state-of-the-art machine learning models/algorithms to solve challenging customer problems, e.g, generate personalized outfit combinations for Zalando customers based on customer preferences. I collaborate with product managers to define the customer problem. I experiment with various models, datasets, and ideas that bring value to our customers and the business. After the experimentation phase, I work together with data engineers, and back-end engineers to bring the developed solution to production. In addition, it is important to ensure we are not harming the online shopping experience by setting the right evaluation metrics and continuously monitoring the performance of our ML models. I am also mentoring a junior female applied scientist on ways of working and ML topics. I am also helping Zalando to acquire new talents by conducting interviews.
What do you appreciate about your job?
I really love the fact that I am working on my two big passions simultaneously: fashion and machine learning. I enjoy the scientific part of being an applied scientist, as well as solving something that matters to make people happier during their shopping experience.
It is exciting to see the impact of machine learning algorithms in helping millions of Zalando customers get the inspiration and fashion advice they need.
What is it like to be an applied scientist as a woman?
From a personal perspective, there are ups and downs where sometimes I feel less confident. This is something that I have identified and I am actively working on improving.
I like the fact that at Zalando, we are all equal and evaluated based on our performance. Also, there is real encouragement and support from colleagues and the women-in-tech community. Zalando is a true source of woman empowerment and inspiration, which makes it a great place to work.
Are you working on any sustainability projects?
As I joined the Size & Fit team, reducing the return rate is a big step toward sustainable online shopping. This means customers can find their true size without the need to return and reorder items. Thus, reducing the Co2 emission related to the return and delivery procedure. I am excited about this opportunity and looking forward to using machine learning to shape the future of the sustainable shopping experience.
If you’re curious about Applied Science at Zalando, check out our open positions here.
