Data Scientist (Search & Rankings)

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Algorithm Development: Design and develop state-of-the-art Ranking algorithms and NLP models. You will define how products are ordered to maximize relevance and business value.
• Data Science & Strategy: Deeply explore our vast datasets (user behavior, catalog metadata) to identify opportunities for personalization. You will answer the "Why" and "What" before we build the "How."
• Experimentation: Own the A/B testing framework for ranking/search logic. You will analyze results to distinguish causal impact from noise, ensuring we only ship changes that genuinely improve the customer experience.
• Model Prototyping: Build and validate high-quality model prototypes in Python. You will work closely with MLEs to translate these prototypes into scalable, production-ready microservices.
• Collaboration: Partner with MLEs to ensure your models are compatible with our Databricks/PySpark infrastructure; Work with the Catalog Team to define feature requirements; Exchange insights with the Recommendations Team (our sister team in Consumer Products) to align on personalization strategies.
• Innovation: Stay updated with scientific advancements in Information Retrieval (IR) and Machine Learning, bringing fresh ideas to the table.

WHO YOU ARE

• A graduate in Machine Learning, Information Retrieval, Data Science, Computer Vision, NLP, or related fields.
• Algorithm Mastery: You have a solid understanding of Learning to Rank (e.g., LambdaMART, RankNet) and Information Retrieval techniques. You should have deep expertise in the search domain, spanning traditional methods like BM25 to modern Deep Learning approaches, including Transformers architectures, Sequence Modeling, and Bi-Encoders.
• Python Stack: A strong expert in Python for Data Science (Pandas, Scikit-learn, PyTorch/TensorFlow, PySpark).
• Data Fluency: Able to query and analyze complex data. Familiar with SQL and big data stores (i.e., BigQuery, ADLS, and Spark SQL), essential for gathering your own training data.
• Engineering Awareness: Comfortable writing clean code that can be easily handed off to MLEs. Experienced in microservices (FastAPI/Flask) is a strong plus. Experienced in Elasticsearch or Solr is also a plus.
• Scientific Mindset: You rely on data and experimentation to make decisions, not just intuition.
• Adaptability: You are happy to pivot between deep Ranking problems and broader Search/Query understanding challenges as business needs shift.
• Team Player: You value collaboration over isolation and are eager to work with Engineers and Product Managers to ship real value.

REWARDS & BENEFITS

• Health insurance for the whole family, flexible working environment and well-being support and tools
• Extra days off, sabbatical program and days for you to give back for the community
• Training opportunities and free access to Udemy
• Flexible benefits program

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES STATEMENT

• Farfetch is an equal opportunities employer ensuring that all applicants are treated equally and fairly throughout our recruitment process. We are determined that no applicant experiences discrimination on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity, religion or belief, disability, age, gender identity, ancestry, sexual orientation, veteran status, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, or any other basis prohibited by applicable law.

SCAM DISCLAIMER

• It has come to our attention that there may be fraudulent activities involving individuals or organizations falsely claiming to represent Farfetch in order to attract candidates to a SCAM. Please be aware that Farfetch does not conduct recruitment processes through messaging apps or any unofficial communication channels, other than our official careers website. Additionally, Farfetch will never ask candidates for any form of payment during the recruitment process.