Data Scientist - Recommendation Systems

About the role

KAYAK, part of Booking Holdings, is looking for a mid-level Data Scientist in Zurich to build recommendation systems that improve how travelers discover and choose travel options. You will turn product and business questions into measurable modeling problems, develop and test solutions with data and experimentation, and work with researchers, engineers and other teams to bring promising work into production. The role requires working from the Zurich office three days per week.

Key responsibilities

• Translate product and business challenges into well-defined modeling problems, hypotheses and measurable objectives.
• Ship production-ready, scalable machine learning solutions with a real impact on user experience and business metrics.
• Design and evaluate experiments, build rapid prototypes, assess results rigorously and iterate on promising ideas.
• Collaborate across Data Science, Product and Engineering, communicating findings, recommendations and trade-offs clearly to technical and non-technical audiences.

Required profile

• Strong technical foundations in statistics, machine learning and programming, with a track record of solving complex, real-world data science problems.
• Demonstrated hands-on experience developing ML models in business or production environments, able to explain the problems addressed, your contribution and the impact.
• Ownership, sound judgment and analytical thinking, able to work independently and navigate technical trade-offs.
• Fluency with AI-assisted workflows, using modern tools while critically evaluating their outputs and limitations.
• Bonus: familiarity with Agile ways of working such as sprint planning and team ceremonies.

Required skills

• Machine learning and programming
• Bonus: PyTorch, Polars, CometML, Arize, Docker, Airflow, Trino, Git/GitHub

What we offer

• Work from (almost) anywhere for up to 20 days per year, no meeting Fridays, 5 weeks paid vacation plus a day off for your birthday.
• Company-paid therapy sessions through SpringHealth and a HeadSpace subscription.
• Paid parental leave, paid volunteer time and development dollars.
• Health insurance subsidy of 250 CHF per month, pension plan contributions and supplemental accident insurance.
• Lunch check card of 180 CHF per month, free lunch two days per week, travel discounts, employee resource groups and social events.