Head of AI & Machine Learning - Search, RecSys & Personalisation (Dubai based)

About the Role (Dubai based)

We are seeking an experienced and visionary Head of Data Science & Machine Learning to lead and scale our data science organization. In this role, you will drive innovation and execution across core ML pillars such as Search , Recommender Systems , Personalisation , and Generative AI (GenAI) to power the next generation of user experiences.

You will be responsible for shaping the strategy, building high-performing teams, and delivering impactful ML-driven features that directly influence key business outcomes. This is a hands-on leadership role that blends deep technical expertise with strategic vision and cross-functional collaboration.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership

• Define and execute the long-term strategy for Data Science & ML aligned with company goals.
• Champion a culture of innovation, experimentation, and scientific rigor.
• Stay on top of industry trends and emerging technologies in AI/ML, particularly in GenAI, Search, RecSys, and Personalisation.

Search & Information Retrieval

• Lead the development and optimization of scalable search systems, including relevance tuning, semantic search, and ranking algorithms.
• Integrate LLMs and transformer-based models to enhance search accuracy and contextual understanding.

Recommendation Systems & Personalisation

• Oversee the design and deployment of large-scale recommender systems (collaborative filtering, deep learning-based, hybrid models).
• Drive user-centric personalisation across product surfaces using behavioural, contextual, and real-time data.
• Ensure systems are explainable, bias-aware, and continuously improving.

Generative AI (GenAI)

• Spearhead the application of GenAI across product areas (e.g., content generation, chat assistants, creative tools).
• Evaluate and fine-tune large language models (LLMs) or multimodal models to meet domain-specific needs
• Partner with engineering and product teams to deploy GenAI solutions that are scalable, secure, and responsible.

Team & People Management

• Build, mentor, and retain a world-class team of data scientists, ML engineers, and research scientists.
• Foster a collaborative, inclusive, and high-performance team culture.
• Implement best practices for experimentation, model development, and production deployment.

Cross-functional Collaboration

• Work closely with Product, Engineering, Design, and Marketing to align ML initiatives with business priorities.
• Translate abstract product ideas into concrete ML solutions with measurable impact.
• Communicate complex technical ideas clearly to non-technical stakeholders.

Qualifications

Required:

• 10+ years of experience in applied data science / ML, with at least 3 years in a leadership role.
• Proven experience delivering production-grade systems in Search, Recommender Systems , or Personalisation .
• Strong understanding of ML fundamentals and deep learning frameworks (e.g., PyTorch, TensorFlow, JAX).
• Hands-on experience with GenAI , including working with LLMs (e.g., OpenAI, Anthropic, HuggingFace models).
• Deep knowledge of MLOps, experimentation, and model evaluation techniques.
• Experience scaling ML platforms, pipelines, and tooling in cloud environments (e.g., AWS, GCP, Azure).

Preferred:

• PhD or MS in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Statistics, or a related field.
• Publications or patents in relevant areas (Search, RecSys, GenAI).
• Familiarity with data privacy, model fairness, and responsible AI principles.
• Experience in [insert domain: e.g., e-commerce, media, fintech, healthcare].