Job Description

Established in the 1930s as a trading business, Al-Futtaim Group today is one of the most diversified and progressive, privately held regional businesses headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Structured into five operating divisions; automotive, financial services, real estate, retail and healthcare; employing more than 35,000 employees across more than 20 countries in the Middle East, Asia and Africa, Al-Futtaim Group partners with over 200 of the world's most admired and innovative brands. Al-Futtaim Group's entrepreneurship and relentless customer focus enables the organization to continue to grow and expand; responding to the changing needs of our customers within the societies in which we operate.


By upholding our values of respect, excellence, collaboration and integrity; Al-Futtaim Group continues to enrich the lives and aspirations of our customers each and every day




Overview of the role


As a Data Scientist specializing in Machine Learning/AI for Retail, you will be responsible for leveraging advanced analytics techniques to extract insights, optimize processes, and drive strategic decision-making within our retail operations. You will work closely with cross-functional teams to develop and deploy machine learning models that enhance customer engagement, improve forecasting accuracy, optimize inventory management, and drive revenue growth




What you will do


• Apply advanced statistical and machine learning techniques to analyze large-scale retail datasets and extract actionable insights.
• Develop predictive models to optimize pricing strategies, demand forecasting, inventory management, and customer segmentation.
• Collaborate with business stakeholders to identify key challenges and opportunities within the retail domain and translate them into data-driven solutions.
• Design and implement scalable machine learning pipelines for data preprocessing, feature engineering, model training, and deployment.
• Evaluate model performance, conduct A/B testing, and iterate on models to continuously improve accuracy and effectiveness.
• Stay current with industry trends and advancements in machine learning techniques and retail analytics to drive innovation and competitive advantage.






Required Skills to be successful


• Proficiency in programming languages such as Python or R, and experience with machine learning libraries (e.g., scikit-learn, TensorFlow, PyTorch).
• Exceptional attention to detail and analytical mindset teamed with commercial awareness.
• Team player, able to interact and work with multiple stakeholders including marketing teams, site merchandisers, developers etc.
• Excellent communication skills to articulate needs and opportunities with both technical and nontechnical audiences.






What equips you for the role


Minimum Qualification and Knowledge


• Education: BA/BS in Computer Science or related technical or business Field (Engineering, Finance, Mathematics, Physics, Statistics, etc.).






Minimum Experience


• 4+ years of experience as a Data Scientist or Machine Learning Engineer, with a focus on Retail analytics.
• Proficiency in programming languages such as Python or R, and experience with machine learning libraries (e.g., scikit-learn, TensorFlow, PyTorch).
• Familiarity with cloud computing platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, Google Cloud) and big data technologies (e.g., Hadoop, Spark) is a plus.
• Experience with reporting, report automation, test/control measurement, pre/post analytics






Behavioral Competencies


• Exceptional attention to detail and analytical mindset teamed with commercial awareness.
• Team player, able to interact and work with multiple stakeholders including marketing teams, site merchandisers, developers etc.
• Excellent communication skills to articulate needs and opportunities with both technical and nontechnical audiences




About Al-Futtaim Retail


Al-Futtaim Retail has established itself as one of the leaders in Retail across the Middle East, Africa & Asia over the past 30 years. We have developed partnerships with some of the biggest and most respected Brands in the world including IKEA, ACE and Toys R Us in the Middle East and the Inditex Group of Brands (Zara, Mango, Bershka and P&B) across Asia. We are also one of the largest Global partners of Marks and Spencer's in both regions with over 75 stores offering both fashion & food options.



Most recently we have been responsible for bringing brands to the Middle East for the first time with the exciting launches of Watsons and B&Q and we aim to continue to be agile and adaptive to our markets with new launches and further development. For this to be possible we aim to recruit the best talent from all backgrounds who will continue to challenge and develop our diverse workforce which includes over 100 nationalities across 12 countries. Join us today and make a difference...