Everything you need to know about becoming a Data Scientist
A theme park deluxe for data lovers
As a Data Scientist at bol.com, you’ll find yourself in a fun park full of innovations, possibilities and learnings every day. You will be part of one of our 150+ scrumteams (psst, you choose the team). It’s a cliché, but no day is the same with the amount of data we have in-house. Together the teams build great products that help solve our customers and partners problems. But besides that, you will also learn, grow and develop your own craft within the team. Want to know more about data science, what it means at bol.com or what the possibilities are for working in one of the data science teams?
Read all about it here on this page!
Everything is fluid
With over 13 million customers, 50,000 external sellers, a collective assortment of 47 million articles, and a nearly infinite number of customer-seller interactions, bol.com is a ‘theme park deluxe’ for data lovers. Given the sheer amount and diversity of our data, venturing into our evolving landscape feels like visiting Disneyland as a child. It’s as enchanting as the Magic Castle, as delightful as a funhouse mirror, as immersive as a roller coaster, and – ultimately – as rewarding as solving an intricate labyrinth. And when it comes to leveraging vast amounts of data to enhance the customer and partner experience, our data science community is at the front of every queue. But which ‘attractions’ do they value the most? And why?
First things first; our internship
‘Do you have a passion for data? Can you explain complicated models in a simple way? Then Data Science at bol.com is the right place for you! We are looking for someone with basic knowledge and interest in machine learning, who likes to work with and learn from a bunch of smart data enthusiasts and enjoys problem solving. Within a multidisciplinary team (with data scientists, engineers, business analyst and a product owner), you will tackle one of our many challenges.
As part of this team, you get the chance to join their day-to-day processes. Besides your own project and thesis there is also room to work on tasks within this team which directly improve bol.com for our customers. You will work together with professionals who love to share their knowledge, allowing you to learn the ins and outs of the fast-growing market we’re in. And if your work is a success, it will be deployed, which means that your innovation will become part of our platform. In the meantime, there will be plenty of opportunities to get to know your colleagues: with (digital) drinks, gaming sessions, hackathons and monthly knowledge exchanges. No better way to kickstart your career.
Are you ready to explore (and expand!) our data science theme park? XOps your way over. And return each day for new and exciting challenges.
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For bol.com, mature data science isn’t a nice-to-have, but a prerequisite to remain a prominent retail tech platform. We operate in an extremely fluid and competitive environment. If we don’t offer customers the most relevant products, or fail to deliver on pricing or fulfillment promises, our competitors might. And they are just a click/swipe away. Because we are a marketplace, delighting customers necessitates facilitating 49,000 partners with the tools they need to successfully promote, sell, and ship their products. Effortlessly. And cost-effectively. This adds another layer of complexity to everything we do and decide. So how can we be sure we’re making the right choices? And how can we generate the highest number of theme park visitors?
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We stay ahead of the e-commerce curve by deploying data science to make everyday life easier for all platform participants. With over two dozen teams running products powered by data science, the scale and impact of this endeavor are enormous. That goes for the number of career paths and development opportunities as well. At bol.com, lots of roads lead to lots of Romes, and we do our utmost to offer you projects and roles that are intellectually stimulating and cater to your growth ambitions. After all, if continuous learning is the data science norm, professional development provides both the catalyst and reward. Our emphasis on data-savvy ways of working, coupled with substantial machine learning capabilities, means there is always a next team and next exciting innovation to work on. And with over 5 petabytes of data ‘in store,’ our theme park will continue to expand and introduce riveting attractions for the foreseeable future.
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We deploy models at scale in a setting that demands high stability and low latency. Add stringent accuracy standards to the mix, and you end up with a staggering – and staggeringly hard to satisfy – requirement set. To succeed in our mission, we partner with a pioneering cloud provider and invest in warm relationships with the academic community: combining our forces and resources is key. This collaboration extends to jointly defining roadmaps, including research programs at top universities. In-house Ph.D. research, intensive projects with Google, and partnerships with academic institutions allow us to redefine tomorrow today. And yes, you are more than welcome to help create that much coveted MagLev carousel. 😉
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No matter their personal backgrounds or professional track records, and no matter how diversified their hobbies and skillsets are, all bol.com data scientists are full-fledged members of multidisciplinary product teams. This means you’ll work up close and personal (we draw the line at a safe 1.5 meters for now) with talented software engineers, business and data analysts, fellow data scientists, and product owners. And because we are a product organization, each team is infused with a clear sense of purpose and works to realize its goals autonomously. Any way it sees fit. Which means you are not so much invited as expected to speak your mind. So share your ideas freely with the team, regardless of hierarchy. Contribute to discussions that may veer outside your comfort
zone. And achieve results that confer bragging rights at parties: “I built that, I run that, I love that.” With over 750 engineers enhancing our platform, there is always someone who can help you with support or advice. And vice versa. Which bolsters everyone’s impact and ensures that each day provides the ride of a lifetime!
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All theme parks are equal, but some theme parks are more equal than others. Because of that one attraction that makes a lifelong impression. Or because of the unique atmosphere. In bol.com’s case, both apply – you’ll work on products that significantly up the machine learning ante in an environment that invites and rewards exploration. Moreover, we don’t just encourage hypothesis-driven experimentation; we create a conducive environment for it. We organize activities and get-togethers that provide countless opportunities to bounce ideas off of data scientists from other departments: incorporate their insights to solve even the most challenging puzzles! Together, we continuously learn from each other and share what works and what doesn’t. And, yes, we celebrate our successes and achievements. With hundreds of online and offline experiments running each day, same old, same old is never in the cards, but you might occasionally find yourself stuck in a Ferris wheel calling down for a push. 😉