Senior Applied Scientist

Flexport is looking for a creative, technically-minded Senior Applied Research Scientist (ARS) who is motivated to solve some of the world’s most challenging problems in global trade.

Data is at the heart of our business, and as an Applied Research Scientist, you will develop first-in-class science products to make global trade easy and efficient. In collaboration with multidisciplinary product, engineering, and business/operations teams, you will apply advanced Operations Research (OR) and Machine Learning (ML) methods to deliver data-driven insights and automated decision-making solutions in Flexport’s freight forwarding products.

Our business, product, and engineering teams collaborate closely with our ARSs to share domain knowledge, test hypotheses at scale, and develop promising solutions that can be quickly and widely deployed. We are passionate about providing effortlessly accessible intelligence and actionable insights to our end users. Our ideal candidate is: self-motivated, highly analytical, technically excellent at writing code, and passionate about delivering cutting-edge solutions.

• Lead research, development, and production deployment of large-scale planning optimization solutions. The end results will be first-in-class planning systems that support (near) continuous planning in various freight modes.
• Work collaboratively with product, engineering, and business to:
  • find opportunities to improve and enhance our technology products,  and
  • translate ambiguous business requirements into the right OR/ML solution.
• Research prior work to inform and develop models and algorithms and quantify appropriate metrics & targets.
• Deliver compelling data-driven solutions to support automated decision-making at scale.
• Work with large and complex data sets. Solve difficult data analysis problems by applying advanced analytical methods as needed.
• Communicate findings to technical collaborators and business stakeholders.

• Ph.D. (or equivalent industry or research experience) in quantitative fields, such as Operations Research, Computer Science, Mathematics, etc. 
• 5+ years of industry experience in solving transportation/logistics optimization problems and developing practically efficient solution strategies for large and extreme-scale networks.
• Experience and a strong background in algorithm design, engineering, and implementation.
• Experience and a strong background in optimization methods for solving linear, mixed-integer, and dynamic programs.
• Understanding of MIP strategies to customize/leverage commercial/open-source solvers.
• Experience in business analytics, forecasting, or supply chain planning, emphasizing quantitative modeling and analysis.
• Software development experience using general-purpose programming languages like Python, Java, C, C++, or C#.
• Experience working with large data sets and knowledge of tools for big data analytics (e.g., SQL, Python, Perl, or Ruby).
• A "compliance first" attitude to keep our regulators happy and enthusiastic about Flexport since we operate in a heavily regulated industry.

• Advance knowledge of decomposition/iterative methods for solving large-scale optimization problems.
• Expertise in designing and implementing optimization models and algorithms for large-scale discrete/combinatorial problems (e.g., vehicle routing, inventory planning, scheduling, network design, scheduling, and facility location).
• Expertise in developing metaheuristics and matheuristics algorithms for extreme-scale combinatorial optimization.
• Proven object-oriented design and implementation skills (e.g. Python, Java, or C++).
• Some experience in machine learning and statistical techniques such as classification, clustering, regression, statistical inference, collaborative filtering, and experimental design.
• Some experience in business analytics, forecasting, or supply chain planning, emphasizes quantitative modeling and analysis.
• Strong research track record with contributions to research communities via publications in top conferences and journals and code contributions in open source communities such as COIN-OR, scikit-learn, CLTK, NLTK, etc.

#LI-Hybrid

At Flexport, we believe global trade can move the human race forward. That’s why it’s our mission to make it easy and accessible for everyone. We’re shaping the future of a $8.6T industry with solutions powered by innovative technology and exceptional people. Today, companies of all sizes—from emerging brands to Fortune 500s—use Flexport technology to move more than $19B of merchandise across 112 countries a year. 

The recent global supply chain crisis has put Flexport center stage as we continue to play a pivotal role in how goods move around the world. At a valuation of $8 billion, we’re experiencing record growth and are proud to have the support of the best investors in the game who believe in our mission, solutions and people. Ready to tackle global challenges that impact business, society, and the environment? Come join us.  

Don’t be! Our mission is to make global trade easy for everyone. That’s why it’s important to bring people from diverse backgrounds and experiences together with our industry veterans to help move the global logistics industry forward.

We know this industry is complex. That’s why we invest in education starting day one with Flexport Academy, a one week intensive onboarding program designed specifically to set every new Flexport employee up for success. 

At Flexport, our ability to fulfill our mission of making global trade easy for everyone relies on having a diverse, dedicated and engaged workforce. That is why Flexport is committed to creating and nurturing an environment where anyone can be their authentic self. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, physical and mental disability, health status, marital and family status, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, military and veteran status, and any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

To learn more about what our tech teams have been up to, head to the Engineering Blog.