The Opportunity:
Flexport is looking for a creative, technically-minded Applied Research Scientist who is motivated to solve some of the world’s most challenging problems.
Data is at the heart of our business, and as an Applied Research Scientist, you will work to evaluate and provide insights into our physical and digital products. In collaboration with multidisciplinary product, engineering, and business/operations teams, you will apply advanced OR methods to deliver data-driven insights and automated decision making in Flexport’s client and carrier facing freight forwarding products.
Our product and engineering teams collaborate very closely with our Applied Research Scientists 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.
You Will:
- Work collaboratively with product, engineering, and business to:
- find opportunities to improve and enhance our technology products,
- understand Flexport’s business and operations processes to identify impact opportunities, and
- translate ambiguous business requirements into the right technical solution.
- Perform requirements gathering and data gathering & analysis.
- Research prior work to inform and develop rational hypotheses, and quantify appropriate metrics & targets.
- Work with large and complex data sets. Solve difficult data analysis problems by applying advanced analytical methods as needed.
- Develop prototype data analyses and data assets iteratively as needed to generate actionable insights.
- Deliver compelling data-driven solutions to support automated decision making at scale.
- Develop and refactor ML/OR solutions to support scalable production deployment.
- Communicate findings to technical collaborators and business stakeholders.
- Drive and hands-on contribute to model/algorithmic development.
You Should Have:
Minimum Qualifications
- Ph.D. (or equivalent research experience) in quantitative fields, such as Operations Research, Applied Math, Computer Science, etc.
- 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.
- Experience in business analytics, forecasting, or supply chain planning with an emphasis on quantitative modeling and analysis.
- Understanding of MIP strategies to customize/leverage commercial/open-source solvers.
- Experience programming with a mathematical programming language such as R or major programming languages such as 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).
Preferred Qualifications
- Advance knowledge of decomposition/iterative methods for solving large-scale linear/nonlinear programs.
- Experience designing and implementing optimization models for large-scale discrete/combinatorial problems (e.g., vehicle routing, scheduling, network design, scheduling, and facility location)
- Experience developing metaheuristics and matheuristics algorithms for extreme-scale combinatorial optimization.
- Experience in machine learning and statistical techniques such as classification, clustering, regression, statistical inference, collaborative filtering, and experimental design.
- Strong research track record (e.g., publications and patents).
- Experience taking research prototypes to production.
About Flexport:
We believe global trade can move the human race forward. That’s why it’s our mission to make global trade easier for everyone. We aim to do this by building the Operating System for Global trade – a strategic model combining advanced technology and data analytics, logistics infrastructure, and supply chain expertise. Flexport today connects almost 10,000 clients and suppliers across 109 countries, including established global brands like Georgia-Pacific as well as emerging innovators like Sonos. Started in 2013, we’ve raised over $1.3B in funding from SoftBank Vision Fund, Founders Fund, GV, First Round Capital, and Y Combinator. We’re excited about the three big ways we’re moving forward after our recent $1B investment from SoftBank Vision Fund in February 2019.
Worried about not having any freight forwarding experience?
- Don’t be! We’re building the first Operating System for Global Trade. That’s why it’s incredibly important for us to bring people from diverse backgrounds and experiences together with our industry veterans to help move the freight forwarding industry forward.
- What’s freight forwarding and why does it matter? Freight forwarding is the coordination and shipment of goods from one place to another and it’s what makes global trade possible. Flexport is on a mission to make global trade easier for everyone because we believe it can help connect the world and break down economic barriers.
- 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.