Make Amazon work Better

… if you are qualified, that is.

I don’t normally post job ads on the blog:  there are other outlets for that.   But I have a few reasons for posting this one:

  • I have always been interested in the operations research issues that Amazon faces.  How can they get so much stuff to me in one day?  And when I order twice in one day, why don’t they combine the orders into one box?
  • The person asking is Shivi Shankaran who is a Tepper School MBA alum, and I love pointing out to my MBA students how operations research skills are a real competitive advantage for them.  Other schools may have their students read war stories of the rich and trendy, but we teach real skills here!  We might even get to Benders decomposition in a class this year.
  • I love looking at job descriptions that require experience in XPRESS, CPLEX, and SAS (though they should add Gurobi too).
  • It is my blog, and what is the use of having a blog if you can’t be arbitrary sometimes!

So, if you are PhD in operations research, or highly skilled in the area, here is some information on what they are looking for.  But please check the date of the blog entry (February 3, 2010):  if you come across this entry months from now, the job will be taken!

The Transportation Platform group is looking for a passionate, talented and inventive Operations Research Scientist to join the team. Trans Platform is responsible for optimizing the transportation network for Amazon.com.  The group owns the strategic planning and project management for initiatives involved with the transportation network including long-term forecasting, optimization, and process improvement.  The Operations Research Scientists in the group provide business analysis using mathematical modeling tools to answer important questions for Transportation. You will partner closely with many groups such as operations, IT, retail, and finance teams to support various business initiatives.

– Familiarity with Transportation/Logistics concepts – forecasting, planning, optimization, and logistics – gained through work experience or graduate level education.

– Technical aptitude and familiarity with the design and use of complex logistics software systems.

– Experience working effectively with software engineering teams and the ability to develop system prototypes.

– Ability to code in Java, C++ or another object oriented language and exposure to scripting languages, relational databases and Linux.

– Experience with mathematical libraries like CPLEX, XPRESS, and SAS.

– Excellent written and verbal communication skills.  The role requires effective communication with senior management as well as with colleagues from computer science, operations research and business backgrounds.

– A graduate degree in operations research, statistics, engineering, mathematics or computer science is requirement, PhDs highly desired.

The job is based in Seattle and we pay competitively. Please have them get in touch directly with me at shivi@amazon.com.

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