Senior AI Scientist - Transportation & Logistics

Senior AI Scientist – Transportation & Logistics Pleasanton, California, United States About the Role We’re hiring a Senior AI Scientist (Transportation & Logistics) at Avathon — where AI meets the real world. This is a high-impact role at the intersection of operations research, reinforcement learning, and large‑scale data systems, focused on building intelligent solutions that transform transportation and logistics networks. We are looking for a Senior AI Scientist to lead the design and deployment of advanced optimization and machine learning systems across complex transportation ecosystems. You will work on real‑world challenges such as routing, scheduling, network optimization, demand forecasting, and asset utilization across multimodal logistics environments including FCL, LCL, FTL, LTL, intermodal, and maritime transportation. This role offers the opportunity to drive innovation in vessel scheduling, container repositioning, fleet optimization, and dynamic routing, while collaborating closely with engineering, product, and operations teams to bring scalable AI solutions into production. Key Responsibilities AI/ML Model Development Design and implement advanced models for fleet optimization and capacity planning, vehicle routing and scheduling (VRP, TSP variants), demand forecasting and optimization. Apply reinforcement learning, optimization algorithms, and hybrid ML + OR approaches. Transportation Domain Solutions Build solutions for maritime logistics (vessel scheduling, port operations), container repositioning and imbalance optimization, truckload (FTL), less‑than‑truckload (LTL), and intermodal routing. Incorporate real‑world constraints such as time windows, capacity, regulations, and SLAs. AI Engineering & Deployment Productionize models using scalable cloud‑native architectures and APIs. Collaborate with engineering teams to deploy AI solutions into production. Ensure robustness, explainability, and monitoring of models. Data & Feature Engineering Work with large‑scale datasets including shipment data, GPS/telematics, weather, port congestion, tariffs. Build feature pipelines and data validation frameworks. Leadership & Strategy Lead AI initiatives and mentor junior scientists. Translate business problems into AI solutions. Partner with product, operations, and stakeholders to define roadmaps. Required Qualifications PhD in Computer Science, Operations Research, Applied Math, or a related quantitative field. 10–15+ years of experience in AI/ML or optimization, or supply‑chain planning systems. Strong expertise in Python (NumPy, Pandas, PyTorch/TensorFlow), optimization tools (Gurobi, CPLEX, OR‑Tools). Deep knowledge of routing algorithms (VRP, shortest path, heuristics/metaheuristics). Great experience with time‑series forecasting and probabilistic modeling. Experience deploying models in production environments. Preferred Qualifications Experience in transportation, logistics, or supply‑chain domain. Familiarity with maritime shipping or fleet scheduling. Experience with container logistics and repositioning problems. Experience With Reinforcement learning for dynamic decision‑making. Digital twins and simulation systems. Knowledge of cloud platforms (GCP, AWS, Azure). Experience with streaming data (Kafka, Spark). Key Skills Optimization + Machine Learning hybrid modeling. Strong problem‑solving and mathematical modeling skills. Ability to handle ambiguous, real‑world constraints. Excellent communication skills to explain complex models to business stakeholders. Publications / Patents Strong plus if you have published in AI/ML/OR conferences (NeurIPS, ICML, INFORMS, etc.). Benefits & Perks Evolving culture with opportunities to drive new ideas and technology. Stock option grants. Medical coverage and parental leave plans. 401(k) with employer match. Monthly technology allowance. Newly renovated office space near Pleasanton, CA with fully stocked beverage and snack areas. Compensation Pay Range: $160k – $240k annually, based on geographic location and relevant experience. Location This role is not remote. Candidates must be based in the Bay Area, CA and are expected to report to our Pleasanton office five days a week. Avathon is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, pregnancy, genetic information, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other protected category under applicable federal, state, and local laws. Avathon is committed to providing reasonable accommodations throughout the recruiting process. If you need a reasonable accommodation, please contact us to discuss how we can assist you. #J-18808-Ljbffr Avathon Capital