Applied Scientist, One MHS - Software, Controls, Science

Amazon; Seattle, Northern (WA, KY); Hybrid; USD 143,000 - 193,000; Full time

Job summary

Amazon seeks an Applied Scientist to advance optimization and sequential decision-making for real‑time MHE control and scheduling across fulfillment networks. You will design, implement, and evaluate novel decision policies and deploy them from prototype to production environments.

You will collaborate with scientists and engineers to validate policies, publish where merited, and align research with practical product goals and fleet-wide impact.

Qualifications

• PhD in Operations Research, Statistics, Applied Mathematics, Engineering, CS or related field.
• 2+ years of building machine learning models or developing algorithms for business application experience.
• Experience in optimization mathematics such as linear programming and nonlinear optimization.
• Knowledge of and proficiency in Python scripting language.
• Experience with end-to-end ownership of major project deliverables.
• Experience with popular deep learning frameworks and RL tooling (e.g., PyTorch, d3rlpy, Ray/RLlib, Gymnasium, Stable-Baselines3, Isaac Gym/Omniverse).
• Demonstrated experience developing and applying optimization or reinforcement learning solutions to real-world control, scheduling, or operation problems.

Responsibilities

• Own the research and development of optimization and sequential decision‑making solutions spanning constraint programming, stochastic and robust optimization, contextual bandits, and reinforcement learning for real‑time MHE control and scheduling optimization in a production environment.
• Formulate fulfillment operations and manufacturing scheduling problems as optimization or sequential decision‑making problems, and design multi‑objective functions balancing objectives like on‑time delivery and schedule stability.
• Build and leverage high‑fidelity simulation and emulation environments for safe offline training, policy validation, and transfer to live systems before deployment.
• Collaborate across multiple science and engineering teams to integrate policies into production planning and real‑time control systems, including guardrails and rollout.
• Communicate results clearly in writing to technical and business audiences, and contribute to the team’s external research presence through publication where merited.

Skills

Python

Machine learning

Reinforcement learning

Optimization theory

Contextual bandits

Sequential decision making

Stochastic programming

MILP

Education

PhD in Operations Research, Statistics, Applied Mathematics, Engineering, CS or related field

Tools

Python scripting language

PyTorch

RL tooling (Ray/RLlib, Gymnasium)

d3rlpy

Stable-Baselines3

Isaac Gym/Omniverse

Job description

Applied Scientist, One MHS - Software, Controls, Science

Job ID: 10542919 | Amazon.com Services LLC

As an Applied Scientist, you will collaborate closely with other scientists and engineers to bring optimization and sequential decision-making research to production. This role combines the scientific application of ML, and specifically optimization, RL, and sequential decision making, with software development engineering and a strong product focus. It will be your job to design, implement, and deploy novel decision policies and optimization models in both prototype and production environments, and to prove their impact through rigorous evaluation and simulation before scaling them across the fleet.

Key job responsibilities

• Own the research and development of optimization and sequential decision‑making solutions spanning constraint programming, stochastic and robust optimization, contextual bandits, and reinforcement learning for real‑time MHE control and scheduling optimization in a production environment.
• Formulate fulfillment operations and manufacturing scheduling problems (production scheduling, resource allocation, sorter optimization, throughput and congestion control) as optimization or sequential decision‑making problems, and design multi‑objective functions that balance competing operational objectives such as on‑time delivery, utilization, changeover cost, and schedule stability.
• Build and leverage high‑fidelity simulation and emulation environments for safe offline training, policy validation, and transfer to live systems before fleet‑scale deployment.
• Collaborate across multiple science and engineering teams to integrate policies into production planning and real‑time control systems, including monitoring, guardrails, and staged rollout.
• Communicate results and their limitations clearly in writing to technical and business audiences, and contribute to the team’s external research presence through publication where the work merits it.

About the team Amazon is building next generation software, hardware, and processes that will run our global network of fulfillment centers that move millions of units of inventory, and ensure customers get what they want when promised. The Science Software team in the One MHS organization unlocks Material Handling Equipment (MHE) innovation through a multiplicity of disciplines within Artificial Intelligence (AI) and applied science, including Optimization, Reinforcement Learning, classical Machine Learning, statistical modeling, Computer Vision (CV), and Physics-Informed Neural Networks (PINNs). The team is dedicated to building self-optimizing fulfillment centers, developing the models that drive real‑time, building-wide orchestration of MHE. We conduct experiments, develop models, and apply machine learning (ML) at scale to optimize throughput, flow, merge, and congestion control, and to improve operational performance across the fulfillment network.

Basic Qualifications

• 2+ years of building machine learning models or developing algorithms for business application experience
• PhD in Operations Research, Statistics, Applied Mathematics, Engineering, Computer Science or related field
• Experience in optimization mathematics such as linear programming and nonlinear optimization
• Knowledge of and proficiency in the use of Python scripting language
• Experience Experienced with end-to-end ownership of major project deliverables
• Experience with popular deep learning frameworks and RL tooling (e.g., PyTorch, d3rlpy, Ray/RLlib, Gymnasium, Stable-Baselines3, Isaac Gym/Omniverse)
• Demonstrated experience developing and applying optimization or reinforcement learning solutions (e.g., MILP, constraint programming, stochastic programming, contextual bandits, deep RL) to real-world control, scheduling, or operation problems

Preferred Qualifications

• First-author publications at top-tier machine learning, operations research, or control venues (e.g., NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, AAAI, AISTATS, CPAIOR, INFORMS Journal on Computing, or IEEE control and automation conferences)
• Experience building a discrete-event simulator to train and evaluate operational policies, and calibrating it against historical data
• Experience applying optimization or RL in a setting analogous to ours: production scheduling, real-time industrial control, robotics, material handling, industrial process or operations.
• Experience deploying optimization or ML models to production at scale and partnering with engineering teams on inference, monitoring, and feedback loops

Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status, disability, or other legally protected status.

Our inclusive culture empowers Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers. If you have a disability and need a workplace accommodation or adjustment during the application and hiring process, including support for the interview or onboarding process, please visit https://amazon.jobs/content/en/how-we-hire/accommodations for more information. If the country/region you’re applying in isn’t listed, please contact your Recruiting Partner.

The base salary range for this position is listed below. Your Amazon package will include sign-on payments and restricted stock units (RSUs). Final compensation will be determined based on factors including experience, qualifications, and location.

Amazon also offers comprehensive benefits including health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription, Basic Life & AD&D insurance and option for Supplemental life plans, EAP, Mental Health Support, Medical Advice Line, Flexible Spending Accounts, Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage), 401(k) matching, paid time off, and parental leave. Learn more about our benefits at https://amazon.jobs/en/benefits.

USA, MA, Boston - 142,800.00 - 193,200.00 USD annually

USA, MA, North Reading - 142,800.00 - 193,200.00 USD annually

Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status, disability, or other legally protected status.