Data Scientist, Operations Research

Cardinal Health; Little Rock (AR); On-site; USD 95,000 - 122,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental and vision coverage

Paid time off plan

Health savings account

401k savings plan

Access to wages before pay day with my

Flexible spending accounts

Disability coverage

Work-Life resources

Paid parental leave

Healthy lifestyle programs

Job summary

Cardinal Health is seeking a Data Scientist, Operations Research Analyst to join the Decision Science Solutions (DS2) team focused on improving pharmaceutical supply chain performance. You’ll forecast demand, build optimization and simulation models, and deliver actionable insights across distribution, warehousing, and transportation.

You will collaborate with Data Engineers and cross-functional teams to design solutions that impact capacity, inventory, and service levels while communicating

Qualifications

• 2-4 years of experience in data science or OR related roles
• Bachelor's degree in a quantitative field or equivalent
• MS/MBA with focus in Data Science, Operations Research, Industrial Engineering, or Statistics preferred
• Demonstrated ability to apply Data Science and Operations Research techniques to logistics and supply chain management problems preferred
• Experience with Structured Query Language (SQL) and working with databases preferred
• Experience with data analysis tools such as R, Python, SQL, Alteryx, Tableau, and SAS preferred
• Experience with Strategic Network Design, Simulation (e.g., AnyLogic), or Mathematical Programming (e.g., CPLEX) software preferred
• Ability to work as part of a team as the key analytical resource
• Excellent communication skills with an ability to explain quantitative analysis in simple business terms
• Intellectual curiosity, humility, genuine respect and desire to help others
• Bias for action and passion for driving change
• Ability to travel up to 5%

Responsibilities

• Listen to clients and ask questions to clearly define business problems
• Perform exploratory analysis to determine root causes of problems and confirm/disprove hypotheses
• Develop predictive models to forecast future volumes that will drive capacity/resource needs
• Develop customer and product segmentation models and design our supply chain to support differentiated services
• Build optimization and simulation models to recommend capacity investments, resource plans, policy changes, and process changes to improve supply chain performance
• Develop prescriptive models using 3rd party optimization/simulation software and custom-build models
• Recommend solutions. Summarize the financial and operational impact of the recommendation and pros/cons of alternatives considered
• Work with Data Engineers to create data models for analyses

Skills

SQL

Python

R

Tableau

SAS

Alteryx

Data Science

Operations Research

Education

Bachelor's degree in a quantitative field

MS/MBA in Data Science / OR / IE / Statistics

Tools

AnyLogic

CPLEX

Job description

US-Nationwide-FIELD

Full time

20186864

What Data Science contributes to Cardinal Health

The Data and Analytics Function oversees the analytics life-cycle in order to identify, analyze and present relevant insights that drive business decisions and anticipate opportunities to achieve a competitive advantage. This function manages analytic data platforms, the access, design and implementation of reporting/business intelligence solutions, and the application of advanced quantitative modeling. Data Science applies base, scientific methodologies from various disciplines, techniques and tools that extracts knowledge and insight from data to solve complex business problems on large data sets, integrating multiple systems.

Department/Team Overview

We are looking for a Data Scientist, Operations Research Analyst to join our Decision Science Solutions (DS2) team. Our mission is to improve our pharmaceutical supply chain’s performance to better service our pharmacy customers, so that they can focus on their patients. The DS2 team consists of Supply Chain Data Scientists, Operations Research Analysts, Data Analysts, and Data Engineers. We work cross-functionally to solve problems leveraging a variety of skillsets and perspectives to achieve the best outcomes. We perform analyses, recommend solutions, and build products to enable better decision making in the following areas:

• Distribution center network design and capacity planning
• Facility layout and design; warehouse capacity and utilization
• Warehouse process improvement
• Labor management and automation
• Inventory management: stocking strategies and replenishment policies
• Transportation planning: first mile, middle mile, and final mile
• Sales and operations planning (resource management in response to demand changes)

Responsibilities

As a Data Scientist in Supply Chain Operations, you will apply your knowledge of business processes, systems, data, and analytical tools to explore and identify root causes of problems. You will forecast future demand, build optimization and simulation models, and communicate actionable insights. You will work with cross-functional project teams to ideate, develop, and recommend solutions. Specific responsibilities are to:

• Listen to clients and ask questions to clearly define business problems.
• Perform exploratory analysis to determine root causes of problems and confirm/disprove hypotheses.
• Develop predictive models to forecast future volumes that will drive capacity/resource needs.
• Develop customer and product segmentation models and design our supply chain to support differentiated services.
• Build optimization and simulation models to recommend capacity investments, resource plans, policy changes, and process changes to improve supply chain performance.
• Develop prescriptive models using 3rd party optimization/simulation software and custom-build models.
• Recommend solutions. Summarize the financial and operational impact of the recommendation and pros/cons of alternatives considered.
• Work with Data Engineers to create data models for analyses.

Qualifications

• 2-4 years of experience, preferred
• Bachelor's degree in a quantitative field, or equivalent work experience, preferred
• MS/MBA with focus in Data Science, Operations Research, Industrial Engineering, or Statistics preferred
• Demonstrated ability to apply Data Science and Operations Research techniques to logistics and supply chain management problems preferred
• Experience with Structured Query Language (SQL) and working with databases preferred
• Experience with data analysis tools such as R, Python, SQL, Alteryx, Tableau, and SAS preferred
• Experience with Strategic Network Design, Simulation (e.g., AnyLogic), or Mathematical Programming (e.g., CPLEX) software preferred
• Ability to work as part of a team as the key analytical resource
• Excellent communication skills with an ability to explain quantitative analysis in simple business terms
• Intellectual curiosity, humility, genuine respect and desire to help others
• Bias for action and passion for driving change
• Ability to travel up to 5%

What is expected of you and others at this level

• Applies comprehensive knowledge and a thorough understanding of concepts, principles, and technical capabilities to perform varied tasks and projects
• May contribute to the development of policies and procedures
• Works on complex projects of large scope
• Develops technical solutions to a wide range of difficult problems
• Solutions are innovative and consistent with organization objectives
• Completes work; independently receives general guidance on new projects
• Work reviewed for purpose of meeting objectives
• May act as a mentor to less experienced colleagues

Anticipated salary range: $94,900 - $122,000

Bonus eligible: No

Benefits: Cardinal Health offers a wide variety of benefits and programs to support health and well-being.

• Medical, dental and vision coverage
• Paid time off plan
• Health savings account (HSA)
• 401k savings plan
• Access to wages before pay day with myFlexPay
• Flexible spending accounts (FSAs)
• Short- and long-term disability coverage
• Work-Life resources
• Paid parental leave
• Healthy lifestyle programs

Application window anticipated to close: 11/2/2026 *if interested in opportunity, please submit application as soon as possible.

The salary range listed is an estimate. Pay at Cardinal Health is determined by multiple factors including, but not limited to, a candidate’s geographical location, relevant education, experience and skills and an evaluation of internal pay equity.

Cardinal Health supports an inclusive workplace that values diversity of thought, experience and background. We celebrate the power of our differences to create better solutions for our customers by ensuring employees can be their authentic selves each day. Cardinal Health is an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, age, physical or mental disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, pregnancy, veteran status, marital status, creed, status with regard to public assistance, genetic status or any other status protected by federal, state or local law.

To read and review this privacy notice click here (https://www.cardinalhealth.com/content/dam/corp/email/documents/corp/cardinal-health-online-application-privacy-policy.pdf)

Headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE: CAH) is a distributor of pharmaceuticals, a global manufacturer and distributor of medical and laboratory products, and a provider of performance and data solutions for healthcare facilities.

We are a crucial link between the clinical and operational sides of healthcare, delivering end‑to‑end solutions and data‑driving insights that advance healthcare and improve lives every day. With deep partnerships, diverse perspectives and innovative digital solutions, we build connections across the continuum of care.

With more than 50 years of experience, we seize the opportunity to address healthcare's most complicated challenges — now, and in the future.

View Cardinal Health on YouTube (http://youtube.com/user/CardinalHealth)

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