Optimization Research Scientist — AI for Real-World Impact

Percepta; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Percepta is seeking a Research Scientist - Optimization to advance AI-driven decision-making at scale. You’ll blend modern machine learning with rigorous optimization to close the loop from prediction to real action, deploying in production where it drives multi-million dollar impact.

You will lead research programs, develop novel optimization methods, and collaborate with engineers to translate breakthroughs into real customer outcomes across healthcare, manufacturing, and energy domains.

Qualifications

• PhD in Computer Science, Operations Research, Industrial Engineering, or Applied Mathematics or have equivalent research/industry experience.
• Have depth in operations or mathematical optimization (LP/MIP/MINLP, CP, stochastic/robust optimization).
• Have experience in novel machine learning techniques for Operations Research, including test-time search and reinforcement learning for sequential decision-making.
• Are comfortable implementing fast real-time optimization systems, debugging large-scale optimization systems, and/or designing benchmarks with real, defensible ground truth.
• Are motivated by impact in critical industries including healthcare, supply chains, energy, and finance.
• Have a proven track record of execution.
• Are an excellent communicator with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Enjoy extreme ownership.
• Are passionate about AI’s transformative potential.

Responsibilities

• Set and drive ambitious research programs that expand what’s achievable in data-driven decision-making, building on the forecasts and user models produced by our research tracks.
• Invent new optimization methods for high-impact problems such as planning, scheduling, routing, pricing, and inventory — combining test-time search and reinforcement learning with classical LP/MIP/CP formulations.
• Build high-fidelity simulators and rigorous, replayable benchmarks (in the spirit of the subway challenge) that mirror real-world constraints, uncertainty, and multi-objective trade-offs, and that let us validate a decision before it touches a real patient, member, or asset.
• Push optimizers from benchmark wins into production systems that hold up against real operational stakes — not just a demo, but something that runs fast in real-time and re-learns from outcomes every week.
• Bridge research into practice by partnering with our engineers to rapidly prototype solutions and implement successful research ideas across live customer engagements.

Skills

Operations research

Optimization

Reinforcement learning

Test-time search

Communication

Education

PhD in Computer Science / OR / Industrial Engineering / Applied Mathematics

Equivalent research/industry experience

Tools

LP/MIP/MINLP

CP

Stochastic optimization

Robust optimization

Job description

Percepta is seeking a Research Scientist - Optimization to advance AI-driven decision-making at scale. You’ll blend modern machine learning with rigorous optimization to close the loop from prediction to real action, deploying in production where it drives multi-million dollar impact.

You will lead research programs, develop novel optimization methods, and collaborate with engineers to translate breakthroughs into real customer outcomes across healthcare, manufacturing, and energy domains.