Senior AI Scientist – Planning

About the role

You will design and develop the AI and optimization models that power Avathon's planning intelligence - demand forecasting, supply planning, inventory optimization, and S&OP decision support for customers across energy, mining, manufacturing, and logistics. This role sits at the intersection of AI, ML and operations research.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop demand forecasting models across industrial verticals, applying probabilistic, hierarchical, and intermittent demand methods where history is short or volatile
• Design supply planning and inventory optimization models across multi-echelon networks with capacity constraints and variable lead times
• Formulate and solve optimization problems (MIP, LP, constraint programming) for production scheduling, allocation, and resource planning
• Build simulation and scenario analysis frameworks to support S&OP and integrated business planning workflows
• Define evaluation metrics, build backtesting pipelines, and run controlled experiments to measure and improve model performance
• Integrate cross-domain signals from Avathon's Computational Knowledge Graph -- asset health, logistics, procurement - into planning models
• Own the path from research to production in collaboration with ML Engineering, delivering scalable and monitored services
• Mentor junior data scientists on technical depth and OR/ML fundamentals

Requirements

• Ph.D. or master’s degree in operations research, Industrial Engineering, Statistics, Computer Science, Applied Mathematics, or a related quantitative field
• 10-15 years of industry experience in applied ML, optimization, or Supply Chain planning systems
• Deep experience in at least two of: demand forecasting, supply/inventory optimization, production scheduling, or S&OP analytics
• Proficiency in Python with hands-on experience in optimization solvers (Gurobi, CPLEX, OR-Tools, or similar) or forecasting libraries (Prophet, statsmodels, GluonTS, or similar)
• Strong foundation in statistical modeling with sound judgment on when simple methods outperform complex ones
• Experience with supply chain and operational data - demand history, ERP/MRP transactions, and planning system outputs
• Experience translating business problems into mathematical optimization or ML formulations
• Experience deploying models into production environments

Preferred Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Operations Research, Industrial Engineering, Statistics, or a related field
• Background in supply chain planning platforms or industrial AI (o9, Blue Yonder, Kinaxis, or similar), preferably within the supply chain industry
• Experience in supply chain planning platforms or industrial AI (o9 Solutions, Blue Yonder, Kinaxis, or similar), preferably from Supply Chain industry
• Experience with multi-echelon inventory optimization or network design
• Familiarity with probabilistic programming or Bayesian methods for demand sensing
• Experience with cloud ML infrastructure (AWS SageMaker, GCP Vertex, or equivalent)
• Domain experience in energy, mining, manufacturing, aerospace, or logistics

Benefits & Perks

• Evolving culture with the opportunity to drive new ideas and technology
• Stock Option Grants
• Medical Coverage and Parental Leave Plans
• 401k with Employer Match
• Monthly Technology Allowance
• Newly renovated office space located near Pleasanton, CA -- including fully stocked beverage and snack areas

Pay Range

$160k - $240k salary annually. Pay for this position is based on a number of factors including geographic location and may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and 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 5 days a week.