Senior Operations Research Specialist - Mathematical Optimizer

Senior Operations Research Specialist

Location: Preference for Cary, NC; open to anyone who is based in the United States. Remote work.

Nice to meet you!  

We’re the leader in analytics. Through our software and services, we inspire customers around the world to transform data into intelligence – and questions into answers.

We’re also a debt-free multi-billion-dollar organization on our path to IPO-readiness. If you’re looking for a dynamic, fulfilling career coupled with flexibility and world-class employee experience, you’ll find it here.

What you’ll do  

As a Senior Operations Research Specialist at SAS on the Scientific Computing Team, you will develop, document, and support the SAS Optimization product, which includes an algebraic modeling language and eight mathematical optimization solvers, with an emphasis on computational performance.

You will:

• Improve the performance of existing optimization solvers, including linear programming (LP) and mixed integer linear programming (MILP).
• Support additional problem types, such as mixed integer quadratic programming (MIQP), mixed integer quadratically constrained programming (MIQCP), and mixed integer nonlinear programming (MINLP).
• Work closely with other solver developers, testers, consultants, and technical support.
• Ensure all applicable security policies and processes are followed to support the organization’s secure software development goals. 

Requirements:

• You’re curious, passionate, authentic, and accountable. These are our values and influence everything we do.
• PhD in Operations Research, Applied Mathematics, Computer Science, or a related quantitative field.
• 8+ years of experience with Linear Programming (LP), Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP), Quadratic Programming (QP), or other mathematical optimization solvers.  
• 5+ years of expertise with programming in C or C++.

Preferences:

• Experience working on commercial-grade software.
• Interest in LP simplex algorithm performance.
• Experience with interior point algorithms for linear, quadratic, conic, or general nonlinear optimization.
• Experience with implementing multithreaded and/or distributed algorithms.
• Experience with Dantzig-Wolfe decomposition and/or Benders decomposition.
• Experience with SAS programming, SAS macro language, and SAS/OR or SAS Optimization.
• Experience with commercial optimization packages such as IBM ILOG CPLEX, Gurobi, FICO Xpress, or SAS.

• Experience with commercial algebraic modeling languages such as AMPL, OPL, Mosel, or OPTMODEL.
• Ability to identify and proactively solve problems.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

World-class benefits   

Highlights include... 

• Comprehensive medical, prescription, dental and vision plans.  
• Medical plan options include… 
• PPO with low annual deductible and copays.  
• HDHP combined with a health savings account with a contribution from SAS (no access to on-site health care center).  
• Onsite Health Care Center (HQ) that’s free to employees and family members enrolled in the PPO plan. There’s a pharmacy too! Not local to HQ? The pharmacy will ship prescriptions for no additional charge!  
• An industry-leading 401k plan.  
• Generous time away including vacation time, a variety of paid holidays, and our much-loved U.S. Winter Wellness Break between December 25 and January 1.  
• Volunteer Time Off, parental leave and unlimited paid sick days.  
• Generous childcare benefits for all full-time employees. 

Diverse and Inclusive   

At SAS, it’s not about fitting into our culture – it’s about adding to it. We believe our people make the difference. Our diverse workforce brings together unique talents and inspires teams to create amazing software that reflects the diversity of our users and customers. Our commitment to diversity is a priority to our leadership, all the way up to the top; and it’s essential to who we are. To put it plainly: you are welcome here.  

Additional Information 

To qualify, applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States, and should not require, now or in the future, sponsorship for employment visa status. SAS is an equal opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants are considered for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law. Read more: Know Your Rights. Also view the Pay Transparency notice. 

Resumes may be considered in the order they are received. SAS employees performing certain job functions may require access to technology or software subject to export or import regulations. To comply with these regulations, SAS may obtain nationality or citizenship information from applicants for employment. SAS collects this information solely for trade law compliance purposes and does not use it to discriminate unfairly in the hiring process. 

SAS only sends emails from verified “sas.com” email addresses and never asks for sensitive, personal information or money. If you have any doubts about the authenticity of any type of communication from, or on behalf of SAS, please contact [email protected]. 

#SAS