About our company
Optimal Dynamics is on a mission to automate and optimize the logistics industry through the use of advanced analytics. We are based on more than three decades of R&D at Princeton University and represent the most sophisticated technology ever developed for the logistics industry. Our customers experience sustained, tangible results with double-digit revenue lift after integration. Optimal Dynamics is a high-growth early-stage company with ~60 employees and $55M in funding.
About the team
We are a team of bright, kind, and solution-oriented people focused on creating value for our customers. We can solve problems individually, but understand that the best solutions are found when the team brainstorms ideas together. We are excited about balancing the need to deploy new solutions quickly and designing solutions that are secured, reliable, maintainable and scalable for the long run.
Summary
Optimal Dynamics is seeking a Staff Tech Lead Manager to lead our Data Engineering team.
Data is at the heart of the decision intelligence engine we are building. Our world-class AI engine works its magic only because we always feed it with high-quality data! As a hands-on Staff Tech Lead / Manager, you will lead a team of data-focused Software Engineers to maintain, improve and extend this best-in-class data platform.
This position is full-time and is open to all remote candidates based in the United States. For candidates who prefer an office experience, OD headquarters are located in New York, NY.
What you will do
- Lead the Data Engineering team and own the entire data platform at Optimal Dynamics. Manage 2-4 data-focused Software Engineers while contributing hands-on.
- Work with Product Managers, Data Scientists and other Software Engineers, to design, develop, improve and extend our domain models, data infrastructure, data frameworks, data pipelines, and data tools.
- Work with Optimal Dynamics leadership on short-term tactical and long-term strategic planning and execute the plans together with your team.
- Lead by example to improve the quality, efficiency, cost, scalability, stability, and security of all the sub-components and subsystems of the Optimal Dynamics data platform.
- Interact with customers and technology partners to understand their data models, and devise and implement automated solutions to transform their data into Optimal Dynamics domain models.
- Provide continuous information and feedback to your team members on company goals, team goals, career growth, strengths and areas of improvement.
- Probably many other things; we are a startup after all!
Who you are
- BSc/MSc/PhD in Computer Science, a related field or equivalent technical experience.
- 3+ years professional experience leading or managing a team of Data Engineers and/or data-focused Software Engineers as a Staff Tech Lead and/or an Engineering Manager.
- 6+ years professional, hands-on data and software engineering experience designing, building and maintaining data infrastructure, frameworks, pipelines and tools for sophisticated domain models.
- Excellent, hands-on command of relational databases and SQL.
- Excellent, hands-on command of Python 3.
Nice to have (Bonus Points)
- Hands-on experience working with Trino (Presto), Dagster, dbt, DuckDB, and/or Preset (Superset) including implementing UDFs and managing infrastructure on AWS.
- Hands-on experience working on data modeling and data pipelines for transportation systems (TMS, ELD, etc.) and/or data-heavy scientific/analytics apps.
- Previous experience managing/leading remote/distributed engineering teams (US time zones).
- Familiarity with Operations Research (OR) and/or AI/ML systems and operations.
About our tech stack and development practices
Optimal Dynamics runs 100% on Amazon AWS and we make use of many AWS technologies (from DynamoDB and Aurora to SSM and SQS and more). We use Python 3 for data and backend and for parts of our AI engine, Java for other parts of our AI engine, and JavaScript/TypeScript for our web SPA. Our data stack is built on Trino, Dagster, dbt, DuckDB and Preset. All our code is on GitHub.com and every pull request is code reviewed, fully unit tested and immediately deployed via CI/CD for further quality assurance.
Benefits
- Competitive compensation, including Series B level equity
- Health / Dental / Vision 100% covered for employee and 50% for dependents
- Life Insurance, with optional supplemental insurance
- Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
- Health Spending Account (HSA)
- 401(k) with match
- Unlimited PTO (vacation, personal days, sick days, jury duty, military leave, bereavement)
- 10 Holidays
- Paid Parental Leave for all employees
- Short-term and Long-term Disability Insurances, and AD&D Insurance
- Fitness membership reimbursement
- Commuter benefits
- Flexible work from home policy
- Employee discounts
Optimal Dynamics is proud to be an equal opportunity employer that celebrates diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive workplace with equal opportunity for all applicants and employees. Our goal is to recruit the most talented people from a diverse candidate pool regardless of race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, disability, sex (including pregnancy), age, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.
Optimal Dynamics is committed to working with and providing access and reasonable accommodation to applicants. If you require an accommodation, please reach out to [email protected] once you've begun the interview process. All requests for accommodations are treated discreetly and confidentially, as practical and permitted by law.
What We Do
Optimal Dynamics introduces next-generation artificial intelligence to enable logistics companies to better plan, optimize and automate strategic, tactical and real-time operational decisions.
Based on nearly 40 years of extensive research & development at Princeton University in conjunction with decades of real-world application, CORE.ai reimagines how private fleets, dedicated capacity and for-hire carriers think about planning and operating their truckload assets, drivers and brokerage arms where applicable. Our platform enables users to ask hyper-detailed strategic "what if" questions via a simulation-based environment. We then leverage those outputs to maximize network profitability, increase asset revenue/utilization, reduce unnecessary cost and mitigate risk, all while keeping drivers moving in the most efficient manner.
Optimization is nothing new, but it’s extremely difficult to get right. Through the use of High-Dimensional AI, CORE.ai has been proven to achieve outsized impacts for our customers
 (1).png)
