Operations Research Airlines Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Guided by our purpose, core values, and leadership principles, we are creating an airline people love. Our corporate teams set the strategies and operational plans to ensure the success of our company. Whether we use our expertise in accounting, human resources, finance, planning, legal, marketing, or any of our operational divisions, our shared passion for travel and our guests is what motivates us to achieve excellence each day. If you share our passion for creating an airline people love, we want to hear from you. 

Lead and develop the Operations Research (OR) team within Revenue Strategy & Optimization at Alaska Air Group (AAG), ensuring delivery of high-quality optimization tools, applications, and models supporting Revenue Management, Pricing, Scheduling, and Network Planning. Balance technical credibility with people leadership—setting clear expectations, managing performance, coaching for development, protecting team capacity, and translating strategy into tactical actions that leverage science and technology to deliver practical and immediate revenue and profit outcomes. 

• Manage performance of OR team members: set clear expectations, provide timely constructive feedback and coaching, and create a clear accountability structure, managing people more than tasks. 
• Ensure accuracy, rigor, and ability to inform decisions in optimization models, tools, and analyses delivered to Revenue Management, Pricing, Scheduling, and Network Planning. 
• Create the bridge between function strategy and clear tactical actions for the team, protecting team capacity and managing priorities, tradeoffs, and escalations. 
• Translate business problems from Revenue Management, Pricing, Scheduling, and Network Planning into well-scoped optimization projects, coordinating project intake, prioritization, and resource allocation. 
• Establish and enforce standards and best practices in analytic and engineering processes: code review, documentation, version control, model validation, and production monitoring. 
• Understand team members individually, actively coach and help them achieve career goals, and focus on building capability—not only delivering output; own hiring, onboarding, training, and cross-training plans. 
• Maintain a player-coach mentality with hands-on programming and model development more frequently than the Director, contributing regularly to the team’s codebase and optimization work while balancing people leadership. 
• Establish priorities, delegate, and lead the team’s daily/weekly work, making decisions and recommendations as appropriate, understanding and managing to business metrics, and balancing short- and long-term needs on a 6–12 month horizon. 
• Build trust and credibility with the team, foster healthy team culture with open two-way communication, listen with intent, and manage and mediate conflicts. 
• Demonstrate deep curiosity—actively seek out emerging optimization techniques, ML advancements, and industry innovations to keep the team at the cutting edge. 

Required 

• 5 years of experience in operational research, data science, industrial engineering, applied mathematics, or related area. 
• 2 years of leadership experience. 
• Bachelor’s degree in operations research, industrial engineering, mathematics, statistics, computer science, or related field, or an additional 2 years of relevant training/experience in lieu of this degree. 
• Strong technical fluency in mathematical optimization, simulation, machine learning, and statistical modeling—sufficient to review, guide, and quality-check the team’s work. 
• Proficiency with Python, SQL, and modern data science/optimization tools. 
• Demonstrated experience managing complex projects and leading technical teams; proven ability to manage competing priorities, protect team capacity, and deliver results under pressure. 
• Adept at communications and presentations to both technical and non-technical audiences; able to explain complex technical concepts to senior leadership. 
• Tenacious, resilient, optimistic, open-minded, curious, data-driven, and comfortable in a fast-paced environment with a laser focus on driving outcomes. 
• High school diploma or equivalent is required. 
• Minimum age of 18. 
• Must be authorized to work in the U.S.  

Preferred 

• Master’s or Ph.D. in Operations Research, Industrial Engineering, or another quantitative field. 
• Experience in commercial aviation or complex logistics and revenue optimization. 
• Experience with Agile development and productionizing ML/optimization models. 
• Experience with Azure cloud environment, Databricks, and/or MLflow. 

• Embody our values to own safety, do the right thing, be caring and kind, and deliver performance. 
• Promote, and be a role model for, a culture of safety at all times; shape inclusive team culture; continuously interrupt bias. 
• Provide timely feedback and manage performance; foster an environment supporting timely two-way communication. 
• Effectively lead change; connect team members to internal and external networks needed to accomplish work and support career development. 

Pay will be based on multiple factors, including and not limited to location, relevant experience/level and skillset while balancing internal equity relative to other Alaska/Hawaiian/Horizon employees. Alaska/Hawaiian/Horizon is committed to fair, unbiased compensation along with competitive benefits in all locations in which we operate.

Note: We don’t typically hire at the top of the range.

Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines and Horizon Air pay and benefits can vary by company, location, number of regularly scheduled hours worked, length of employment, and employment status.

• Free stand-by travel privileges on Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines & Horizon Air
• Comprehensive well-being programs including medical, dental and vision benefits
• Generous 401k match program
• Annual bonus plans
• Generous holiday and paid time off
   

For more information about Alaska/Hawaiian/Horizon Total Rewards please visit our career site and view benefits.

Equal Employment Opportunity Policy Statement  
It is the policy of Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines and Horizon Air to comply with all applicable federal, state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment and to ensure equal opportunity in all terms, conditions, and benefits of employment or potential employment.   

We also prohibit discrimination and harassment against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information and other legally protected categories.  

We have established an EEO Compliance Program under Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (“Section 503”) and the Vietnam Era Veteran’s Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 (“VEVRAA”).  All applicants and employees are treated without regard to their race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability or protected veteran status. In addition, we have established an audit and reporting system to allow for effective measurement of its equal employment opportunity activities.   

To implement this policy, we will: 

(1) Recruit, hire, train and promote qualified persons in all job titles, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information and any other legally protected categories; 

(2) Ensure that employment decisions are based only on valid job requirements; and 

(3) Ensure that all personnel actions and employment activities such as compensation, benefits, promotions, layoffs, return from layoff, Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines and Horizon Air sponsored programs, and tuition assistance will be administered without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information and other legally protected categories. 

Employees and applicants for employment will not be subjected to harassment, intimidation, threats, coercion or discrimination because they have engaged or may engage in (1) filing a complaint, (2) opposing any act or practice made unlawful by, or exercising any other right protected by, any Federal, State or local law requiring equal opportunity, including Section 503 and the equal opportunity provisions of VEVRAA, or (3) assisting or participating in any investigation, compliance evaluation, hearing, or any other activity related to the administration of any Federal, State or local law requiring equal opportunity, including Section 503 and the equal opportunity provisions  of VEVRAA. 

Government Contractor & Department of Transportation (DOT) Regulations 
Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines & Horizon Air are regulated by the Department of Transportation (DOT – regulations, 49 CFR part 40) and all applicants are advised that post-offer and/or pre-employment drug testing will be conducted to determine the presence of marijuana, cocaine, opioids, phencyclidine (PCP) and amphetamines or a metabolite of these drugs prior to any offer or employment or transfer into a safety-sensitive position. Failure to submit to testing or positive indications of drug use will render the applicant ineligible for employment with Alaska Airlines/Hawaiian Airlines/Horizon Air and any employment offer will be withdrawn.