Principal Operations Research Scientist - 90028548 - Washington
Washington, DC, US, 20001
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Job Summary
The Principal Operations Research Scientist – Revenue Management Systems (RMS) is a senior individual contributor role reporting to the Director, Revenue Products and Business Planning within the Pricing, Revenue Management, Sales and Distribution (PRMSD) organization at Amtrak.
This role combines advanced analytical reasoning, operations research expertise, and system-level thinking to ensure the effectiveness and continuous improvement of Amtrak’s Revenue Management System (RMS).
The Principal OR Scientist will serve as the analytical owner of RMS decision quality, responsible for:
- Defining and prototyping analytical approaches for forecasting, pricing, and optimization
- Rigorously evaluating system performance and outputs
- Translating business requirements into analytical frameworks and vendor deliverables
- Partnering closely with Revenue Management users, Digital Technology teams, and external RMS vendors
While model implementation is primarily performed by vendor systems, this role requires deep expertise to guide, validate, and challenge model development, ensuring alignment with business objectives and measurable revenue impact.
An ideal candidate is technically strong, intellectually curious, and comfortable operating at the intersection of analytics, systems, and product strategy.
Essential Functions
RMS Steady State Operations:
- Collaborate with Digital Technology and vendor support teams to ensure system reliability, data integrity, and quality across integrations between RMS and commercial systems, including the Reservation System
- Oversee batch processing, error resolution, and recurring RMS operational health checks
- Conduct troubleshooting and root-cause analysis of system and data issues, partnering with vendor and internal teams
- Test, validate, and document vendor product updates, version upgrades, and enhancements
- Communicate system changes, risks, and operational impacts to business users
- Perform regression testing as prescribed by Enterprise Release Management
Product Vision, Analytics & Technical Innovation
- Design and prototype analytical approaches to improve forecasting, pricing, and inventory optimization within RMS
- Translate business problems into structured analytical frameworks and solution concepts
- Partner with vendor teams to translate validated analytical approaches into production-ready models
- Evaluate new ideas using data, develop prototypes/POCs, and generate insights to inform system enhancements
- Collaborate with Business Planning to align RMS evolution with long-term strategic opportunities
- Contribute to defining next-generation capabilities leveraging AI/ML and advanced analytics
Performance Measurement & Governance
- Define and track key performance metrics for RMS models and decision making, including Forecast accuracy, Revenue performance, Load factor and demand realization, System utilization vs manual overrides
- Develop frameworks to diagnose model performance issues, identify bias, drift, and inefficiencies in system outputs
- Conduct post-implementation analysis of model changes and enhancements
- Establish feedback loops between business users, system outputs, and vendor teams
- Partner with vendors to validate and challenge model performance and assumptions, ensuring measurable improvements
RMS Roadmap, User Engagement & Change Management
- Co-own the RMS roadmap and enhancement backlog, prioritizing system gaps, analytical opportunities, and user pain points
- Influence vendor roadmap development and validate delivered capabilities against business expectations
- Drive change management, including documentation of best practices and development of training materials
- Support onboarding and training to improve system adoption and effective usage
Project Execution, Integration & Quality Assurance
- Participate in ideation, scoping, and requirements definition for RMS-related initiatives and integrations
- Translate business and analytical requirements into clear specifications for vendor and engineering teams
- Develop and execute validation frameworks for new features, models, and system enhancements
- Track project progress, risks, and mitigation strategies, providing concise updates to stakeholders
- Ensure smooth transition of new capabilities into steady-state operations
Technical Leadership & Mentorship
- Provide guidance to analysts and stakeholders on analytical approaches, interpretation of results, and decision-making
- Establish best practices in analytical rigor, experimentation and data validation
- Elevate the team’s capability in understanding and applying revenue management and decision science concepts
Minimum Qualifications
- Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent combination of education, training and/or relevant experience.
- Plus 7 years of relevant work experience.
- Preferred Bachelor’s degree in Operations Research, Industrial Engineering, Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics, or a related field
- Preferred 7 years of experience in advanced analytical roles, ideally in revenue management, pricing, transportation, or related industries
- Strong understanding of forecasting methods, optimization concepts, supply, demand and pricing dynamics
- Advanced proficiency in SQL and experience working with large, complex datasets
- Experience developing analytical prototypes and translating business problems into quantitative frameworks
- Demonstrated experience evaluating model performance and defining success metrics for analytical systems
- Strong communication skills, with the ability to translate complex analytical concepts for both technical and non-technical audiences
- Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a dynamic, cross-functional environment
Preferred Qualifications
- Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent combination of education, training and/or relevant experience.
- Plus 9 years of relevant work experience.
- Master’s degree (or higher) in Operations Research, Industrial Engineering, Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics, or a related field
- Direct experience with Revenue Management Systems (RMS) in airline, rail, or hospitality industries
- Familiarity with inventory control concepts (e.g., bid-price logic, demand segmentation) and network or multi-segment optimization problems
- Experience working with external vendors on analytical or system implementations
- Experience with experimental design (A/B testing), model validation and performance monitoring
- Practical experience with Python/R for data analysis, prototyping, or modeling
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
- Requires an advanced analytical knowledge of data.
- Ability to conduct large data analysis.
- Ability to perform data conditioning for storage/moving capability.
- Ability to program advanced computing.
- Ability to develop algorithms, software and data models.
- Ability to execute predictive analytics.
The salary/hourly range is $124,600.00 – $161,352.00. Pay is based on several factors including but not limited to education, work experience, certifications, etc. Depending on an employee’s assigned worksite or location, Amtrak may consider a geo-pay differential to be applied to the employee’s base salary. Amtrak may offer additional incentive and pay programs to recognize and reward our employees, including a short-term incentive bonus based upon factors such as individual and company performance that is commensurate with the level of the position.
| Health and Wellbeing | Financial and Retirement | Work and Family Life Support |
| Health, Dental, and Vision Insurance | 401K with Employer Match | Generous Paid Time Off |
| Wellness Programs | Railroad Retirement Benefits | Paid Caregiving Days and Backup Care |
| Health Savings Account | Public Service Student Loan Forgiveness | Fertility and Family Building Benefits |
| No-cost Personal Health Advocate | Student Loan Assistance | Adoption and Surrogacy Assistance |
| Medical Plan Opt-out Credit | Tuition and Education Reimbursement | Paid Family Leave |
| Life Insurance | Rail Pass Privileges | |
| Short- and Long-term Disability Insurance | Employee Assistance Program | |
| No-cost Financial Advisor Sessions | Commuter and Flexible Spending Accounts |
Learn more about our benefits offerings here.
Requisition ID:166984
Work Arrangement:06-Onsite 4/5 Days Click here for more information about work arrangements at Amtrak.
Relocation Offered:No
Travel Requirements:Up to 25%
You power our progress through your performance.
We want your work at Amtrak to be more than a job. We want your career at Amtrak to be a fulfilling experience where you find challenging work, rewarding opportunities, respect among colleagues, and attractive compensation. Amtrak maintains a culture that values high performance and recognizes individual employee contributions.
Amtrak is committed to a safe workplace free of drugs and alcohol. All Amtrak positions requires a pre-employment background check that includes prior employment verification, a criminal history check and a pre-employment drug screen.
Candidates who test positive for marijuana will be disqualified, regardless of any state or local statute, ordinance, regulation, or other law that legalizes or decriminalizes the use or possession of marijuana, whether for medical, recreational, or other use. Amtrak's pre-employment drug testing program is administered in accordance with DOT regulations and applicable law.
In accordance with DOT regulations (49 CFR § 40.25), Amtrak is required to obtain prior drug and alcohol testing records for applicants/employees intending to perform safety-sensitive duties for covered Department of Transportation positions. If an applicant/employee refuses to provide written consent for Amtrak to obtain these records, the individual will not be permitted to perform safety-sensitive functions.
In accordance with federal law governing security checks of covered individuals for providers of public transportation (Title 6 U.S.C. §1143), Amtrak is required to screen applicants for any permanent or interim disqualifying criminal offenses.
Note that any education requirement listed above may be deemed satisfied if you have an equivalent combination of education, training and experience.
Amtrak is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race/color, to include traits historically associated with race, including but not limited to, hair texture and hairstyles such as braids, locks and twists, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth and related conditions, such as lactation), national origin/ethnicity, disability (intellectual, mental and physical), veteran status, marital status, ancestry, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, genetic information, citizenship or any other personal characteristics protected by law.
