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Senior Data Scientist - Operations Research

Reads like an Analyst role: dashboards and reporting.

Chicago, Illinois, United States

Open 6 months, first seen by us 208 days ago
Pay
$117,610–153,146/year · BaseAnnual period assumed — pay source
Demonstrated ability to create business value The base pay range for this role is $117,610.00 to $153,146.00. The base salary range/hourly rate listed is dependent on job-related, factors such as experience, education, and skills. This position is also eligible for bonus and/or long-term incentive compensation awards. You may be eligible for the following competitive benefits: medical, dental, vision, life, accident & disability, parental leave, employee assistance program, commuter, paid holidays, paid time off, 401(k) and flight privileges.
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Work setting
Not stated
Employment
Not stated

What you’ll work on

Full posting
  • Build operations research and optimization model applications

  • Design analytic plans and test hypotheses on large, complex problems

  • Identify and implement operations research solutions with bottom-line impact

  • Communicate results and build presentation content for management and clients

  • Provide ongoing analytical services to client organizations

From the employer’s posting
Builds and develops operations research/optimization mathematical model applications
Designs analytic plan/develop hypotheses to test
Leverages understanding of the business process to identify and implement operations research solutions that will result in significant bottom-line contributions
Communicates results to management and clients
Provides on-going analytical services to client organizations

What you’ll bring

All qualifications

Core experience

  • PhD or ABD in Operations Research or related quantitative discipline
  • Experience with mathematical programming techniques
  • Optimization toolkit experience such as CPLEX, AMPL, or OPL
  • Programming in C, C++, Java, R, Python, or another structured language
  • Strong business, technical and written communication skills
Qualification wording
Advanced degree (PhD or ABD) in Operations Research or other related quantitative discipline
Coursework or work experience with mathematical programming techniques
Coursework or work experience in model prototyping through use of optimization toolkit(s) including CPLEX, AMPL, or OPL
Coursework or work experience with C, C++, Java, R, Python, or other structured programming language
Good business, technical, verbal/written communication, presentation and sales skills
Education & alternatives
What’s needed to succeed (Minimum Qualifications): - Advanced degree (PhD or ABD) in Operations Research or other related quantitative discipline involving quantitative analysis and application of advanced operations research principles - Coursework or work experience with mathematical programming techniques
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Posting record

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Open 6 monthsWe first saw this posting 208 days ago and it is still up. Roles open this long are often slow to fill or kept open to collect applications.

Status in our records
Live
First seen by us
Apr 15, 2026208 days ago
Recorded sightings
397
Last seen by us
Nov 9, 2026

These dates show when we found the posting. Check the employer’s website to confirm it is still accepting applications.

How this job compares

Pay

In line with similar jobs

$118K–$153K against $94.4K–$144K, the middle half of what similar US postings state.

From 1,960 postings in the last year. Stated ranges, not salaries paid.

Time since we first saw it

Day 208

Up longer than most. Similar jobs usually come down between day 5 and day 41.

Well past United Airlines’s usual: its jobs come down by about day 10.

From 12,187 similar postings that came down, and 221 of United Airlines’s. Coming down is not always a hire.

United Airlines is hiring

13 open jobs

Open jobs by the week we first saw them, last 12 weeks.

  • Analyst hiring is steady
  • Takes jobs down quickly
  • 23% of open jobs were reposted
Hiring record

See how this role fits your experience

Add your resume and we’ll mark which of these tools you already use, and point out anything in the posting that could rule you out.

  • C
  • C++
  • Java
  • Julia
  • Python
  • R
Where the posting names them
- Coursework or work experience in model prototyping through use of optimization toolkit(s) including CPLEX, AMPL, or OPL - Coursework or work experience with C, C++, Java, R, Python, or other structured programming language - Good business, technical, verbal/written communication, presentation and sales skills. Adaptability to changing business environment
- 1+ years designing and programming/coding data structures for large-scale computer models - Experience with Julia programming language - Knowledge of United/industry data sources

Your next step

Complete your application on ual-pro.taleo.net. The employer’s form will show what is required.

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About United Airlines

People
About 113,200 in 2025, up 6% from the year before.Annual report (SEC Form 10-K)
Company
Listed as UAL.
H-1B visas
3 approved for new hires in fiscal 2025.US Citizenship and Immigration Services

Demand for Analyst roles

New Analyst postings at the employers we follow are up 18% over the last 5 weeks compared with the 5 before.

Weekly new Analyst postings at the same employers, from the week of August 17 to the week of October 26. The fewest in a week was 965, the most 1,385, and the latest week had 1,346.
August 17Last week

Each bar is one week of new postings. The darkest bars are the last 5 weeks.

Counted from the hiring pages we’ve followed for at least five weeks, so employers we add don’t look like growth. Updated weekly.

About the role

We file this job under Analyst, by the work the posting describes.

Analysts answer business questions with data. They pull numbers with SQL, build reports and dashboards, and explain what changed and why to the people making decisions.

Most postings ask for SQL, spreadsheets, a dashboard tool such as Tableau or Power BI, and clear writing.

Unlike a data scientist, an analyst mostly explains what happened rather than building models that predict what will.

Job description

View original posting ↗

Achieving our goals starts with supporting yours. Grow your career, access top-tier health and wellness benefits, build lasting connections with your team and our customers, and travel the world using our extensive route network.

Come join us to create what’s next. Let’s define tomorrow, together.

Description

United's Digital Technology team is comprised of many talented individuals all working together with cutting-edge technology to build the best airline in the history of aviation. Our team designs, develops and maintains massively scaling technology solutions brought to life with innovative architectures, data analytics, and digital solutions.

 

Job overview and responsibilities

Provides mathematical modeling and analysis services to support critical financial, operational, and/or strategic planning decisions and engages in supporting project teams in value added activities that generate practical solutions to complex business problems, explores new business alternatives, and drives improvement in business decisions

  • Develops the approach and methods to define and solve management problems through quantitative analysis and analytical models using operations research, machine learning, and structured programming languages
  • Identifies, researches, or solves large complex problems using big data and operations research and machine learning principles
  • Leverages understanding of the business process to identify and implement operations research solutions that will result in significant bottom-line contributions
  • Builds and develops operations research/optimization mathematical model applications, and provides client support leveraging operations research knowledge
  • Participates in model design, prototype, and model development for several efforts that occur simultaneously, and interfaces with product delivery groups
  • Raises concerns when scope of analysis may not align with time available and can choose an appropriate scope of analysis to conduct balancing ROI to time available
  • Designs analytic plan/develop hypotheses to test; understands limitations of analysis (what it can and cannot be used for)
  • Anticipates working team questions to data and approach
  • Identifies solution quality risks and on-time risks
  • Understands the business value, process, and expectations before focusing on choice of a technical solution
  • Understands the intuition behind the numbers (i.e. does it make sense?)
  • Provides on-going analytical services to client organizations
  • Communicates results to management and clients
  • Contributes deck content and builds the story for the deck with guidance to summarize findings
  • Develops and delivers presentations aligned with Ai standards
  • Speaks in a manner appropriate for working team and their level +1
  • Keeps informed about the latest analytical methods and research in the operations research and analytics fields

Qualifications

What’s needed to succeed (Minimum Qualifications):

 

  • Advanced degree (PhD or ABD) in Operations Research or other related quantitative discipline involving quantitative analysis and application of advanced operations research principles
  • Coursework or work experience with mathematical programming techniques
  • Coursework or work experience in model prototyping through use of optimization toolkit(s) including CPLEX, AMPL, or OPL
  • Coursework or work experience with C, C++, Java, R, Python, or other structured programming language
  • Good business, technical, verbal/written communication, presentation and sales skills. Adaptability to changing business environment
  • Good interpersonal skills and ability to interact with clients
  • Proficient with MS Office

     

  • Successful completion of interview required to meet job qualification
  • Reliable, punctual attendance is an essential function of the position

 

What will help you propel from the pack (Preferred Qualifications):

 

  • Minor in computer science and/or formal advanced computer science coursework preferred
  • 2+ years of professional experience in analytical field 
  • 1+ years of airline business experience 
  • 1+ years designing and programming/coding data structures for large-scale computer models
  • Experience with Julia programming language
  • Knowledge of United/industry data sources 
  • Structured programming for large-scale computer models
  • Demonstrated ability to create business value

The base pay range for this role is $117,610.00 to $153,146.00.
The base salary range/hourly rate listed is dependent on job-related, factors such as experience, education, and skills. This position is also eligible for bonus and/or long-term incentive compensation awards.

You may be eligible for the following competitive benefits: medical, dental, vision, life, accident & disability, parental leave, employee assistance program, commuter, paid holidays, paid time off, 401(k) and flight privileges.

United Airlines is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We recruit, employ, train, compensate, and promote without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, age, veteran status, or any other protected category under applicable law. We provide reasonable accommodations for applicants and employees with disabilities. To request an accommodation, contact JobAccommodations@united.com
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Pay
Demonstrated ability to create business value The base pay range for this role is $117,610.00 to $153,146.00. The base salary range/hourly rate listed is dependent on job-related, factors such as experience, education, and skills. This position is also eligible for bonus and/or long-term incentive compensation awards. You may be eligible for the following competitive benefits: medical, dental, vision, life, accident & disability, parental leave, employee assistance program, commuter, paid holidays, paid time off, 401(k) and flight privileges.
Location & working pattern

Chicago, Illinois, United States

Working pattern and location restrictions need checking in the full posting.

Work authorization

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