Principal Operations Research Scientist

Coupa makes margins multiply through its community-generated AI and industry-leading total spend management platform for businesses large and small. Coupa AI is informed by trillions of dollars of direct and indirect spend data across a global network of 10M+ buyers and suppliers. We empower you with the ability to predict, prescribe, and automate smarter, more profitable business decisions to improve operating margins.

Why join Coupa?

Pioneering Technology: At Coupa, we're at the forefront of innovation, leveraging the latest technology to empower our customers with greater efficiency and visibility in their spend. Collaborative Culture: We value collaboration and teamwork, and our culture is driven by transparency, openness, and a shared commitment to excellence. Global Impact: Join a company where your work has a global, measurable impact on our clients, the business, and each other. Learn more on Life at Coupa blog and hear from our employees about their experiences working at Coupa.

The Impact of Principal Operations Research Scientist to Coupa:

At Coupa, we are building the smartest Business Spend Management (BSM) platform in the world. Our Supply Chain and Sourcing engineering teams develop advanced tools that help global enterprises design resilient supply chains, optimize procurement events, and maximize the value of every dollar spent. The Operations Research team is at the heart of this mission. As a Principal Operations Research Scientist, you will act as the principal hands-on architect for our core optimization engines, driving technical excellence and turning complex mathematical theories into scalable, production-ready enterprise software.

What You’ll Do

• Algorithmic Leadership: Take end-to-end technical ownership of complex optimization features. Formulate, prototype, and implement advanced mathematical models (MIP, LP, NLP, Network Flow, and custom heuristics) to solve strategic sourcing and supply chain challenges.
• Architecture & Scalability: Partner with software architects to integrate optimization models into Coupa’s high-throughput, multi-tenant SaaS platform. Ensure the code is modular, well-tested, and built to handle massive enterprise datasets.
• Solver Tuning & Optimization: Bench-test, profile, and tune commercial solvers (e.g., Gurobi, CPLEX, Google OR-Tools) to dramatically improve performance, solve times, and memory footprint under strict application SLAs.
• Technical Mentorship: Act as a force multiplier by mentoring senior and junior engineers/scientists. Establish code review standards and run design sessions to elevate the team's mathematical and engineering practices.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with Product Managers and Senior Engineering leaders to define feature requirements, translate business objectives into technical specifications, and manage algorithmic trade-offs.
• Empirical Validation: Design robust validation frameworks and simulation environments to thoroughly test model behavior, ensuring stability and mathematical correctness against highly variable, messy real-world data.

What You Will Bring to Coupa

• Master’s degree or Ph.D. in Operations Research, Industrial Engineering, Applied Mathematics, Computer Science, or a closely related field.
• 12+ years of industry experience applying operations research methods and deploying production-level optimization models in commercial environments at scale.
• Expert knowledge of mathematical programming and deep experience with authoring model formulations for commercial solvers (such as Gurobi, CPLEX, or Xpress).
• Strong programming proficiency in Python, Java, C++, C# or Go, with a solid understanding of software design patterns and object-oriented programming.
• Deep understanding of computational complexity, advanced data structures, and algorithmic design.
• Excellent communication skills, with a proven ability to explain highly complex mathematical behaviors to product and business leaders.
• You are an elite mathematical modeler who also loves writing clean, production-grade code.
• You are highly analytical, self-driven, and excel at converting ambiguous, high-level business constraints into structured, elegant algorithms.
• You enjoy mentoring others and are passionate about cultivating a highly collaborative, intellectually rigorous engineering culture.
• You embody Coupa’s core values: Ensure Customer Success, Focus on Results, and Strive for Excellence.

What Will Give You a Competitive Edge (Preferred Qualifications)

• Deep domain expertise in Supply Chain Network Design, Inventory Optimization, Production/Scheduling Optimization, Routing Optimization, Strategic Procurement, and/or Logistics.
• Experience utilizing Machine Learning techniques (e.g., forecasting, clustering) in tandem with mathematical optimization models.
• Experience with PySpark, SQL, and processing large-scale datasets in distributed computing environments.

The successful candidate’s starting salary will be determined based on permissible, non-discriminatory factors such as skills, experience, and geographic location.

At Coupa, we are 100% committed to creating and nurturing an environment that supports your physical, mental, and community well-being. We offer a comprehensive suite of benefits designed to help you and your family thrive:

Global Well-Being Perks (For All Employees Globally)

• Global Wellness Days: Enjoy two designated, company-wide paid wellness days off each year (typically the first Friday in March and the last Friday in September) so the entire global team can unplug, step away, and recharge together.
• Birthday Time-Off: Celebrate your day! Coupa provides a paid day off on your birthday or another day of your choice within your birthday month.
• Volunteer Time Off (VTO): Giving back is in our DNA. We offer 40 hours of paid VTO annually to support the community initiatives and volunteer programs you are passionate about.
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP): Access free, confidential, 24/7/365 counseling and resources for emotional support, work-life solutions, financial advice, legal guidance, and support for new parents.
• Business Travel Protection: Travel with peace of mind. Zurich Travel Assist provides medical, safety, pre-trip planning, and emergency support during any business travel.
• Referral Bonus Program: Share the Coupa experience! Receive generous monetary referral bonuses when you successfully refer talented friends or acquaintances who are hired into open roles.

Please note: In addition to these global well-being perks, Coupa offers highly competitive, location-specific benefits packages (which include comprehensive medical/dental insurance, retirement/pension plans, and life or accident protection) tailored to your primary work location. Your recruiter will walk you through the specific regional benefits package for this role during the interview process.

Coupa complies with relevant laws and regulations regarding equal opportunity and offers a welcoming and inclusive work environment. Decisions related to hiring, compensation, training, or evaluating performance are made fairly, and we provide equal employment opportunities to all qualified candidates and employees.

Please be advised that inquiries or resumes from recruiters will not be accepted.

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