Applied Science Manager, Prime Air

Job :  |  Services LLC

How do you orchestrate a fleet of autonomous drones to deliver packages safely in under an hour, while maximizing every minute of flight time? How do you scale a mission planning system to handle thousands of concurrent deliveries in complex, shifting environments?

As an Applied Science Manager, you will lead a high-caliber team of scientists and engineers focused on the "brains" of our fleet orchestration. You will bridge the gap between Geospatial Intelligence and Machine Learning to revolutionize our path planning and scheduling algorithms. Your primary north star? Increasing deliveries per hour (DPH) through intelligent, automated optimization.

• Lead & Mentor:
  Manage a cross-functional team of Applied Scientists and Engineers, fostering a culture of scientific rigor and rapid iteration.
• Innovate Path Planning:
  Leverage ML/RL and heuristic search techniques to develop dynamic path-planning algorithms that navigate complex airspace and weather patterns.
• Optimize Orchestration:
  Drive the development of high-scale scheduling systems that manage battery life, maintenance cycles, and delivery windows to maximize fleet utilization.
• Geospatial Mastery:
  Utilize deep geospatial data (3D maps, urban topology, etc.) to improve situational awareness and mission safety.
• System Architecture:
  Define the long-term technical roadmap for mission orchestration, ensuring our systems are modular, scalable, and resilient.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration:
  
  Partner with Hardware, Flight Safety, and Supply Chain teams to translate business requirements into technical breakthroughs.

• Experience managing a team of scientists and/or engineers in a production environment.
• PhD or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Robotics, Operations Research, or a related field.
• Strong foundation in Geospatial Information Systems (GIS) and spatial data analysis.
• Proven track record of applying Machine Learning (e.g., Reinforcement Learning, Graph Neural Networks) to optimization problems like path planning or vehicle routing.

• Experience with autonomous systems, UAVs, or large-scale logistics networks.
• Knowledge of combinatorial optimization and real-time scheduling constraints.
• A knack for turning ambiguous "blue sky" research into deployed, high-impact features.

Export Control License:
This position may require a deemed export control license for compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Placement is contingent on Amazon’s ability to apply for and obtain an export control license on your behalf.

• Strategic Technical Leadership & Throughput:
  Lead the development of path planning and geospatial orchestration models to maximize deliveries per hour, ensuring complex algorithms are production-ready and integrated into the mission system.
• Team Management & Delivery:
  Build and scale a world-class science team by mentoring talent and fostering career growth, while maintaining a high bar for operational excellence to deliver mission-critical software on schedule.

In a typical day, you lead an agile squad through high-velocity sprints, starting with a stand-up to unblock path-planning prototypes and ensure the team is on track for mission-critical delivery milestones. You spend your time bridging the gap between research and reality, reviewing code and design docs to ensure algorithms for geospatial orchestration are production-ready and optimized for real-world drone throughput.

Between deep-dive technical reviews, you focus heavily on people development—conducting 1:1s to mentor scientists and architecting career growth paths—while collaborating with cross-functional leads to ensure your team's…