Senior Research Scientist - Vehicle Routing Optimisation (m/f/d)

Flink is the leading quick commerce player in Europe. We are on a mission to give people back time: You can order your groceries through our app and we deliver to your doorstep in minutes. We carry 3,000 products with a focus on the leading brands in each category. We aim for sustainability by making deliveries on electric bikes and utilizing recyclable packaging. 

Flink launched in February 2021 and already operates in more than 90 cities in Germany, and the Netherlands. The business generated more than EUR 400m in revenues in 2022 and is operationally profitable. Flink is backed by the world’s most renowned tech investors, including Prosus, Mubadala, and Bond, and strategic investors like Doordash and REWE. We take great pride in being an inclusive employer that offers equal opportunities, and we celebrate the diversity and multiculturalism of our team. We're growing fast and always pushing ourselves to do better - we play for #1.

 To stay on top, we need to understand our customers better than anyone else. That's where you come in.

Our promise of delivering groceries to your doorstep in minutes is powered by a complex, real-time logistics network. At the very core of this network is our dispatching system, the brain that determines how to efficiently, sustainably, and incredibly quickly deliver thousands of orders to our customers. 

To support the continued development of this system, we are looking for a Senior Research Scientist (m/f/d) to join our team and become a key architect of this brain.

This is not just an academic challenge; it's a real-world optimization puzzle. You will be responsible for designing, developing, and evolving the next generation of our rider routing algorithms. Your work will directly impact millions of deliveries, hyper-efficient routing on our e-bike fleet, and ultimately define the customer experience. You will push the boundaries of what's possible in last-mile logistics, tackling dynamic routing problems where demand, traffic, and rider availability change every second.

In this role you will:

• ​​​Architect and implement state-of-the-art optimization models to solve complex vehicle routing and dispatching problems at a massive scale.
• Leverage your deep expertise in techniques like Mixed-Integer Linear Programming (MILP), Column Generation, and Meta-Heuristics to find novel solutions.
• Own the entire lifecycle of your models, from theoretical conception and prototyping to production deployment and performance analysis.
• Collaborate closely with a world-class team of software engineers, data scientists,MLEengineers  and product managers to translate complex business requirements into tangible, high-impact solutions.
• Drive the scientific roadmap for our dispatching system, ensuring Flink remains the leader in quick commerce efficiency and innovation.

We are looking for a thought leader with a passion for solving hard problems and a track record of turning research into reality! Ideally you will have: 

• A Ph.D. or Master's degree in Operations Research, Computer Science, Industrial Engineering, Applied Mathematics, or a related quantitative field.
• Proven industry experience in developing and deploying large-scale optimization models for real-world logistical challenges.
• Deep theoretical and practical expertise in advanced optimization methodologies, specifically MILP, Column Generation, and/or Meta-Heuristics.
• Mastery of using commercial or open-source optimization solvers (e.g., Gurobi, CPLEX, SCIP) and the ability to select the right tool for the job.
• Strong programming skills (Python, C++, Java, or similar) and experience building production-ready code.
• Significant domain knowledge in the last-mile logistics space, with a strong understanding of Vehicle Routing Problems (VRP) and their many variants (e.g., VRP with Time Windows, Dynamic VRP).

Bonus Points for:

• Experience with stochastic and dynamic optimization.
• Familiarity with machine learning models that can complement optimization, such as travel time prediction.
• Experience working in a fast-paced, high-growth tech environment.

• A €1000 annual L&D budget as well as individual coaching options to ensure you have plenty of opportunities to learn, grow and achieve your goals
• 26 days of vacation, +1 day every year up to a maximum of 30 days
• A mobility budget of 35 EUR per month for Deutschland Ticket subsidy
• A discount on your Urban Sports Club membership
• Attractive company pension options
• Unlimited access to an e-learning and development platform, MyAcademy, including online German courses
• Online discounts with Corporate Benefits and Future Bens
• A cool discount off your personal Flink orders; be the first to test out new products!
• A modern and dog-friendly office in the heart of Berlin - lots of delicious lunch spots available within short walking distance

It is our commitment that every applicant will be evaluated according to their skills regardless of age, gender identity, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability status, or religion.