OR-Path Market Intelligence

Hello OR-Path readers,

This issue is different.

Instead of sharing a curated list of open roles, today I’m bringing something deeper:
📊 a market intelligence report based on the full analysis of more than 70 Operations Research job descriptions across the US, Europe, Brazil, LATAM, India, and global-remote positions.

These roles come from companies such as Amazon, iFood, Target, Hexaly, McKinsey, AnyVan, Solvice, Swiggy, Just Eat Takeaway, Suzano, TikTok, Tiger Analytics, Energy Exemplar, Shield AI, and many others.

The goal is simple:

to show what the OR job market is actually demanding today — not what we assume it wants.

Let’s dive in.

Based strictly on the content of the job descriptions:

The gravitational center is still clear:

US + Europe ≈ 60% of the global OR market.

But Brazil stands out strongly, driven by:

For LATAM candidates, this is a positive structural signal:
high-impact OR roles without mandatory relocation.

Operations Research is not an entry-level market.

Two strong patterns emerge:

Searching for “Junior OR Scientist” is usually ineffective.
Building projects and portfolios is not optional — it’s the entry ticket.

After parsing all job descriptions, the most frequent skills are:

Across regions and industries, the minimum viable OR skill-set in 2025 is:

Python + LP/MIP modeling + commercial solvers (Gurobi/CPLEX) + SQL

Everything else — ML, cloud, simulation, heuristics, C++ — increases seniority, scope, and salary, but this core is universal.

The strongest OR engines in industry remain:

If you specialize deeply in any of these, global mobility becomes significantly easier.

OR remains academically grounded — but not locked behind a PhD.

The dominant pattern is:

Master’s preferred + strong applied experience + real modeling portfolio

Even roles listing PhD as “preferred” routinely hire strong applied engineers and scientists with production-level optimization experience.

Most high-impact OR roles implicitly require:

Layer 1 — Optimization (core)

Layer 2 — Data & engineering

Layer 3 — Domain
Choose one:

This structure explains the vast majority of senior OR job descriptions in this dataset.

What matters most:

Projects that mirror real job descriptions are far more valuable than generic credentials.

You don’t get hired abroad for “knowing optimization”.

You get hired for:

Choose your domain deliberately.

This is the most comprehensive OR market diagnostic OR-Path has produced so far.

The intention is simple:
to help you understand where the market is going — and how to move with it.

→ OR Jobs Digest #8
→ OR Jobs Digest #7
→ OR Jobs Digest #6

If you’re navigating your path in Operations Research and want guidance on positioning, skills, or portfolio strategy, feel free to reach out.

See you in the next edition,
Ricardo — OR-Path