Amazon

Principal Economist, Fulfillment by Amazon

Amazon$189K — $256K *
Business Services
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • PhD in Economics, Finance, Statistics, Mathematics, or a closely related quantitative field.
  • 7+ years of experience applying economic methods to real-world problems across academia, industry, or consulting.
  • Proficiency in building complex economic models and deploying them in production.
  • Experience with big data, causal inference, machine learning, and data science techniques.
  • Strong programming skills in Python, R, SQL, or similar languages.
  • Familiarity with GenAI for automation and rapid prototyping.
  • A proven publication record or relevant body of work demonstrating research rigor.

Responsibilities

  • Design markets and incentive mechanisms to improve supply chain efficiency.
  • Shape the economics behind Amazon’s fast delivery programs and sellers' strategies.
  • Build economic frameworks for large supply chain and fulfillment problems.
  • Collaborate with cross-functional teams to integrate models into production processes.
  • Influence senior leadership on technical and business decisions, representing scientific views.
  • Identify new investment areas to direct future research efforts.
  • Mentor junior economists and enhance the technical capabilities of the team.

Benefits

  • Comprehensive health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription) with additional life insurance and mental health support options.
  • 401(k) matching plan to support retirement savings.
  • Paid time off policies to encourage work-life balance.
  • Parental leave benefits to support family growth.
  • Flexible Spending Accounts for healthcare expenses.
Full Job Description
As a lead economist, you will design markets and implement agentic systems that deploy supply chain and fulfillment resources to millions of heterogenous sellers. You will build causal inference models and experiments to evaluate policy impact on seller outcomes, and shape how our products evolve into trustworthy autonomous systems - collaborating with business and software teams to solve key challenges facing the worldwide FBA business. Such challenges include designing mechanisms to align sellers' decisions with customers' needs through better coordinating inventory, inbound, capacity, and fee. Successful operations enable sellers' businesses growth, while ensuring worldwide Amazon customers have access to the largest selection of products through FBA sellers. In doing so, you will shape the economics of Amazon's global fast delivery programs, including Sub Same Day Delivery and Quick Commerce, across North America, Europe, and emerging markets.

We are looking for a seasoned economist who brings rigorous causal and structural thinking to traditionally operations research problems and who thrives in the ambiguity of defining the roadmap rather than receiving it. The successful candidate will have familiarity with modern GenAI methods for automation and rapid prototyping. Beyond individual contribution, you will set the long-term technical vision across work streams, and influence product managers, engineers, scientists, and senior leaders on high-judgment decisions and trade-off. You will raise the bar for the organization by establishing best practices, driving science culture, and mentoring junior economists and scientists. We value deeply technical people who deliver results incrementally and frequently in a fast-paced, high-energy and fun environment, and who are eager to learn new areas and develop themselves and their colleagues.

Key job responsibilities
• Design markets (e.g., auctions), incentive mechanisms (e.g. pricing), develop economic models and execute large-scale experiments to increase supply chain efficiency, to evaluate seller-facing policies, to induce proper seller actions, and to uncover new opportunities that improve customers and sellers' outcomes.
• Shape the economics of Amazon's fast delivery programs and FBA sellers' product selection strategy (e.g., Sub Same Day Delivery and Quick Commerce)
• Bridge economics and operations research by building economic frameworks for large-scale supply chain and fulfilment management problems.
• Operate as a thought leader across the organization; collaborate with product managers, scientists, and software developers to incorporate models into production processes and
• Influence senior leaders at VP-level on technical and business direction, and represent the science perspective.
• Identify and propose new science investment areas to business leaders, shaping where the team focuses next.
• Mentor and develop junior economists and scientists, and raise the technical bar for the broader science community.

About the team

Sellers play a vital role in Amazon's ecosystem, integral to our mission of offering the Earth's largest selection, lowest prices, and fastest delivery speed. FBA is an optional service that enables third-party sellers to outsource order fulfillment to Amazon, and leverage Amazon's world-class facilities to provide customers fast delivery promise. With commitment to taking on even more of the supply chain and operational complexities on behalf of our selling partners, Amazon now provides an end-to-end suite of supply chain services. This comprehensive solution empowers sellers to reliably transport products from manufacturing sites to customers worldwide. The FBA team is the core group in charge of warehousing, inventory management, fulfillment and pricing, and a diverse range of recommendation and agentic services for sellers, as well as building the autonomous internal resource management systems. We work to learn seller behavior, understand seller experience, build automated and trustworthy autonomous assistants to sellers, recommend right actions to sellers, design seller policies and incentives, and develop science products and services that empower sellers to grow their businesses. To do so, we build and innovate science solutions that leverage the right tolls across different fields including economics, operation research, machine learning, statistics, and data analytics. Our culture is centered on rapid prototyping, rigorous experimentation, and data-driven decision-making.

We are open to hiring candidates to work out of one of the following locations: Bellevue, WA, or Sunnyvale, CA.

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS
• PhD in Economics, Finance, Statistics, Mathematics, or a closely related quantitative field.
• 7+ years in academia, industry, consulting, or government applying economic methods to substantive problems.
• Experience in applied economic analysis with big data, causal inference, machine learning and data science.
• Demonstrated ability to build complex economic models from scratch and take them to production.
• Proficiency in Python, R, SQL, or equivalent.
• Familiarity with GenAI methods for automation and rapid prototyping.
• A publication record or comparable body of work demonstrating research rigor.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, including with non-technical senior audiences

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

Deep technical knowledge in causal models, econometrics, and machine learning.
• Background in industrial organization, mechanism/market design, or structural model estimation
• Experience at the intersection of economics and operations research, particularly in supply chain, logistics, or marketplace settings.
• Demonstrated ability to leverage large datasets and economic models to drive organizational impact and change in a private or public sector context.
• Experience with production-grade languages (e.g., Java or C++) in addition to scripting/analysis tools.
• Ability to identify and successfully pitch the value of new ideas to business leaders.
• Proven ability to work effectively across product, engineering, and science teams by thinking strategically, earning trust while staying on top of tactical execution with relentlessly high standards.

The base salary range for this position is listed below. Your Amazon package will include sign-on payments and restricted stock units (RSUs). Final compensation will be determined based on factors including experience, qualifications, and location. Amazon also offers comprehensive benefits including health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription, Basic Life & AD&D insurance and option for Supplemental life plans, EAP, Mental Health Support, Medical Advice Line, Flexible Spending Accounts, Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage), 401(k) matching, paid time off, and parental leave. Learn more about our benefits at https://amazon.jobs/en/benefits.

USA, WA, Bellevue - 189,400.00 - 256,200.00 USD annually

About Amazon

Audible is a provider of spoken audio information and entertainment , on the Internet. They provide premium spoken audio content, such as audio versions of books and newspapers and radio programs, that is delivered over the Internet and played back on personal computers and hand-held electronic devices. The Audible service allows consumers to purchase and download their content from their Website, store it in digital files and play it back on personal computers and electronic devices. More than 15,000 hours of audio content are available on their Web site, including audio versions of books, periodicals and radio programs. Several manufacturers have agreed to support and promote the playback of their content on their hand-held audio-enabled electronic devices.

Amazon Careers

Joining Amazon presents an unparalleled opportunity to become part of a vibrant team pushing the boundaries of innovation and growth in the global marketplace. As a leader in e-commerce, technology, and logistics, Amazon offers a variety of job opportunities that cater to a range of skills and professional interests. Work You’ll Do At Amazon, every day is an opportunity to collaborate with the brightest minds in technology and business to redefine what’s possible. Whether you’re interested in software development, marketing, human resources, or customer service, Amazon has a position waiting for you. Transform the way the world shops and innovates with our diverse and inclusive team. Amazon is not just a company; it’s a community where you can drive real change and contribute to projects impacting millions globally. Lead with Innovation and Leadership Amazon is the perfect place to enhance your leadership and innovation skills. Our culture encourages pushing the envelope and imagining the unimaginable. Here, you will lead projects that challenge the status quo and define new industry standards. Work with a team that values diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive environment. Our leadership is focused on harnessing the collective power of unique perspectives to foster growth and innovation. Explore Amazon’s Employment Benefits Amazon’s commitment to its employees extends beyond just career growth. We offer competitive benefits, including health care, parental leave, and diversity training, ensuring that our team not only excels professionally but also enjoys well-being and security. Internship and Networking Opportunities Start your career with an Amazon internship and gain hands-on experience that matters. Our internships provide a gateway to full-time employment and an opportunity to network with professionals across various sectors of the company. Future-Proof Your Career With Amazon, your career path is filled with numerous opportunities for advancement. Our learning and development programs are designed to nurture your professional growth and keep you at the forefront of industry trends. Stay Connected Join Our Team Discover the job opportunities at Amazon that match your skills and interests. We are constantly on the lookout for passionate, curious, and innovative team players ready to make a difference. Keep Up to Date Stay ahead with career tips, insider perspectives, and industry-leading insights you can put to use today—all from the people who work here. Job Alert Emails Customize your subscription to receive job alerts, the latest news, and insider tips tailored to your preferences. Explore the exciting and rewarding career opportunities that await at Amazon. Amazon is more than just a company—it’s a platform for building a promising future. Whether you’re starting or looking to advance your career, Amazon offers the resources, support, and network you need to succeed. Join us, and be a part of our continuing mission to be Earth's most customer-centric company.
Learn more about Amazon
Size
1,608 employees
Market Cap
$832.6 billion
Industry
Net Income
$21.3 billion
Founded
1994
5 Year Trend
+28.1%
Revenue
$386 billion
NASDAQ

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