Employee Spotlight: Ayhan Aydin
My name is Ayhan Aydin. I am a staff operations research scientist based out of Chicago. I have been working at Optimal Dynamics as a member of the Analytics team for nearly three and a half years now. Before that, I was teaching and doing research in operations management and supply chain management at business schools.
Can you briefly summarize your job?
I work on the design and implementation of algorithms that simulate and optimize trucking operations. I do this by building and refining the logic of new features and coding my part inside our decision engine with a primary focus on dispatch recommendations and simulations of current network plans.
What inspired you the most to join Optimal Dynamics?
While I was in academia, I came across Warren Powell’s research. I was impressed by how useful and impactful his and his students’ projects had been in practice. Once I learned about Optimal Dynamics and how they were providing very powerful Operations Research tools to service the trucking industry, I wanted to be a part of it. Although I enjoy theory, and I am curious about innovative methods, application and real-world impact are very important to me.
What do you like best about our company culture?
Our culture is professional but friendly and supportive. We collaborate and help each other find solutions for customer needs, big and small, continuously.
What is unique about what we do at Optimal Dynamics?
We have a very creative and kind culture that allows us to pull theory into practice and have fun along the way. We own our projects and swiftly take them to the finish line.
What is your favorite part of your job?
The best part of my job is designing and implementing a feature together with my colleagues and seeing it being used in real life. We get continuous feedback from customers and refine or add new features to our suite. I enjoy building together and one gets to have the opportunity to do that here.
How does your work impact our product, and, therefore, the industry?
The decision engine we develop allows streamlining decision making in the trucking industry. I focus more on dispatching. Through providing more visibility to a wider set of options, the potential impact on company objectives and how they rank with respect to each other, dispatchers can better anticipate the state of their fleet and be more systematic about their daily decisions.
What have been your biggest accomplishments on our team, and what was the impact on the company?
My most favorite projects have been 1) pre-assignments simulation that plays out the current set of assigned tasks of the drivers and 2) the core algorithm that ranks different dispatch options for drivers and orders based on their impact on the whole network. They have been fundamental for enabling our dispatch recommendations feature.
How have you grown professionally while on our team?
My time here allowed me to grow in multiple dimensions. I became a better developer, a better applied scientist, and a better communicator. I had the opportunity to learn more about how to wrap theory into a product for real-life use. As our start-up and decision suite grew with fast feedback cycles from customers and close communication and collaboration with other teams, I have developed a better sense of entrepreneurship, too.
What do you like to do in your free time?
My job can get sedentary. So, when I am free, I like to exercise, lift weights and take long walks. I catch up with my friends. I love spending time in my parents’ mountain village whenever I can, doing yard work, planting trees, gathering hazelnuts and fruits, feeding and playing with our animals.
Can you share a hidden talent no one knows about you?
I believe I have a very good eye for architecture. I have designed two houses for my family and worked with architects to formalize the plans I have drawn in various media. The first one was not that good, and contractors butchered the project. But the second one was a real success. In another life, I might be an architect or a real estate developer.
What’s the best advice you can give to someone who wants to work at Optimal Dynamics?
Customer needs can be challenging to address in a relatively short time. I would do my best to stay open-minded, solution-oriented and explore options with my kind colleagues!
