HWP InsightWorks

Project Summary:

HWP InsightWorks, a division of HWP LLC, seeks a Consultant to assist with a transportation study to evaluate, simplify, and rationalize our client’s fare structure and fare policies to improve the customer experience, while balancing three key criteria: (1) passenger fare revenue; (2) ridership (on a system-level basis); and (3) ensuring equitable access.

Our team will be responsible for finding the strengths and weaknesses of the current fare policy and structure and will be further requested to evaluate how the new fare payment technologies being implemented can be leveraged to achieve our client's objectives.

Position Summary:
The Senior Quantitative Modeling & Predictive Analytics Specialist provides advanced analytic and machine-learning expertise for complex modeling, forecasting, and scenario-simulation work. This role supports the development of predictive models, optimization frameworks, AI-enabled classification methods, and reproducible analytic pipelines. The Specialist ensures that all model outputs are technically sound, interpretable, and aligned with the project’s quantitative and methodological requirements.

This position fills high-level technical capacity in data science, machine learning, and applied statistics—ensuring the continuity of advanced modeling functions within the analytic team.

Role Importance

This position ensures our project retains robust capacity in predictive analytics, advanced modeling, and machine-learning innovation. By strengthening the quantitative bench, the Specialist supports the continuity of high-complexity modeling tasks, maintains methodological integrity, and preserves the advanced analytic capabilities originally envisioned for the project.

Key Responsibilities:

Predictive Modeling & Forecasting

• Develop and validate ensemble-based predictive models, including survival analysis, time-to-event forecasting, and machine-learning classification methods.
• Conduct feature engineering, hyperparameter tuning, and model-performance evaluation.
• Produce interpretable analytic summaries and technical documentation.

Optimization & Simulation

• Apply reinforcement learning or similar optimization techniques to evaluate competing scenarios and performance trade-offs.
• Support simulation modeling to assess system-level impacts under varied conditions or assumptions.
• Conduct feature engineering, hyperparameter tuning, and model-performance evaluation.
• Produce interpretable analytic summaries and technical documentation.

AI/ML-Driven Analysis

• Implement clustering, segmentation, dimensionality reduction, and other machine-learning approaches to identify patterns and groupings in complex datasets.
• Apply AI-enabled normalization and cross-dataset comparison techniques to ensure methodological consistency across multiple data sources.

Text & Pattern Analytics

• Develop LLM-based or comparable text-analytics pipelines for classification, theme extraction, and descriptive analysis.
• Translate unstructured text into quantitative indicators suitable for modeling and reporting.

Quality Assurance & Reproducibility

• Maintain reproducible analytic workflows consistent with established QA/QI protocols.
• Create and manage code repositories, versioning systems, and model-validation documentation.
• Conduct sensitivity analyses and cross-model comparison to ensure methodological robustness.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Coordinate with technical, policy, and analytics personnel to integrate modeling outputs into ongoing workstreams.
• Ensure that all quantitative findings are consistent with the project’s broader analytical framework and technical requirements.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Master’s or PhD in Data Science, Applied Mathematics, Statistics, Machine Learning, Operations Research, Economics, Computer Science, or a related quantitative field.
• Minimum 5 years of experience conducting advanced predictive analytics and machine-learning modeling.
• Proficiency in Python or R (e.g., scikit-learn, PyTorch, TensorFlow, randomForestSRC, survival, tidyverse).
• Demonstrated experience with survival analysis, ensemble models, optimization techniques, and modern ML workflows.
• Experience applying NLP, LLMs, or text-analytics techniques to real-world datasets.
• Strong ability to document methods, explain complex results, and maintain reproducible analytic systems.
• Proven ability to translate technical insights into strategic recommendations.
• Ability to work independently and in teams.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with optimization, reinforcement learning, or agent-based simulation.
• Familiarity with cross-dataset normalization, international comparisons, or econometric modeling.
• Experience integrating predictive models into BI dashboards or reporting tools.
• Background in reproducible research, QA/QI processes, and automated workflows.

Competencies

• Advanced quantitative and analytical reasoning
• Methodological rigor and innovation
• Strong communication of technical concepts
• Collaborative problem-solving
• High attention to detail and reproducibility
• Ability to translate modeling techniques into practical outputs

Job Types: Full-time, Contract

Pay: Up to $160,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Employee assistance program
• Health insurance
• Paid time off

Application Question(s):

• Have you worked on large-scale transportation studies or projects?

Education:

• Master's (Preferred)

Experience:

• Design research: 7 years (Preferred)

Work Location: Hybrid remote in East Orange, NJ 07017