Principal Data Science Engineer

Powering the agentic revolution in travel. Sabre is an AI-native technology leader backed by one of the worlds largest travel data clouds. Built on an open modular cloud-native architecture Sabre serves as the backbone for both established leaders and bold new disruptors guiding them to the next age of travel retailing through intelligent connected and personalized experiences. With AI at its core and operating at unparalleled scale Sabre transforms insights into innovation empowering airlines hoteliers agencies and other partners to retail distribute and fulfill travel worldwide.

Team Description

Sabre is seeking a talented Principal Data Science Engineer to join the Sabre Labs Research team.

Sabre Labs Research is a specialized team of researchers mathematicians and AI engineers who serve as the intelligent core of Sabres travel marketplace. We are dedicated to solving the most complex challenges across the global travel domain. Our mission spans Airline Pricing Agency Automation Network Planning Airline Operations and Departure Control Systems (DCS). We build high-performance systems that streamline travel agency workflows optimize airline networks and enhance the productivity of travel consultants worldwide. By blending classical mathematical optimization with cutting-edge Generative AI and robust MLOps we ensure our models power the next generation of travel distributionfrom initial search and booking to post-trip service agency efficiency and seamless airport operations.

At Sabre were passionate about building software that solves this role you will plan design develop and test software systems or applications for software enhancements and new products including cloud-based tools.

Role and Responsibilities:

Architects codes and deploys complex software solutions that integrate advanced mathematical algorithms and machine learning models into Sabres core retailing Network Planning Agency Automation and Departure Control platforms.

Drives Research & Innovation by identifying prototyping and scaling next-gen ideas within the travel domain such as AI-driven automation for Travel Management Companies (TMCs) and personalized real-time itinerary optimization.

Designs end-to-end AI systems specifically focusing on the integration of Large Language Models (LLMs) for automated agency support customer intent recognition and conversational commerce.

Solves high-impact organizational challenges such as optimizing Global Distribution System (GDS) workflows and migrating legacy automation logic into modern GCP-based AI architectures.

Establishes strategic AI lifecycle policies defining rigorous standards for MLOps to ensure high-fidelity model performance across the volatile data landscapes of the travel industry.

Promotes engineering excellence by utilizing best practices in Python and C ensuring research-grade prototypes are refactored into production-quality low-latency systems.

Collaborates with cross-functional leadership including architects and product managers to align technical roadmaps with business goals like NDC adoption total travel cost optimization and operational efficiency.

Influences stakeholder decision-making advocating for the adoption of disruptive technologiesincluding Agentic AIwithin mission-critical high-availability travel environments.

Mentors and develops junior data scientists and engineers fostering a culture of rigorous experimentation academic-level research and high-performance engineering.

Qualifications and Education Requirements:

Minimum 10 years of related experience in Data Science AI Engineering or Operations Research.

Advanced Degree (PhD preferred) in Mathematics Statistics Computer Science or Physics with a strong research background and a proven track record of innovation.

Proven experience in Agile Software Development with a demonstrated ability to move complex models from the research phase to global production.

Expertise in advanced ML/AI solutioning including Deep Learning Reinforcement Learning and Natural Language Processing (NLP).

High-performance programming skills with mastery of Python C for computationally intensive and latency-sensitive tasks.

Superior analytical skills particularly in processing high-volume real-time data from GDS OTA and airline sources.

Deep knowledge of the Modern AI Tech Stack including GCP (Vertex AI BigQuery) MLOps tools and containerization (Docker Kubernetes).

Proficiency in Generative AI frameworks and experience with RAG-based systems for workflow automation.

Self-motivated leadership capable of driving complex cross-functional projects to completion with minimal direction.

Desirable (Optional) Qualifications:

Experience in the Travel Industry specifically within the Global Distribution System (GDS) or Online Travel Agency (OTA) space.

Domain knowledge in Airline Operations including Departure Control Systems (DCS) network planning or route profitability.

Advanced Optimization Modeling skills including Linear Programming (LP) Mixed-Integer Programming (MIP) and experience with solvers like Gurobi or CPLEX.

We will give careful consideration to your application and review your details against the position criteria. You will receive separate notification as your application progresses.

Please note that only candidates who meet the minimum criteria for the role will proceed in the selection process.