Team
Passionate about solving business problems, we work hard every day to make mathematical optimization easier and faster for operations researchers, data scientists, and software engineers.
meet the team
The founders
Thierry Benoist
Managing PartnerFor 20 years, Thierry has delivered optimization and analytics solutions for almost all industries, with an emphasis on supply chain management (network design, production scheduling, route optimization). Before launching LocalSolver, he has headed the Operations Research department of Bouygues, one of the biggest Fench corporations. Graduated from École Polytechnique (1998), he holds a Ph.D. in computer science from Avignon University (2004) and a Habilitation from Nantes University (2014).
He has published papers in top OR journals like EJOR or TRSC. Several awards distinguished his research: 2005 Doctoral Prize for Innovative Applications by the French Information Technology Society, 2006 Robert Faure 3rd Prize awarded every three years by the French Operations Research Society (ROADEF) to young deserving OR researchers, and finalist of the 2012 EURO Excellence in Practice Award.
Frédéric Gardi
Managing PartnerFrédéric has solved optimization problems for manufacturing, transportation, banking, media, telecom, and energy, in particular in high-demanding operational contexts. He holds a Ph.D. in computer science from Aix-Marseille University (2005) and a Habilitation from Sorbonne University (2013). He won several international optimization competitions: 1st Junior and Senior Prize of ROADEF 2005 Challenge, 2nd Senior Prize of ROADEF 2007 Challenge, ROADEF 2011 1st Prize for Industrial Applications.
He has published twenty papers in renowned international journals and conferences at the interface of discrete mathematics, computer science, and operations research. In 2012, he was the recipient of the ROADEF Robert Faure 1st Prize and finalist of the 2012 EURO Excellence in Practice Award. He served as president of ROADEF from 2014 to 2015.
Julien Darlay
Head of ScienceJulien received a Ph.D. in computer science from Grenoble University (2011). His research was at the intersection of mathematical optimization and machine learning. He was distinguished in several international OR competitions: 2nd Junior Prize of ROADEF 2009 Challenge, 3rd Senior Prize of ROADEF 2010 Challenge, Kaggle Santa’s Stolen Sleigh 2015 Challenge.
Romain Megel
Head of EngineeringGraduated in software engineering from École des Mines de Nantes (2010), Romain interests and expertise cover a broad range of topics in information technology, from theory to practice, and hardware to software: code optimization, programming languages, operating systems, databases, networks, web and cloud technologies, graphical user interfaces, parallel computing.
LocalSolver Team
Discover our optimization experts
Working with us
Our team testifies
A few months ago, I made a list of characteristics of the ideal company I would like to work with:
– human-sized
– focused on optimization technologies
– fully dedicated to client success
– developing an innovative optimization solver offering a unique blend of expressiveness, simplicity, performance, and robustness
– powered by a young and creative team constantly thinking out of the box
LocalSolver checks all the boxes. Thank you, Frédéric Gardi, Thierry Benoist, and the entire team for giving me the opportunity to be part of this great adventure. I am thrilled to join you!
With daily work centered on research and development, I am constantly learning and discovering new techniques and approaches to tackle the diverse and very challenging optimization problems which come our way
I chose to join LocalSolver to tackle top-level scientific challenges that arise when developing an optimization solver. Now I am glad to be part of a wonderful and highly skilled team! I am currently focusing on improving the solver performance, and I am also developing customized solutions for several of our clients, such as Air Liquide, RTE, or SNCF.
I joined LocalSolver as an Optimization Scientist to develop state-of-the-art algorithms that deliver quality results in record time to our users!
After my first experience as a Partner Sales Executive at Microsoft, LocalSolver commercial development is a new challenge. I like the idea of meeting customer needs with innovative solutions.
I chose to join LocalSolver because I wanted to use my passion for applied mathematics to develop a high-performance product.
I was immediately seduced by this job which allows me to work on the R&D of the solver and optimization projects for clients. This organization allowed me to gain new skills quickly!
After six months internship working alongside a team of very competent optimization experts, I chose to join LocalSolver because I find the diversity of the projects very enriching.
At LocalSolver, I work both on implementing cutting-edge techniques for solver R&D and on developing custom applications for the challenging problems faced by our clients, such as the CNES, Latexco or VIOOH. These two aspects allow me to quickly improve my skills.
Want to join our team?
We are looking for talented, ambitious, curious, and bold people to develop the number one optimization solver on the market.