About Me

My name is Leo (Cheng-Lung) Chen. I am a Senior Operations Research Developer at Southwest Airlines, where I build and deploy large-scale optimization systems for real-time airline operations.

My work sits at the intersection of optimization, software systems, and operational decision-making. I focus on translating complex, high-stakes problems into production-ready solutions that must perform under uncertainty, integrate with existing systems, and drive measurable business impact.

I am particularly interested in system-level behavior of optimization in production: how decisions propagate across interconnected systems, how trade-offs are made beyond the model, and how robust design can improve reliability in real-world operations.

In addition to delivery, I continuously explore new ideas in optimization and system design, while maintaining and evolving existing solutions. I am motivated by work that not only solves problems, but also shapes how complex systems operate in practice.

Events

• Invited panel speaker, “Preparing for Job Market (Academia, Industry, and National Labs)”, IISE Annual Meeting, May 2026