[10][11] Bierlaire's research targets at developing mathematical models replicating the complexity of mobility behavior of individuals and goods for all modes of transportation.

[24] He creates and tests mathematical models and algorithms for applications in operations research that include continuous and discrete optimization,[25] queuing theory,[26] graphs, and simulation.

[28][29][30] Bierlaire is the lead developer of Biogeme, an open source project that performs the maximum likelihood estimation of parametric discrete choice models.

[33][34][35] Together with Moshe Ben-Akiva at MIT, Daniel McFadden and Joan Walker, both at University of California, Berkeley, he is offering a course on "Discrete Choice Analysis: Predicting Individual Behaviour and Market Demand" that is designed for professionals from academia and industry.

[36] On invitation from the Association of European Operational Research Societies, Bierlaire initiated the EURO Journal on Transportation and Logistics, whose editor in chief he was between 2011 and 2019.