I've been very lucky in finding a job that has a good mix of typical 'trench digging' (read web app development) and really cutting edge algorithmic work. We are a 3D printing startup that use 6 axis robots + extruders to print large scale geometries. Some days I'm implementing CRUD REST APIs, today though I happen to be working on Octree based collision detection.
Finding jobs like this isn't easy and mostly requires luck - my last job was very different, it was just maintaining a plain old CRUD app. Not the most mentally stimulating work, but it's probably 90% of the work that gets done on a day to day basis by software engineers.
Try looking for people who are solving a problem that is technical in nature. Business problems use technology as a tool, technology problems require development of brand new tools or the use of existing tools in novel ways.
Finding jobs like this isn't easy and mostly requires luck - my last job was very different, it was just maintaining a plain old CRUD app. Not the most mentally stimulating work, but it's probably 90% of the work that gets done on a day to day basis by software engineers.
Try looking for people who are solving a problem that is technical in nature. Business problems use technology as a tool, technology problems require development of brand new tools or the use of existing tools in novel ways.