Senior Data Scientist, Rider Applied AI

At Lyft, our purpose is to serve and connect. We aim to achieve this by cultivating a work environment where all team members belong and have the opportunity to thrive.

The Rider org is responsible for the Lyft Rider App that you know and love, and spans the entire consumer journey across requesting, purchase flow, pickup, in-trip experience, drop offs, and time between rides. Within this org, the Rider Applied AI team is responsible for delivering machine learning features that customize the consumer app experience.

Together with this team, this role will lead science work for our Rider platform that strives to deliver an exceptional experience for every Lyft rider. This includes optimizing the content that riders see throughout the app, the Lyft modes they can select, and the notifications that drive ride intent.

The right Data Scientist for this role will combine deep technical expertise with product intuition, using advanced ML and statistical methods to improve personalization, relevance, and engagement. They will partner cross-functionally with engineering, design, and product to drive end-to-end development of models and decision systems that directly shape the rider journey. 

Responsibilities:

• Lead design, development, and deployment of ML models that personalize rider experience across app surfaces.
• Partner with product, engineering, and design to translate business objectives into rigorous scientific solutions.
• Define and implement robust experimentation strategies to validate new features and quantify rider impact.
• Build scalable measurement frameworks and causal inference pipelines for understanding user behavior.
• Contribute to the design of the Rider AI platform and ensure model outputs are interpretable, reliable, and well-calibrated.
• Mentor junior data scientists and elevate science best practices across the Rider org.
• Communicate results and insights to senior leadership with clarity and strategic framing.

Experience:

• MS/PhD in Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics, Operations Research, or related quantitative field.
• 5+ years of experience in data science, applied machine learning, or a similar role in a consumer-facing tech product.
• Strong proficiency in Python and SQL; experience with large-scale data systems (Spark, Trino, Hadoop, etc.).
• Proven expertise in machine learning methods for personalization and recommendation (e.g., ranking models, contextual bandits, reinforcement learning, etc.).
• Strong foundation in causal inference, experimentation design, and applied statistics.
• Experience with production ML workflows: feature pipelines, model monitoring, A/B testing, and observability.
• Track record of shipping models/features that drive measurable user and business impact.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills; able to influence technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Growth mindset and ability to thrive in a fast-moving, ambiguous environment.

Nice to Have

• Familiarity with marketplace dynamics or consumer platform optimization.
• Prior experience in transportation, mobility, or other two-sided platforms.

Benefits:

• Extended health and dental coverage options, along with life insurance and disability benefits
• Mental health benefits
• Family building benefits
• Child care and pet benefits
• Access to a Lyft funded Health Care Savings Account
• RRSP plan to help save for your future
• In addition to provincial observed holidays, salaried team members are covered under Lyft's flexible paid time off policy. The policy allows team members to take off as much time as they need (with manager approval). Hourly team members get 15 days paid time off, with an additional day for each year of service 
• Lyft is proud to support new parents with 18 weeks of paid time off, designed as a top-up plan to complement provincial programs. Biological, adoptive, and foster parents are all eligible.
• Subsidized commuter benefits

Lyft is committed to creating an inclusive workforce that fosters belonging. Lyft believes that every person has a right to equal employment opportunities without discrimination because of race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, family status, disability, pardoned record of offences, or any other basis protected by applicable law or by Company policy. Lyft also strives for a healthy and safe workplace and strictly prohibits harassment of any kind.  Accommodation for persons with disabilities will be provided upon request in accordance with applicable law during the application and hiring process. Please contact your recruiter if you wish to make such a request.

Lyft highly values having employees working in-office to foster a collaborative work environment and company culture. This role will be in-office on a hybrid schedule — Team Members will be expected to work in the office at least 3 days per week, including on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Lyft considers working in the office at least 3 days per week to be an essential function of this hybrid role. Your recruiter can share more information about the various in-office perks Lyft offers. Additionally, hybrid roles have the flexibility to work from anywhere for up to 4 weeks per year. #Hybrid #non_promo_job

The expected base pay range for this position in the Toronto area is CAD $136,000 - CAD $170,000. Salary ranges are dependent on a variety of factors, including qualifications, experience and geographic location. Range is not inclusive of potential equity offering, bonus or benefits. Your recruiter can share more information about the salary range specific to your working location and other factors during the hiring process.