Senior Data Scientist - Optimization, Central Market Management & 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 Central Market Management & AI (CMM&AI) team, a key part of the broader Rideshare Experience & Marketplace organization, is essential for maintaining a balanced and efficient marketplace. We do so by developing foundational models, business datasets, and decision-making applications that support a wide range of teams across Lyft. These critical platforms and tools power our pricing / pay strategy, operational alignment, and regional strategies, enabling us to compete effectively in the Rideshare landscape. Data Scientists in CMM&AI solve the foundational problems that drive Lyft’s marketplace. From forecasting supply and demand to optimizing investments and measuring the ROI of growth levers, our work shapes both automated processes and high-level strategic decisions. Because our challenges are unique to a real-time marketplace, we avoid off-the-shelf solutions in favor of creativity and first-principles mathematical reasoning. We leverage a deep stack of technologies across forecasting, machine learning, inference, and optimization to deliver measurable impact. As a Senior Data Scientist on the Foundational Models team in CMM&AI, you will operate at the intersection of Machine Learning, Data Science, and Economics to build scalable optimization and modeling systems that directly impact Lyft’s top and bottom lines. You will be hands-on with formulating optimization problems, building ML models, productionizing pipelines, and integrating their outputs within decision-making frameworks. You will collaborate with Product, Engineers, Data Scientists, and Analysts to help define the roadmap and architecture for our next generation of foundational marketplace models that accelerate iterations and drive business efficiency. Responsibilities: Optimization & Modeling Design, formulate, and solve complex mathematical optimization problems that power Lyft’s marketplace decisions across pricing, pay, incentives, and resource allocation. Build, deploy, and maintain production-grade ML and optimization models; collaborate with Software Engineering to integrate algorithms into live systems and establish robust monitoring for model performance and data health. Own the full model lifecycle—from problem framing and prototyping through experimental validation and production deployment—refusing a “build and forget” mentality. Apply first-principles mathematical reasoning to marketplace challenges, choosing the simplest effective solution and building complexity only when incremental value justifies the technical debt. Technical Strategy & Execution Drive large-scale technical projects from initial concept to high-impact execution, ensuring alignment with business priorities and Lyft’s overarching goals. Contribute to and influence the multi-quarter technical roadmap for foundational models, helping shape the vision and architecture for next-generation optimization and forecasting systems. Champion high standards for code quality through well-tested, maintainable code and the development of shared team components and libraries. Infuse AI capabilities into existing workflows and demonstrate agility in adopting emerging AI models and techniques to keep Lyft at the forefront of marketplace optimization. Stakeholder Partnership & Influence Partner with Data Scientists, Engineers, Product Managers, and Business Partners across lever teams (Pricing, Pay, Driver Engagement, Rider Engagement) to frame problems mathematically and within the business context. Serve as a subject matter expert on optimization and modeling, providing technical guidance and thought leadership to elevate the team’s capabilities. Foster a data-driven culture by presenting actionable insights and recommendations to senior leadership and cross-functional stakeholders. Influence stakeholder roadmaps and advise cr