Data Science Manager, Machine Learning - Lyft Ads

Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and grow a high-performing, multi-disciplinary team spanning Applied Science, Data Science, and Machine Learning Engineering for Lyft Media.
• Define and execute the technical vision and roadmap for the team, ensuring alignment with overall business strategy and revenue goals across research, modeling, and production ML.
• Design, develop, and deploy algorithms and ML systems that power core advertising capabilities—including ad targeting, audience segmentation, bid optimization, attribution, and yield management.
• Partner with Product, Engineering, and Design to integrate solutions into scalable, production-grade ad serving and measurement systems.
• Establish robust experimentation and causal inference frameworks to measure the impact of algorithmic changes on advertiser outcomes, rider experience, and platform revenue.
• Bridge the gap between research and production—ensuring that applied science innovations translate into reliable, maintainable ML systems at scale.
• Conduct deep analyses of complex, large-scale datasets to uncover opportunities for revenue growth, advertiser performance improvement, and enhanced user experience.
• Champion data-driven decision-making, ensuring that product and go-to-market decisions are informed by rigorous quantitative analysis.
• Drive innovation by staying current with emerging research, technologies, and industry best practices in computational advertising, optimization, and applied machine learning.

Experience

• PhD (preferred) or Master's degree in a quantitative field such as Machine Learning, Computer Science, Statistics, Engineering, or a related discipline; or equivalent practical experience.
• 8+ years of progressive experience in machine learning, optimization, or causal inference, including building and deploying algorithms in production systems.
• 3+ years of people management experience leading multi-disciplinary technical teams (data science, applied science, and/or ML engineering), with a proven ability to mentor, develop, and retain top talent.
• Demonstrated ability to set a strategic vision for a technical team and translate it into impactful, scalable solutions that drive measurable business outcomes.
• Deep expertise in machine learning, experimental design, causal inference, and statistical methodologies, with a track record of applying them to high-stakes product or marketplace decisions.
• Strong understanding of ML engineering best practices—model training infrastructure, feature pipelines, model serving, and monitoring in production environments.
• Experience in advertising technology, media measurement, or marketplace optimization is strongly preferred.
• Experience navigating complex, ambiguous problem spaces and guiding teams through prioritization, tradeoffs, and execution.
• Strong communication and influence skills, with the ability to engage both technical and executive stakeholders, align priorities, and build consensus.
• Hands-on proficiency with large-scale data processing tools and machine learning frameworks (e.g., PyTorch, TensorFlow, scikit-learn).

Compensation

Expected base pay range in New York City area: $148,000 - $185,000 (not inclusive of equity, bonus, or benefits).