Staff Applied Scientist

Lyft

Confirmed live 2 days ago High trust
Hybrid

Quick summary

Work type
Hybrid
Location
San Francisco, CA
Salary
$193,600–$242,000 / yr
Posted
47 days ago
Freshness
Confirmed live 2 days ago

Market check

Salary context

Competitive pay

How this pay compares to similar roles

Similar $213k
This role $218k
$148k most similar roles pay here $276k

This role pays more than 55% of similar roles. Most pay $175,057–$251,400 — the shaded band above. At the midpoint, this role pays about $218k versus about $213k for comparable roles.

Based on 240 similar postings.

Employer

About Lyft

Lyft is a transportation network company offering ride-hailing services across the US and Canada.

Lyft currently has 15 open roles on FindRole.

Listed pay typically runs $140,800–$176,000 across 14 roles with salary data.

Most-posted roles

View all roles at Lyft

At a glance

TL;DR · Staff Applied Scientist

As a Staff Applied Scientist, you will join the Pricing team to develop mathematical models and launch algorithms that power critical pricing and ETA decisions. You will build machine learning and optimization models while productionalizing pipelines capable of scaling to millions of calls per day. Your daily work involves framing business problems mathematically, writing production-quality code, performing data analysis, and building proof-of-concepts for both new and existing challenges. To succeed, you must be proficient in Python and possess a strong understanding of machine learning methodologies and optimization techniques. You will collaborate with cross-functional partners to evaluate systems against business goals and establish metrics to monitor product health. This role focuses on solving complex problems in prediction, inference, and marketplace dynamics to improve the rider experience through robust decision frameworks and custom tooling beyond standard libraries.

What does a Applied Scientist earn?

Median $208800 from 47 postings across 10 companies.

See salary data

What you'll do

  • Develop mathematical models and launch algorithms for pricing and ETA decisions.
  • Build and productionalize ML and optimization pipelines that scale to millions of calls daily.
  • Write production-quality code and build custom tools beyond off-the-shelf libraries.
  • Perform data analysis and build proof-of-concepts to explore new machine learning solutions.
  • Evaluate machine learning systems against business goals to ensure robustness in live environments.
  • Establish metrics and measurement methodologies to monitor product health and marketplace impact.
  • Translate complex, real-world business problems into reliable decision frameworks and systems.

What we're looking for

  • M.S. or Ph.D. in Machine Learning, Operations Research, Statistics, Computer Science, or another quantitative field.
  • 2+ years of algorithms experience in a technology company setting.
  • Proficiency with Python and experience working in a production coding environment.
  • Strong understanding of machine learning methodologies and proven experience building and evaluating optimization models.
  • Ability to write production-quality code and build custom methods beyond off-the-shelf libraries.
  • Experience performing data analysis and building proof-of-concepts for ML and Optimization solutions.
  • Strong verbal and written communication skills with a track record of cross-functional collaboration.
  • Ability to translate complex, non-standard mathematical problems into reliable systems and decision frameworks.

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