Data Scientist Jobs at Lyft with Visa Sponsorship
Data Scientist jobs at Lyft span product, pricing, mapping, and driver experience teams, with the company maintaining a consistent track record of sponsoring work visas for this function. If you're on an H-1B visa, E-3 visa, F-1 OPT, or similar status, Lyft's data roles are a realistic target.
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Get Access To All JobsAt 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.
Lyft Ads is one of Lyft's newest and fastest-growing businesses, focused on building the world's largest transportation media network. Our mission is to help brands reach riders during key moments of their journey—before, during, and after a ride—by delivering meaningful, contextually relevant ad experiences. We operate at the intersection of mobility data, real-time decision systems, and AI-powered personalization, enabling advertisers to run high-impact campaigns with measurable outcomes.
The Pricing team is a centerpiece of Lyft's marketplace. The team owns the models and software systems that determine the final prices shown to riders. Working with our business and analytics partners, the team owns tools to ensure Lyft offers competitive prices while making efficient financial trade-offs. Planned Pricing is a fast-growing team within Pricing, focused on setting the most efficient price targets to drive both short term and long term business outcomes.
As a Data Scientist specializing in Algorithms on the Planned Pricing team, you will develop mathematical models for core pricing systems and address diverse problems across optimization, prediction, machine learning, and inference. You will collaborate with cross-functional teammates and stakeholders to enhance algorithms, build and scale our systems, and drive business growth. We are looking for someone who is excited about working in a fast-paced, innovative, and impactful environment, and is adept at balancing complexity and efficiency to translate real world business problems into reliable solutions and decisioning frameworks. In this role, you will report to a Data Science Manager.
Responsibilities:
- Partner with Engineers, Product Managers, and Business Partners to frame problems mathematically and within the business context
- Prioritize and lead deep dives into our data to uncover new product and business opportunities
- Be familiar with production code; collaborate with Software Engineers to implement algorithms and models in production
- Design, implement, and analyse different types of experiments, and facilitate and foster data-driven and informed decision making and prioritization
- Establish metrics that measure the health of our products, as well as rider and driver experience
- Drive collaboration and coordination with cross-functional teams
- Provide coaching and technical guidance for other teammates
Experience:
- Ph.D. in Operations Research, or other quantitative fields or related work experience
- Proven experience with building and evaluating optimization models
- Proficiency with Python and working in a production coding environment
- Passion for solving unstructured and non-standard mathematical problems
- End-to-end experience with data, including querying, aggregation, analysis, and visualization
- Strong verbal and written communication skills, and ability to collaborate and communicate with others to solve a problem
Benefits:
- Great medical, dental, and vision insurance options with additional programs available when enrolled
- Mental health benefits
- Family building benefits
- Child care and pet benefits
- 401(k) plan with company match to help save for your future
- In addition to 12 observed holidays, salaried team members have discretionary paid time off, hourly team members have 15 days paid time off
- 18 weeks of paid parental leave. Biological, adoptive, and foster parents are all eligible
- Subsidized commuter benefits
- Monthly Lyft credits and complimentary Lyft Pink membership
Lyft is an equal opportunity employer committed to an inclusive workplace that fosters belonging. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regards to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, age, genetic information, or any other basis prohibited by law. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories consistent with applicable federal, state and local law.
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 3 days per week 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
The expected base pay range for this position in the New York City area is $128,000 - $160,000, not inclusive of potential equity offering, bonus or benefits. Salary ranges are dependent on a variety of factors, including qualifications, experience and geographic location. Your recruiter can share more information about the salary range specific to your working location and other factors during the hiring process.
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.
Lyft Ads is one of Lyft's newest and fastest-growing businesses, focused on building the world's largest transportation media network. Our mission is to help brands reach riders during key moments of their journey—before, during, and after a ride—by delivering meaningful, contextually relevant ad experiences. We operate at the intersection of mobility data, real-time decision systems, and AI-powered personalization, enabling advertisers to run high-impact campaigns with measurable outcomes.
The Pricing team is a centerpiece of Lyft's marketplace. The team owns the models and software systems that determine the final prices shown to riders. Working with our business and analytics partners, the team owns tools to ensure Lyft offers competitive prices while making efficient financial trade-offs. Planned Pricing is a fast-growing team within Pricing, focused on setting the most efficient price targets to drive both short term and long term business outcomes.
As a Data Scientist specializing in Algorithms on the Planned Pricing team, you will develop mathematical models for core pricing systems and address diverse problems across optimization, prediction, machine learning, and inference. You will collaborate with cross-functional teammates and stakeholders to enhance algorithms, build and scale our systems, and drive business growth. We are looking for someone who is excited about working in a fast-paced, innovative, and impactful environment, and is adept at balancing complexity and efficiency to translate real world business problems into reliable solutions and decisioning frameworks. In this role, you will report to a Data Science Manager.
Responsibilities:
- Partner with Engineers, Product Managers, and Business Partners to frame problems mathematically and within the business context
- Prioritize and lead deep dives into our data to uncover new product and business opportunities
- Be familiar with production code; collaborate with Software Engineers to implement algorithms and models in production
- Design, implement, and analyse different types of experiments, and facilitate and foster data-driven and informed decision making and prioritization
- Establish metrics that measure the health of our products, as well as rider and driver experience
- Drive collaboration and coordination with cross-functional teams
- Provide coaching and technical guidance for other teammates
Experience:
- Ph.D. in Operations Research, or other quantitative fields or related work experience
- Proven experience with building and evaluating optimization models
- Proficiency with Python and working in a production coding environment
- Passion for solving unstructured and non-standard mathematical problems
- End-to-end experience with data, including querying, aggregation, analysis, and visualization
- Strong verbal and written communication skills, and ability to collaborate and communicate with others to solve a problem
Benefits:
- Great medical, dental, and vision insurance options with additional programs available when enrolled
- Mental health benefits
- Family building benefits
- Child care and pet benefits
- 401(k) plan with company match to help save for your future
- In addition to 12 observed holidays, salaried team members have discretionary paid time off, hourly team members have 15 days paid time off
- 18 weeks of paid parental leave. Biological, adoptive, and foster parents are all eligible
- Subsidized commuter benefits
- Monthly Lyft credits and complimentary Lyft Pink membership
Lyft is an equal opportunity employer committed to an inclusive workplace that fosters belonging. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regards to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, age, genetic information, or any other basis prohibited by law. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories consistent with applicable federal, state and local law.
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 3 days per week 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
The expected base pay range for this position in the New York City area is $128,000 - $160,000, not inclusive of potential equity offering, bonus or benefits. Salary ranges are dependent on a variety of factors, including qualifications, experience and geographic location. Your recruiter can share more information about the salary range specific to your working location and other factors during the hiring process.
See all Data Scientist Jobs at Lyft
Sign up for free to unlock all listings, filter by visa type, and get alerts for new Data Scientist Jobs at Lyft.
Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding Data Scientist Jobs at Lyft
Align Your Portfolio to Lyft's Data Problems
Lyft's Data Scientists work on marketplace dynamics, surge pricing, and rider retention. Projects that demonstrate experimentation, causal inference, or real-time decision modeling signal direct relevance and make sponsorship feel like a low-risk hire.
Confirm E-3 Eligibility Before Applying
Australian citizens can target Lyft specifically for E-3 sponsorship, which bypasses the H-1B lottery entirely. Unlike H-1B, E-3 can be filed year-round, so you're not limited to an October start date when negotiating your offer.
Request an Explicit Sponsorship Commitment in Writing
Before signing, confirm which visa category Lyft intends to file for your role. H-1B and E-3 have different timelines and employer obligations, and verbal assurances during interviews don't bind anyone once you're in the offer stage.
Time Your Application Around H-1B Cap Deadlines
If you need H-1B sponsorship, Lyft must register you in USCIS's March lottery for an October 1 start. Factor this into your job search timeline so you're not accepting an offer too late for the current registration window.
Distinguish Yourself with Causal and ML Experimentation Work
Lyft's data science interviews emphasize A/B testing design, metric ownership, and applied ML. Candidates who can speak to experiment sequencing, variance reduction, and production model deployment move faster through technical rounds than those with purely analytical backgrounds.
Use Migrate Mate to Track Lyft's Open Roles by Visa Type
Data Scientist openings at Lyft vary by team and sponsorship eligibility. Use Migrate Mate to filter and monitor active postings that match your visa type, so you're applying to roles where sponsorship is already confirmed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Lyft sponsor H-1B visas for Data Scientists?
Yes, Lyft sponsors H-1B visas for Data Scientists. The company files petitions through USCIS and works with immigration counsel to support hires who need sponsorship. If you're subject to the H-1B cap, your employer must register you during the annual March lottery period, with employment typically starting October 1 of that year.
How do I apply for Data Scientist jobs at Lyft?
Apply directly through Lyft's careers page, or use Migrate Mate to browse and filter Lyft's open Data Scientist roles by visa sponsorship type. Most roles require a strong take-home or technical interview component covering statistics, experimentation, and SQL. Tailor your application to the specific team, since Data Science at Lyft spans pricing, growth, and maps functions.
Which visa types does Lyft commonly sponsor for Data Scientist roles?
Lyft sponsors a broad range of visa categories for Data Scientists, including H-1B, E-3, TN visa, F-1 OPT, F-1 CPT, J-1 visa, and Green Card pathways such as EB-2 and EB-3. The right category depends on your nationality and current status. Australian citizens are well-positioned for E-3, while Canadian and Mexican nationals may qualify for TN visa status.
What qualifications does Lyft expect from Data Scientist candidates?
Lyft typically looks for a graduate degree in a quantitative field such as statistics, computer science, or economics, alongside hands-on experience with experimentation design, causal inference, and machine learning in production. Proficiency in Python and SQL is standard. Roles on the marketplace or pricing teams often weight applied ML experience more heavily than exploratory analytics work.
How do I manage my visa timeline during the Lyft hiring process?
If you're on F-1 OPT, confirm your OPT expiration date before accepting an offer, since H-1B cap-gap protection only applies if USCIS receives a timely petition before your OPT expires. For H-1B-dependent candidates, align your offer acceptance with the March registration window. TN and E-3 applicants have more flexibility since those categories have no annual cap or lottery.