Vijay Narasiman

Vijay Narasiman is a Decision Scientist at Lyft, based in San Francisco, California.23 Here are some key details about his background and role:

Education and Expertise

Vijay holds a PhD in Economics from Harvard University.2 This strong academic background in economics likely informs his work in decision science and data analysis.

Professional Experience

Current Role at Lyft:

• Vijay currently works as a Decision Scientist on the marketplace team at Lyft.4
• He is involved in developing and implementing advanced algorithms for Lyft's ride-sharing platform, including reinforcement learning approaches to improve driver-rider matching.14

Previous Experience:

• Before joining Lyft, Vijay worked as an Assistant Economist, though the specific organization is not mentioned in the available information.3

Contributions at Lyft

Vijay has been part of significant projects at Lyft:

• He contributed to revising Lyft's core matching algorithm, which uses online reinforcement learning to estimate future driver earnings in real-time and improve matching efficiency.1
• This algorithm implementation led to substantial benefits, including:
  • Enabling drivers to serve millions of additional riders annually
  • Generating over $30 million per year in incremental revenue
  • Global rollout of the algorithm in 20211

Recognition

Vijay was part of the Lyft team that received recognition for their work:

• He was mentioned as part of the Lyft Edelman team, alongside colleagues like Xabier Azagirre, Nicholas Chamandy, Benjamin Han, and Sébastien Martin.5
• This team's work likely contributed to Lyft's advancements in ride-sharing algorithms and marketplace efficiency.

Vijay Narasiman's role as a Decision Scientist at Lyft involves applying advanced analytical techniques, particularly in the field of reinforcement learning, to optimize Lyft's ride-sharing marketplace and improve outcomes for both drivers and riders.