Senior Data Scientist I - Meals

Instacart
ON +1 more
Remote

Who this role is best for

Geared toward candidates with 4+ years of consumer-facing product data science experience and a track record of defining KPIs and scaling initiatives, comfortable with leading experimentation and metric tracking frameworks in a remote-first work arrangement.

Best fit for

  • Candidates with 4+ years of experience in consumer-facing product data science and a history of scaling initiatives from MVP to full scale
    — “4+ years of work experience in a data science or related field”
  • Individuals who have led high-visibility 0→1 initiatives and shaped product strategies in collaboration with cross-functional teams
    — “Contribute to a 0→1 initiative at a critical inflection point, helping define what success looks like at scale”
  • Candidates with a strong background in statistical modeling and A/B experimentation, particularly in complex data environments
    — “Strong data science foundation: product and data analysis, A/B experimentation, causal inference, and statistical modeling”

Things to consider

  • This role is remote-only, but limited to specific provinces in Canada, which may affect eligibility for non-residents
    — “only hiring in the following provinces: Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, and Nova Scotia”
  • Compensation is market-competitive but may vary based on location and experience, requiring candidates to account for potential pay differences
    — “base pay range for a successful candidate is dependent on their permanent work location”

How to stand out

  • Emphasize experience in defining KPIs and optimizing funnel for product market fit in your resume and interviews
    — “Experience defining KPIs, and optimizing funnel for product market fit”
  • Highlight your ability to build and maintain metric tracking frameworks in your application materials
    — “Design, build, and maintain metric tracking frameworks to measure the impact of Meals”
  • Showcase your collaboration with Product, Engineering, and Design teams in your work history and interviews
    — “Partner closely with Product Managers, Engineers, and Designers to align on strategy”
Pace · Fast PacedCollaboration · HighAutonomy · HighDecision Impact · Team

Derived from job-description analysis by Serendipath's career intelligence engine.

What success looks like

  • lead data science for the Meals initiative
  • design, build, and maintain metric tracking frameworks
  • drive experimentation strategy
  • partner closely with Product Managers, Engineers, and Designers
Typical background
4+ years of work experience in a data science or related fieldBachelor’s degree in a quantitative field

Skills & requirements

Required

Consumer-facing Product Data ScienceA/B ExperimentationCausal InferenceStatistical ModelingDefining KpisProduct And Data Analysis

Preferred

NDCGPrecision/recallHuman EvaluationHoldoutsDiff-in-diffQuasi-experimentsLaunching New Features In New Markets

Stack & domain

Data ScienceProduct Data ScienceA/B ExperimentationCausal InferenceStatistical ModelingKPI DefinitionFunnel OptimizationCommunicationLeadershipCollaborationProblem-solvingTeamworkGrocery IndustryData AnalysisProduct Market Fit

About the role

Original posting from Instacart

We're transforming the grocery industry

At Instacart, we invite the world to share love through food because we believe everyone should have access to the food they love and more time to enjoy it together. Where others see a simple need for grocery delivery, we see exciting complexity and endless opportunity to serve the varied needs of our community. We work to deliver an essential service that customers rely on to get their groceries and household goods, while also offering safe and flexible earnings opportunities to Instacart Personal Shoppers.

Instacart has become a lifeline for millions of people, and we’re building the team to help push our shopping cart forward. If you’re ready to do the best work of your life, come join our table.

Instacart is a Flex First team

There’s no one-size fits all approach to how we do our best work. Our employees have the flexibility to choose where they do their best work—whether it’s from home, an office, or your favorite coffee shop—while staying connected and building community through regular in-person events. Learn more about our flexible approach to where we work.

Overview

We are looking for a Senior Data Scientist to lead the Meals initiative — one of Instacart's top strategic priorities for 2027. This role is focused on scaling data science work following the MVP launch, with metric tracking and experimentation at the core. You will play a key role in driving engagement, activations, and reactivations for Instacart through a high-visibility, high-impact 0→1 initiative. This is an opportunity to shape the direction of a major product area in close partnership with Product, Engineering, and Design.

About the Job

Lead data science for the Meals initiative, owning the post-MVP scale-up of DS systems and infrastructure

Design, build, and maintain metric tracking frameworks to measure the impact of Meals on engagement, activation, and reactivation

Drive experimentation strategy — from hypothesis definition to analysis and recommendation — to guide product decisions

Partner closely with Product Managers, Engineers, and Designers to align on strategy and communicate data-driven insights

Contribute to a 0→1 initiative at a critical inflection point, helping define what success looks like at scale

About You

Minimum Qualifications

Proven experience in consumer-facing product data science, partnering closely with Product Managers, Engineering Leads, and Data Engineers

Strong data science foundation: product and data analysis, A/B experimentation, causal inference, and statistical modeling

Experience defining KPIs, and optimizing funnel for product market fit

Excellent communication skills, with the ability to synthesize complex technical findings for senior business and engineering stakeholders

4+ years of work experience in a data science or related field

Bachelor’s degree in a quantitative field (e.g., Statistics, Computer Science, Mathematics, Economics, Engineering) or equivalent practical experience

Preferred Qualifications

Experience bridging offline evaluation metrics (e.g., NDCG, precision/recall, human evaluation) with online experiments and business outcomes.

Background in causal inference beyond standard A/B tests (e.g., holdouts, diff-in-diff, quasi-experiments) to measure long-term or cross-surface effects.

Proven impact improving logging, instrumentation, and metric definitions in complex data environments.

Experience launching new features in new markets, or launching 0-1 initiatives

#LI-Remote

Instacart provides highly market-competitive compensation and benefits in each location where our employees work. This role is remote and the base pay range for a successful candidate is dependent on their permanent work location. Please review our Flex First remote work policy here. Currently, we are only hiring in the following provinces: Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, and Nova Scotia.

Offers may vary based on many factors, such as candidate experience and skills required for the role. Additionally, this role is eligible for a new hire equity grant as well as annual refresh grants. Please read more about our benefits offerings here.

For Canadian based candidates, the base pay ranges for a successful candidate are listed below.

CAN$161,000—$170,000 CAD

Source: Instacart careers

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