Instacart is hiring a Senior ML Engineer Economist in Toronto!
Instacart is hiring a senior machine learning engineer with an economics background for its Economics team, listed in Toronto with remote flexibility across several Canadian provinces. The role sits in a horizontal group that applies rigorous economic reasoning and modern ML to marketplace problems such as matching and logistics, online advertising, uplift and long-term value modeling, and causal inference. The engineer will design and deploy models that address incentive alignment, pricing and product placement effects, and other marketplace dynamics. Collaboration is central: the person will work with product managers, data scientists, and engineers to translate business needs into impactful technical solutions. The posting is also open at a less senior level for a fresh PhD graduate, while the senior track expects prior industry experience and production ML work. Compensation is listed at $180,000 to $190,000 CAD, with eligibility for equity grants. The ideal candidate combines applied econometrics, causal inference, strong Python and data tooling, and the ability to communicate complex findings to varied partners.
Key responsibilities
- Design, build, and deploy machine learning systems that address economic challenges in a multi-sided marketplace.
- Apply causal inference and econometric methods to observational and experimental data.
- Partner with product, data science, and engineering teams to understand business needs and deliver practical solutions.
- Improve algorithms and models to support operational efficiency and marketplace performance.
- Share research, best practices, and technical learnings across the Economics team and broader organization.
- For senior hires, move models into production and work with cloud-based ML infrastructure.
Key requirements
- Graduate degree, master's or PhD, in Economics or a closely related discipline.
- Combination of economic theory, applied econometrics, and business judgment for a fast-paced environment.
- Experience applying causal inference methods to observational and experimental datasets.
- Understanding of machine learning algorithms and techniques.
- Strong Python programming plus SQL, Pandas, and ML libraries such as scikit-learn and XGBoost.
- Excellent written and verbal communication and a strong sense of ownership.
- Senior-level candidates need 1 to 3 years of relevant industry experience, production ML experience, and familiarity with cloud computing and ML infrastructure.
- Seniority: Senior (also open to Machine Learning Engineer II, Economist for fresh PhD graduates)
- Work mode: Remote / Flex First; listed in Toronto and hiring in Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, and Nova Scotia
- Salary: $180,000–$190,000 CAD
- Key skills: Python, SQL, Pandas, scikit-learn, XGBoost, causal inference, applied econometrics, machine learning, cloud computing, ML infrastructure, large language models, generative AI, uplift modeling, contextual bandits, heterogeneous treatment effects
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