10 Lyft engineering leaders
Yahui Jin, Senior Director of Engineering, Rider at Lyft, is one of ten Lyft engineering leaders listed here, alongside people who hold or have held director of engineering and head of engineering roles at the company. A reader can learn how engineering leaders work at Lyft from people who have held the role.
Professionals to explore
Anita Singh
LinkedInExperience: Director of Engineering · Lyft
Director of Engineering at Lyft since October 2026, based in the Berlin area. Anita Singh also lists Director of Engineering at Freenow since February 2023, and was Director of Engineering (2021–2023) and Lead Engineer & Manager (2021) at Gorillas, and Engineering Manager at Blinkist (2020–2021).
Brian Balser
LinkedInExperience: Director of Engineering, Data Platform · Lyft
Director of Engineering, Data Platform at Lyft since July 2025, based in New York. Former Director of Engineering, Developer Experience (2024–2025), Senior Engineering Manager, Developer Experience (2021–2024) and Engineering Manager, Developer Environments (2019–2021) at Lyft, and Director of Engineering, Delivery Engineering at The New York Times (2017–2018).
Christoph Forster
LinkedInExperience: Director of Engineering · Lyft
Director of Engineering at Lyft since October 2026, based in the Hamburg area. Former Director of Engineering Marketplace & FinTech (2025–2026), Director of Engineering FinTech (2023–2025), Senior Engineering Manager (2021–2023) and Lead Developer / Engineering Manager (2017–2021) at Freenow.
Karthik Subramaniam
LinkedInExperience: Former Director, Engineering · Lyft
Former Director, Engineering at Lyft (2017–2022), where the profile says Karthik Subramaniam headed the Driver Marketplace focus area covering supply shaping, driver pay and platforms. Now Senior Director of Engineering, Customer Experience at Whatnot since April 2026, and Senior Director of Engineering, Head of Ads at Whatnot (2022–2026).
Martin Conte Mac Donell
LinkedInExperience: Former Senior Director Of Engineering · Lyft
Former Senior Director Of Engineering at Lyft (2019–2023), based in San Francisco, where the role entry names Security, Privacy, Production Infrastructure and Mobile Infrastructure. Martin Conte Mac Donell was also Director Of Engineering (2018–2019) and Principal Engineer (2014–2018) at Lyft and Principal Software Engineer at Kicksend (2013–2014), and has been Co-Founder of bitdrift since May 2023.
Matthew Leventi
LinkedInExperience: Director of Engineering · Lyft
Director of Engineering at Lyft since July 2026, based in Seattle; the profile says Matthew Leventi leads engineering for the supply organization at Lyft. Former Director, Driver Earnings (2025–2026), Director, Fulfillment (2024–2025), Principal Engineer (2022–2024) and Senior Staff Engineer (2017–2022) at Lyft.
Milan M.
LinkedInExperience: Head of Engineering · Lyft
Head of Engineering at Lyft since February 2020, based in San Francisco, a role the profile tags at head level within the engineering function. Former Engineering Leader at PayPal (2014–2020), and Software Engineer at MobileIron (2011–2014) and Vontu (2007–2011).
Naren Chainani
LinkedInExperience: Director of Engineering · Lyft
Director of Engineering at Lyft since August 2025, based in San Francisco, a role the profile tags at director level. Former Engineering Manager at Lyft (2019–2025), Senior Engineering Manager (2016–2019) and Engineering Manager (2012–2016) at Groupon, and Computer Scientist at Adobe (2009–2012).
Sam de Freyssinet
LinkedInExperience: Director of Engineering, Production Infrastructure · Lyft
Director of Engineering, Production Infrastructure at Lyft since January 2025, based in the San Francisco Bay Area; the profile says the work centers on ensuring Lyft's Production Infrastructure delivers a reliable, efficient and scalable platform. Former Senior Engineering Manager, Infrastructure at Lyft (2020–2024), and CTO (2015–2020) and Vice President of Technology (2013–2015) at Sittercity.
Yahui Jin
LinkedInExperience: Senior Director of Engineering, Rider · Lyft
Senior Director of Engineering, Rider at Lyft since April 2023, based in San Francisco; the role entry names Rider Engineering & Science. Former Director of Engineering, Driver (2021–2023), Senior Engineering Manager, Driver Experience (2019–2021) and Engineering Manager, Driver Labs (2018–2019) at Lyft, and Head of Enterprise Engineering at eero (2017–2018).
Choose the right perspective
Choose the person whose title names the engineering area closest to your decision, and note whether the role is current and when it began. Weigh scope too, because a leader of one team and a leader of several teams or a site see different parts of the work.
Questions to take into the conversation
- 01What took most of your time in your current engineering role, and how did you decide what to handle yourself and what to delegate?
- 02How did you balance new development work against reliability and maintenance work on your teams?
- 03What did you carry over from earlier roles that changed how you lead engineering teams?
Reaching Lyft engineering leaders
How can I contact one of these Lyft engineering leaders?
Pick one of the 10 people on this page and choose "Book a paid call", or describe your project to find others. You offer a fee for a 15-minute call or a written answer, Instant Expert finds the person's work email and sends the invitation, and they decide whether to accept. The list covers 1 company: Lyft, based on profile data retrieved on October 17, 2026. Being listed here doesn't mean someone has agreed to take calls.
How much does it cost to reach Lyft engineering leaders?
You choose the offer, starting at $5 per person. The offer is what the person receives, and Instant Expert's fee is added on top, so a $100 offer costs you $125. The fee is 20% of what you pay. You're charged only when the person books the call or sends the answer.
What if they don't reply?
You pay nothing. Instant Expert sends follow-up reminders, and if the person hasn't booked or answered within 7 days, the request expires and any hold on your card is released. You can invite several of the 10 people on this list at once and cap your total spend, so you pay only for the ones who accept.
Can an AI agent ask one of these Lyft engineering leaders a question?
Yes. An agent with a USDC wallet on Base can ask one question without an Instant Expert account. It names the person, for example by the LinkedIn URL on this page, and pays per ask over x402 (HTTP 402). The person answers in writing or by voice note, and if nobody answers within 7 days, the payment goes back to the wallet automatically. Claude and ChatGPT can do the same through the Instant Expert connector: setup is at /docs/mcp for Claude and /docs/chatgpt for ChatGPT. x402 docs
About this directory
This is a professional research starting point based on business profile data retrieved on . Titles and companies reflect that source snapshot; roles marked former had ended by then. Check the linked profiles for current details. Inclusion does not imply Instant Expert membership or availability.
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