Data Science PhD Intern

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

At Instacart, data science is the compass that guides our product strategy. We operate a complex, four-sided marketplace involving customers, shoppers, retailers, and CPG partners. Our mission is to create a world where everyone has access to the food they love. To achieve this, we don't just analyze data; we use rigorous quantitative methods to understand causality, optimize market efficiency, and design the economic architecture of our platform.

We are looking for PhD students to join our Data Science & Analytics team for a 12-week summer internship. This role focuses on inference, experimentation, and strategy.

ABOUT THE JOB

You will be embedded within a specific product team where you will work closely with a senior member of the team to act as a strategic partner to Product and Engineering.

These are some of the potential teams you’d join:

• Ads

• Caper Smart Carts

• Consumer Growth and Marketing

• Ecosystem (informing high-level company strategy)

• Experimentation Platform

• Fraud & Payments

• Logistics, Marketplace & Fulfillment

• Shopper Experience & Engagement

Your impact:

• Ownership: You will work on and own a self-contained project that tackles an ambiguous business problem, using your research and analysis toolkit, to deliver actionable recommendations and/or applied prototypes.

• Solve ambiguous problems: You will take open-ended questions (e.g., "How does delivery speed affect long-term retention?" or "What is the optimal auction mechanism for new ad formats?") and structure them into solvable applied problems.

• Experimentation: Design and analyze complex experiments (e.g., switchback testing, difference-in-difference methods, quasi-experimental designs) to measure causal impact in a noisy multi-sided marketplace setting.

• Strategic deliverables: Go beyond analysis. You will synthesize your findings into strategic recommendations presented to senior leadership and cross-functional partners.

ABOUT YOU

We are looking for candidates who can bridge the gap between academic rigor and fast-paced industry application. This is an ideal opportunity to bring your strong domain expertise and apply in a real-world business context.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Currently enrolled in a PhD program in Computer Science, Economics, Statistics, Operations Research, or a related quantitative field. Note: We typically look for students within 6-12 months of graduation who are interested in exploring full-time industry roles in the future.

• Strong proficiency in SQL (ability to manipulate large datasets independently).

• Fluency in Python or R for statistical modeling and data analysis.

• Expertise in experimentation and applied statistical and machine learning methods (hypothesis testing, regression, causal inference, machine learning).

• Ability to "think on your feet," with a demonstrated ability to break down complex, unstructured problems.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Specialized research focus in Causal Inference, Econometrics, Experimental Design, Mechanism Design/Auctions, or Optimization.

• Prior internship experience or work with large-scale observational data.

THE INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCE

• Mentorship: You will be paired with a Senior Data Scientist mentor who will provide technical guidance, career coaching, and support throughout your 12 weeks.

• Real Impact: You will work on a specific, high-priority project.

DETAILS

• Timeline: 12 weeks (Summer 2026).

• Locations: Remote, although we have offices in the following cities, and so have a slight preference towards folks located in these places and want to spend time in-person:

• San Francisco, CA

• Toronto, ON

• New York, NY

#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.

Offers may vary based on many factors, such as candidate experience and skills required for the role. Please read more about our benefits offerings here.

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

CA, NY, CT, NJ
$36.80—$41.40 USD

WA
$35.33—$39.75 USD

OR, DE, ME, MA, MD, NH, RI, VT, DC, PA, VA, CO, TX, IL, HI
$33.86—$38.09 USD

All other states
$30.55—$34.37 USD