Economist (Data Scientist)

Company Description

About Grab and Our Workplace

Grab is Southeast Asia's leading superapp. From getting your favourite meals delivered to helping you manage your finances and getting around town hassle-free, we've got your back with everything. In Grab, purpose gives us joy and habits build excellence, while harnessing the power of Technology and AI to deliver the mission of driving Southeast Asia forward by economically empowering everyone, with heart, hunger, honour, and humility.

Job Description

Get to Know the Team

We are the architects of the marketplace economy. We design the blueprints, incentives, and clearing mechanisms that power the platform. We combine rigorous economic theory with data science to solve the fundamental coordination problems of the on-demand economy—balancing supply, demand, and price in real-time.

We do not just analyze the market; we shape it. We foster a culture where you have the freedom to explore. We balance the optimization of our current systems with a goal of tackling the open-ended, foundational questions to define the next horizon of our growth. We want to leave a lasting impact on the ecosystem of drivers, merchants, and passengers who rely on our equilibrium every day.

Get to Know the Role

We are looking for an Economist who can operate at the intersection of causal science and commercial strategy. You will be the bridge between theoretical rigor and real-world application. This role will report to Lead Economist (Data Scientist), Marketplace Strategy.

You will go beyond standard A/B testing to "decode" the complex behaviors of our ecosystem. You will identify the hidden tradeoffs in every decision and mapping the second- and third-order consequences of our algorithms. Whether you are redesigning pricing principles or modeling labor supply elasticity, your work will provide the definitive "so what?" that guides our product roadmap and investment strategy

The Critical Tasks You Will Perform

• Architect Marketplace Mechanisms: You will own the economic logic for main pillars of our platform (Supply, Growth, Pricing, or Dispatch). You will design the incentives and clearing mechanisms that keep our marketplace healthy and efficient.
• Decode Economic Behavior: You will build models to understand why users and partners make the choices they do. Your insights will move us beyond treating users as metrics, helping us build a more engaging, human-centric marketplace.
• Be the Authority on Causal Truth: You will apply quasi-experimental methods and structural modeling to safeguard the business from mistaking correlation for causation. You will ensure our biggest bets are backed by rigorous evidence rather than coincidence.
• Solve Big, Ambiguous Questions: You will help build the research agenda for the "unknowns" of our marketplace. You will investigate foundational topics—like long-run market dynamics, system efficiency frontiers, and partner choice architecture—to shape our multi-year vision.
• Simplify Strategy: You will distill immense complexity into clear, applicable mental models. You will partner with senior leadership to cut through the noise, helping them define the true goals and principles of the business.

Qualifications

What Essential Skills You Will Need

We are looking for analytical thinker who can translate economic theories into actionable strategies. This role is open to candidates from recent graduates to experienced economists.

• Advanced Degree: A PhD in Economics, or a related field is preferred or candidates with a Master's degree who can demonstrate a high experience with economic logic, structural thinking, and causal analysis, regardless of their tenure in the industry.
• Industry Experience: Proven experience marketplace design, pricing strategy or economic consulting.
• Technical Skills:
  • Econometrics: Expertise in causal inference techniques like difference-in-differences and regression discontinuity
  • Structural thinking: ability to build models predicting market equilibrium and effects of pricing changes
  • Technical proficiency: SQL and statistical programming (R, Python) is necessary .
  • Strategic Communication: ability to simplify complex economic concept to partners and influence decisions.

Additional Information

Life at Grab

We care about your well-being at Grab, here are some of the global benefits we offer:

• We have your back with Term Life Insurance and comprehensive Medical Insurance.
• With GrabFlex, create a benefits package that suits your needs and aspirations.
• Celebrate moments that matter in life with loved ones through Parental and Birthday leave, and give back to your communities through Love-all-Serve-all (LASA) volunteering leave
• We have a confidential Grabber Assistance Programme to guide and uplift you and your loved ones through life's challenges.
• Balancing personal commitments and life's demands are made easier with our FlexWork arrangements such as differentiated hours

What We Stand For at Grab

We are committed to building an inclusive and equitable workplace that enables diverse Grabbers to grow and perform at their best. As an equal opportunity employer, we consider all candidates fairly and equally regardless of nationality, ethnicity, religion, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, family commitments, physical and mental impairments or disabilities, and other attributes that make them unique.