Your Ride Is Here. So Is Your Data with Lyft's Director of Engineering Bala Muthiah

Today Kevin and Laura chat with Bala Muthiah, Director of Engineering at Lyft, to talk about what leadership looks like when your product moves real people through the real world. Bala shares his path from immigrating to the U.S. to leading teams responsible for systems that make time-sensitive decisions at massive scale, and how those experiences shaped his views on power, responsibility, and trust in technology.

We talk about what privacy and safety actually mean at scale, where data is not abstract and mistakes have real consequences. Bala is candid about where rideshare platforms have improved, where industries such as these still struggle, and how leaders decide where to draw hard lines around data use even when the tech makes it more possible. The conversation also gets into the human side of engineering. How do you push for speed and performance while building teams that care about ethics, psychological safety, and consent? Bala shares how AI can be used to surface collaboration risks, why that can feel uncomfortable, and how transparency and boundaries matter just as much as capability.

Bala Muthiah leads teams that power real‑time decision systems for millions of users. An immigrant from India turned Silicon Valley leader, he’s also a startup advisor, nonprofit board member, and mentor across multiple platforms. Bala blends technical expertise with people‑first leadership and community impact—showing how to scale teams, startups, and even personal growth with empathy, innovation, and AI.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this conversation are personal and do not represent the views of his current or former employers or affiliated organizations.