Business Development Manager, Airports

Lyft; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 118,000 - 148,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Mental health benefits

Family building benefits

Child care and pet benefits

401(k) plan with company match

Paid time off (holidays and PTO)

Parental leave (18 weeks)

Commuter benefits

Lyft credits and Lyft Pink

Job summary

Lyft is seeking a Business Development Manager for the Airport Partnerships team, owning Northeast airport relationships across multiple states and Canadian provinces. You will translate airport needs into Lyft requirements, coordinating with legal, compliance, product, finance, and marketing to act on opportunities.

The role requires 5+ years in BD or a similar role, strong communication, and the ability to manage multiple streams.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in business development, strategy, or similar commercial roles.
• Ability to manage multiple active workstreams with strong attention to detail.
• Excellent written and verbal communication for senior audiences.
• Strong cross-functional collaboration across strategy, finance, legal, and operations.
• Genuine curiosity about rideshare and rapid learning in a fast-moving space.
• Experience with LOIs, MOUs, or term sheets is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Own airport relationships across the Northeast region as primary liaison.
• Coordinate cross-functionally with legal, compliance, product, finance, and marketing.
• Manage day-to-day operations including approvals and reporting issues.
• Launch new airports and amendments end-to-end, ensuring no steps are missed.
• Balance short- and long-term priorities with minimal direction.
• Build trust as a collaborative partner and push back when needed.
• Maintain accurate records in internal systems for airport requests.

Skills

BD experience

Cross-functional collaboration

Negotiation

Written and verbal communication

Relationship management

Strategic project management

Attention to detail

Job description

At Lyft, our purpose is to serve and connect. We aim to achieve this by cultivating a work environment where all team members belong and have the opportunity to thrive. Lyft's Airport Partnerships team manages the company's relationships with airport authorities across the U.S. and Canada, ensuring Lyft operates as a trusted, compliant, and collaborative partner at every airport we serve. The team is organized by region, with each Business Development Manager owning the airport relationships within their territory. This role owns the Northeast region, covering U.S. states from the Northeast through the Mid-Atlantic and Carolinas, and Canadian provinces from Ontario and Quebec eastward. As a qualified candidate, you're comfortable operating across a wide range of altitude - from negotiating agreements with senior airport officials to processing day-to-day operational requests like driver suspensions and fee changes. You know how to build and adapt relationships with airport partners, whose working styles range from informal and high-touch to highly formal and bureaucratic, and you're equally skilled at translating airport needs into requirements that Lyft's internal teams - legal, compliance, product, finance, and marketing - can act on, and vice versa. You are self-directed and highly organized, able to manage a mix of reactive, ad hoc requests and longer-term strategic projects without close oversight, and you take pride in being a collaborative business partner to airports while knowing when to push back.

Responsibilities:

• Own airport relationships across the Northeast region by serving as Lyft's primary point of contact for airport authorities across the region's states and provinces, adapting your communication style and cadence to each partner's preferences
• Deliver on airport requirements by coordinating cross-functionally with legal, compliance, product, finance, reporting, and marketing teams, translating airport mandates into internal action and Lyft's capabilities into terms airports can work with
• Keep day-to-day operations running smoothly by managing the administrative and operational work required to serve airports, including processing driver suspensions, fee changes, and reporting issues
• Operationalize new and updated agreements by managing the end-to-end process of launching new airports and implementing new agreements, amendments, and fee changes, making sure no step falls through the cracks
• Balance short- and long-term priorities by self-directing across a mix of reactive, ad hoc airport requests and longer-term strategic projects, without close day-to-day direction
• Build lasting trust with airport partners by showing up as a collaborative business partner rather than an adversarial one, delivering on airport needs within reasonable scope while knowing when to push back
• Keep internal systems and records accurate by staying on top of the internal tools required to track, report, and resolve airport requests

Experience:

• 5+ years of experience in business development, strategy, or a similar commercial role
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple active workstreams simultaneously with strong attention to detail
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; able to prepare high-quality materials for senior internal and external audiences
• Strong cross-functional collaboration skills; comfortable working across strategy, finance, legal, and operations teams
• Genuine intellectual curiosity about the rideshare industry and appetite to develop expertise in a fast-moving space
• Familiarity with commercial document drafting - LOIs, MOUs, or term sheets - is a plus
• Prior experience in BD or a deal-making environment is a plus, as is prior exposure to equity investment processes, including experience at a corporate VC or in a corporate development function
• Strong relationship management skills, with the ability to adapt style and tone across a wide range of partner relationships, from informal and high-touch to highly formal
• Excellent cross-functional collaboration skills; comfortable working across legal, compliance, product, finance, and marketing teams
• Ability to translate between two distinct working cultures - the bureaucratic, relationship-driven nature of airport authorities and the systems- and process-driven nature of a tech company - or a strong willingness to learn quickly
• Highly organized and detail-oriented, with strong self-management skills; comfortable operating with minimal day-to-day direction
• Comfortable operating across a wide range of responsibility, from high-level contract negotiations to hands-on administrative and operational tasks
• Prior experience in airports, aviation, ground transportation, or a related regulated industry is a plus

Benefits:

• Great medical, dental, and vision insurance options with additional programs available when enrolled
• Mental health benefits
• Family building benefits
• Child care and pet benefits
• 401(k) plan with company match to help save for your future
• In addition to 12 observed holidays, salaried team members have discretionary paid time off, hourly team members have 15 days paid time off
• 18 weeks of paid parental leave. Biological, adoptive, and foster parents are all eligible
• Subsidized commuter benefits
• Monthly Lyft credits and complimentary Lyft Pink membership

Lyft is an equal opportunity employer committed to an inclusive workplace that fosters belonging. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regards to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, age, genetic information, or any other basis prohibited by law. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories consistent with applicable federal, state and local law.

Lyft highly values having employees working in-office to foster a collaborative work environment and company culture. This role will be in-office on a hybrid schedule - Team Members will be expected to work in the office 3 days per week on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Lyft considers working in the office at least 3 days per week to be an essential function of this hybrid role. Your recruiter can share more information about the various in-office perks Lyft offers. Additionally, hybrid roles have the flexibility to work from anywhere for up to 4 weeks per year.

The expected base pay range for this position in the New York City area is $118,000 - $147,500, not inclusive of potential equity offering, bonus or benefits. Salary ranges are dependent on a variety of factors, including qualifications, experience and geographic location. Your recruiter can share more information about the salary range specific to your working location and other factors during the hiring process.