Lyft just poached another Google engineering executive as it continues to siphon off talent from the search giant (GOOGL)

Eisar Lipkovitz Lyft LinkedIN

Lyft has hired former Google VP of engineering Eisar Lipkovitz to lead its engineering team.
His move is the latest in a string of hires by Lyft from the search-engine giant.
Alphabet, Google's parent company, has invested in Lyft through its VC arm, CapitalG.

Lyft has been quickly scaling up its engineering team as it continues to expand into things like bikes, scooters, and more.

To keep up with the growth and manage its team of engineers that is now more than 1,000-strong, the ride-hailing company has poached Eisar Lipkovitz, Google's former vice president of engineering, the company announced Friday.

"It's clear that Lyft is tackling one of the most interesting and world-changing engineering challenges of our lifetime, and the team has done an exceptional job innovating through dispatch, matching, pricing, and mapping to create the overall experience," Lipkovitz said in a statement provided by Lyft.

"The work Lyft is doing intersects with my passion of operating extremely complex systems efficiently while developing strong leaders in tech, and I couldn't be more excited to join the team."

And he's far from the first Googler to move to Lyft, the latest in a long-running drain of talent from the search giant that's owned by Alphabet. A cursory LinkedIn search shows nearly 300 current Lyft employees formerly worked for Google, including other engineering manager Tom Lewkowitz, director of sustainability Sam Arons, and CTO Chris Lambert.

Notably, Alphabet has also invested in two of Lyft's late-stage funding rounds, as Business Insider's Becky Peterson notes. CapitalG, formerly known as Google Capital, led the company's Series H funding round last year, when the company raised $1.7 billion at a $10 billion valuation. David Lawee, who led that investment, plays an active role on Lyft's board.

Lyft in December said it had confidentially filed for an initial public offering, or IPO. After doubling its engineering team in 2018, according to a spokesperson, investors will likely see Lipkovitz's taking of the helm as another signal the company is primed for more growth going forward.

Do you work for Lyft or CapitalG? Have a news tip? Get in touch with this reporter at grapier@businessinsider.com.

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