Staff Applied Scientist, Lime
Lime Vision
$200-275k
+ Offers Equity + Offers Bonus
Electric bike and scooter rentals
Be an early applicant
Electric bike and scooter rentals
1001+ employees
Be an early applicant
$200-275k
+ Offers Equity + Offers Bonus
1001+ employees
Company mission
To build a future where transportation is shared, affordable and carbon-free.
Role
Who you are
- 8+ years of industry experience in Computer Vision and Machine Learning, with a proven track record of deploying production-grade models in physical, real-world environments
- Proven Edge AI Expertise: Extensive experience optimizing and running CV models on embedded hardware (e.g., NVIDIA Jetson, Ambarella, or ARM-based SoCs) where power and computational efficiency are critical
- Advanced Sensor Fusion: Deep understanding of combining visual data with non-visual inputs (accelerometers, gyroscopes, etc.) to solve complex state-estimation and behavioral problems
- Strategic Influence: Demonstrated experience leading the technical strategy for a team or complex project. While people management is not required, the ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders and guide the team's technical output is essential
- Problem-Solving Rigor: Ability to solve "noisy" real-world problems—such as varying lighting, occlusions, and vibration—where standard lab-based models often fail
- Academic Foundation: PhD or Master’s in Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical Engineering, or a related field with a focus on Computer Vision
What the job involves
- We are looking for a high-impact Staff Applied Scientist to serve as the primary technical architect and strategic lead for the Lime Vision team.
- In this role, you won't just build models; you will own the end-to-end strategy for how our vehicles perceive and interact with the world. You will tackle the most complex "unsolved" problems in micro-mobility - such as real-time tandem riding detection, precision parking validation, and sidewalk riding prevention
- This position requires a rare blend of expertise in Computer Vision, Machine Learning, and Data, with the ability to deploy these solutions at the edge on vehicle hardware
- You will be the technical North Star, building the roadmap to solve critical urban challenges while balancing a seamless rider experience with strict city regulatory requirements. While this is an individual contributor role, you will wield significant influence over the team's technical direction and strategy
- Technical Strategy & Roadmap: Define and execute the long-term technical vision for the Lime Vision team, prioritizing high-impact solutions for parking compliance and rider safety
- Complex Problem Solving: Architect and own the development of real-time solutions for tandem riding (multi-person detection), sidewalk riding prevention, and precision parking validation using advanced scene understanding
- Advanced Data Fusion: Lead the effort to fuse camera-based computer vision with other vehicle sensors to create a high-confidence, 360-degree understanding of vehicle state and environmental context
- Hardware-Software Co-Design: Collaborate with hardware and firmware teams to optimize vision algorithms for resource-constrained edge devices, ensuring low latency and high reliability in diverse weather and lighting conditions
- End-to-End Ownership: Oversee the entire lifecycle—from data strategy and sensor selection to model deployment and post-launch performance monitoring in the field
- Technical Leadership & Mentorship: Act as the primary technical authority for Computer Vision (CV) at Lime; mentor senior scientists and engineers to foster a culture of rigorous, production-oriented research
- Cross-Functional Influence: Partner with Product, Government Relations, and Operations to translate city-mandated safety goals into robust, scalable technical requirements
- Strategic Innovation: Stay at the forefront of AI research, identifying emerging technologies that can be adapted to solve unique micromobility challenges
Our take
In recent years, electric-powered mobility companies have attracted an extraordinary amount of interest and funding, in part due to rising eco-friendly sentiment, and in part because of the race to "find the next Uber". Lime is one such company, that has rapidly scaled across multiple geographies to be a key player in the fight for market leadership.
Lime, along with its competitors, has had to grapple with regulation in many of its target markets, but nonetheless has steadily increased its footprint. Since its launch, the company has facilitated millions of trips, making it one of the biggest companies of its kind. Interestingly, the CEO has stated that "cars are our true business rivals—not other scooter companies", suggesting that its biggest business challenge will be to get families to give up their second cars.
With a presence that spans an impressive number of regions - in 2023, Lime began operating in Qatar - the company has cemented itself in the micromobility market and stands to profit from the increasing popularity of these types of services. A substantial increase in ridership enabled Lime to achieve "free cash flow positivity" two years in a row, with suggestions it will pursue a US IPO in 2027.
Freddie
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
17% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Funding (last 2 of 7 rounds)
Nov 2021
$523m
CONVERTIBLE
May 2020
$170m
SERIES E
Total funding: $1.5bn
Company benefits
- Disability insurance
- 401(k)
Company HQ
The East Cut, San Francisco, CA
Leadership
Toby
(Co-Founder & Board Advisor)Founder and CEO of ZERO&. Was a Marketing Manager at Pepsi for 6 years before doing an MBA at Berkeley. Moved into consulting and VC for 5 years before starting Lime.
Brad
(Co-Founder & Chairman)VP of Business Development at Tencent for 8 years. Managing Partner of a VC firm for 3 years, where he worked with Toby. Has an MBA from Berkeley.
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