Staff CAE Engineer

Lime; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health & wellness plans

401(k) plan

Parental leave

Unlimited vacation

Lime vehicle access

Phone allowance

Learning & development days

Job summary

Lime, a global shared micromobility leader, seeks a Staff CAE Engineer in San Francisco. You will own advanced simulations for locking ecosystems, weight optimization, and dynamic events across vehicle platforms, with 2 days/week in the SF hardware lab and 2–3 trips annually for testing and collaboration.

Ideal candidates have MSc in Mechanical Engineering and 10+ years of CAE experience, mastering MBD, nonlinear dynamics, Abaqus/SIMULIA, and CAD tools, translating simulation data into concrete

Qualifications

• Education: MSc in Mechanical Engineering or equivalent practical experience.
• 10+ years of CAE simulation and mechanical design on commercial products.
• Strong fundamentals in solid mechanics, materials, fatigue, and weldment/fracture mechanics.
• Advanced CAE expertise in MBD, explicit vs implicit solvers, non-linear transient mechanics, and NVH.

Responsibilities

• Own advanced simulation of locking, docking, and weight optimization across vehicle platforms.
• Drive structural weight reduction using fatigue and weldment simulations.
• Lead high-fidelity dynamic and environmental simulations for impact events.
• Correlate CAE models with lab tests and field data with Reliability engineering.
• Collaborate globally with internal teams and suppliers; travel 2–3 times/year.

Education

MSc Mechanical Engineering

Tools

Abaqus

Fe-Safe

Tosca

iSight

SolidWorks

Job description

As the largest global shared micromobility business, Lime is on a mission to build a future where transportation is shared, affordable and carbon-free. A Time Magazine 100 Most Influential Company, Lime has powered more than one billion rides in close to 30 countries across five continents, spurring a new generation of clean alternatives to car ownership. Learn more at li.me.

Lime is looking for a Staff CAE Engineer to lead the structural integrity, safety, and weight optimization of our next-generation shared micro-mobility vehicles and infrastructure. In this role, you will act as a technical authority autonomously identifying, scoping, and solving the thorniest hardware challenges across our global vehicle platforms.

As a Staff-level engineer you work in conjunction with the mechanical engineering team to provide timely results in alignment with our Product Development Process. By delivering high-fidelity simulation data before design freezes, you will prevent engineering bottlenecks and eliminate late-stage development risks. You bring the pragmatic judgment required to balance digital engineering with physical realities, confidently determining when a problem warrants complex simulation versus when it is faster and cheaper to just build and test.

This is a hybrid role requiring 2 days per week in our San Francisco Hardware Development Lab for collaboration, prototyping, and testing.

Interview Note

We love to see engineering portfolios. Be prepared to walk us through a case study showing a complex structural failure or optimization challenge, your model correlation methodology, and the final design solution you delivered.

What You’ll Do

• Locking Mechanism & Overload Analysis: Own the advanced simulation of our complex electro-mechanical locking ecosystem (including battery, hub, helmet, lock-to, and docking modules). Utilize Multibody Dynamics (MBD) and non-linear transient analysis to ensure these assets withstand extreme real-world impact and intentional vandalism before committing to production tooling.
• Structural Weight Optimization: Drive the optimization of vehicle frames and weldments early in the design cycle. Use precise fatigue and weldment simulations to safely strip away conservative margins, lowering per-unit manufacturing costs and vehicle weight before designs are locked for tooling.
• Dynamic & Environmental Simulation: Lead high-fidelity explicit dynamics simulations for severe, short-duration impact events (drops, sidefalls, curb strikes) alongside random vibration analysis to replicate aggressive road testing virtually.
• Test & Field Correlation: Partner closely with the Reliability engineering team to correlate analytical CAE models with lab tests and actual field failure data, continuously elevating Lime’s predictive engineering capabilities.
• Global Collaboration & Manufacturing Support: Partner cross-functionally with internal engineering units and external suppliers globally. Support vehicle builds directly at our Asian Contract Manufacturers (CMs), which includes international travel approximately 2–3 times per year.

About You

• Education: MSc in Mechanical Engineering (or a related engineering discipline), or equivalent practical experience.
• Experience: 10+ years of CAE simulation and mechanical design experience on commercialized products. Proven portfolio in advanced structural optimization, non-linear analysis, and mechanism design.
• Engineering Fundamentals: Deep, first-principles understanding of solid mechanics, materials, elasticity, plasticity, fatigue, and weldment/fracture mechanics.
• Advanced CAE Expertise: Mastery of Multibody Dynamics (MBD), explicit vs. implicit solvers, non-linear transient mechanics, and random vibration (NVH) analysis.
• Software Toolkit: Advanced proficiency in Abaqus (highly preferred), SIMULIA suites (Fe-Safe, Tosca, iSight), or equivalent high-end solvers, alongside 3D CAD software (SolidWorks preferred).
• Simulation Automation: Proven ability to build simulation automation workflows for efficient model processing using Python or MATLAB.
• Pragmatic Mindset: Highly autonomous problem solver who knows how to translate raw simulation data into actionable design directives and knows when to simulate versus when to physically prototype.
• Material Expertise: Aluminum metallurgy (6000 series), advanced manufacturing (HPDC casting, forging, extrusion), heat treatment (T4/T6), fatigue & fracture mechanics (S-N Curves, crack propagation), and weldment analysis.

Preferred Experience

• Prior engineering experience within the automotive, bicycle, or adjacent micro-mobility industries.

U.S. Based Position - What We Offer

• Comprehensive Health & Wellness: A choice of medical, dental, and vision plans. We also provide company-paid life and disability insurance and company-funded mental health benefits.
• Financial & Retirement Planning: 401(k) plan with both pre-tax and Roth options, and access to a Health Savings Account (HSA) with a monthly company contribution.
• Family & Fertility Support: Paid parental leave for birthing and non-birthing parents, plus fertility and family-forming benefits.
• Paid Time Off: Unlimited vacation, paid leaves, and 10 company holidays.
• Unique Lime Perks: Complimentary use of Lime vehicles in participating cities, a monthly phone allowance, dedicated learning and development days, and access to perks including One Medical, Wellhub, and Headspace.

The base salary range listed reflects what Lime reasonably expects to offer for this role, with the final base salary determined by objective factors such as the candidate’s location and relevant skills and experience. Depending on the position, the total compensation package may also include discretionary annual performance bonus opportunities and equity, subject to applicable plan terms and eligibility requirements.

Lime considers all qualified applicants for employment, including those with arrest or conviction records, in accordance with the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, the California Fair Chance Act, and all other applicable federal, state, and local laws.

Lime is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We believe different perspectives help us grow and achieve more. That’s why we’re dedicated to building and developing a team that reflects a wider range of backgrounds, abilities, identities, and experiences. If you require a reasonable accommodation during the application or hiring process, please email [e-mail] for assistance.