--- title: 'Director, Applied AI at Metropolis' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/director-applied-ai-metropolis-new-york-srn9qgq9jv7p' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-10-14' --- # Director, Applied AI at Metropolis - **Company:** Metropolis - **Location:** New York, NY - **Posted:** 2026-04-06 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-14 - **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/metropolis/jobs/7691347003 ## Job description ## Who we are The real world is the next frontier, and at Metropolis, we are creating the artificial intelligence to make it responsive. We are pioneering the Recognition Economy — a future where mundane repetition disappears and being known unlocks access, comfort, and belonging everywhere you go. From transforming parking into a seamless drive-in, drive-out experience for millions of Members to expanding our intelligence layer across retail and hospitality, we are building a world that feels instinctive and magical. The future isn’t coming; it’s here, and we need builders, innovators, and problem solvers to help us create it. ## Who you are Metropolis is seeking a Director of Applied AI to lead our newly formed Applied AI organization and architect an AI-first operating model from the ground up. You are a technical leader with a rare blend of engineering depth, organizational influence, and a relentless instinct for shipping production-ready systems. Reporting to senior leadership, you will define where AI creates the most leverage across our business—including finance, operations, and GTM—and build the high-performing team of AI Engineers and Process Analysts required to make that vision a reality. Your success will be measured by your ability to partner cross-functionally to redesign core processes, eliminating friction and delivering tangible outcomes in time savings and cost impact. ## What you'll do - Own the Applied AI roadmap by identifying high-leverage opportunities to rebuild business processes across finance, operations, revenue, and GTM - Hire, develop, and lead a team of AI Engineers and Process Analysts while establishing a culture of fast iteration - Partner deeply with functional leaders to understand current work flows and design AI-first solutions to eliminate friction - Set standards for how the team designs, evaluates, and deploys AI workflows, including prompt systems and LLM integrations - Establish metrics for each process transformation and hold the team accountable to time savings, error reduction, and cost impact - Serve as the internal authority on applied AI capabilities, tooling trends, and emerging best practices - Present strategy, progress, and results to senior leadership and the executive team ## What we're looking for - 7+ years of experience in software engineering, AI/ML, or technical product leadership - At least 2 years leading teams that shipped AI-powered systems in production - Maintain deep hands-on familiarity with LLMs, agentic workflows, and AI automation tooling such as OpenAI, LangChain, and vector databases - Demonstrate strong engineering skills and the ability to credibly review and guide technical decisions - Show a track record of driving organizational change through technology and ensuring tools are adopted for sustained impact - Apply experience working across functional boundaries to redesign processes with strong instincts for change management - Utilize excellent communication skills to distill complex AI concepts for a non-technical executive audience - Maintain a bias toward shipping by moving fast and setting clear expectations for high standards ## Our Stack - Languages + Frameworks: TypeScript, React, Scala (principally), Java (limited) - Datastores: MySQL, PostgreSQL, Snowflake - Cloud: AWS - Version control: Git & GitHub - AI Tooling: Copilot on GitHub and Claude Code - Observability: Datadog 4 Days in Office: Metropolis values in-person collaboration to drive innovation, strengthen culture, and enhance the Member experience. Our corporate team members hold to our office-first model, which requires employees to be on-site at least four days a week, fostering organic interactions that spark creativity and connection When you join Metropolis, you'll join a team of world-class product leaders and engineers, building an ecosystem of technologies at the intersection of parking, mobility, and real estate. Our goal is to build an inclusive culture where everyone has a voice and the best idea wins. You will play a key role in building and maintaining this culture as our organization grows. The anticipated base salary for this position is $225,000.00 USD to $265,000.00 USD annually. The actual base salary offered is determined by a number of variables, including, as appropriate, the applicant's qualifications for the position, years of relevant experience, distinctive skills, level of education attained, certifications or other professional licenses held, and the location of residence and/or place of employment. Base salary is one component of Metropolis' total compensation package, which may also include access to or eligibility for healthcare benefits, a 401(k) plan, short-term and long-term disability coverage, basic life insurance, a lucrative stock option plan, bonus plans, and more. #LI-RR1 #LI-Onsite Metropolis may utilize an automated employment decision tool (AEDT) to assess or evaluate your candidacy for employment or promotion. AEDTs are used to assist in assessing a candidate’s application relative to the required job qualifications and responsibilities listed in the job posting. As part of this process, Metropolis retains data relevant to your candidacy, including personal information, for a period that is reasonably necessary for the use of the tool. If you are hired for the position, your data may become part of your employee records. Metropolis Technologies is an equal opportunity employer. We make all hiring decisions based on merit, qualifications, and business needs — without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy), national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic under federal, state, or local law. We are committed to providing a welcoming, accessible hiring experience. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or interview process, please reach out to us at recruiting@metropolis.io. ## About Metropolis ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: Metropolis is an artificial intelligence company that uses computer vision to create checkout-free, frictionless payment and access experiences for physical infrastructure, primarily parking. - **Entity Type**: Private (raised $1.8B in 2023-2024, plus $1.6B in debt financing in 2025) - **Headquarters**: Santa Monica, California, USA - **Founded**: 2017 - **Founders**: Founding team established the company in 2017 (individual founder names not prominently featured in primary company materials) ## Core Business - Primary industry/industries: Smart Mobility, Computer Vision AI, Parking Infrastructure, Real-World Technology - Target customers: B2B (real estate operators, parking lot owners, property managers), B2C (drivers who park at Metropolis-enabled locations) - Mission or purpose statement: "We're reimagining how we live our lives by developing artificial intelligence for the real world, creating an intelligence layer that powers frictionless, precognitive, personalized experiences everywhere." ## Products & Services - **Metropolis Recognition Platform**: An AI-driven, computer vision-based platform that enables checkout-free, drive-in/drive-out parking. The technology recognizes vehicles and members automatically, eliminating the need for tickets, kiosks, or app interaction at entry and exit. ## Market Standing - **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed (private company) - **Key Metric**: Total Funding – $1.8B raised (Series B and later financing in 2023-2024), plus $1.6B in financing in 2025. This was cited as the third-largest AI fundraise in 2023 and the largest venture-backed M&A deal of the year. - **Notable Investors/Partners**: Not explicitly listed in provided materials, but the scale of fundraising and the take-private acquisition of SP+ indicates backing from major institutional investors. - **Growth Signals**: - Became the largest parking network in North America following the take-private acquisition of SP+ in 2024, with over 4,500 locations. - Over 1 million new members added every month. - Saved members 212+ million minutes through frictionless parking. - Reaches more than 50 million customers. - Named to Forbes' list of America's Best Startup Employers. ## Competitive Advantages - **Proprietary Computer Vision Technology**: The company’s primary moat is its industry-leading AI that enables checkout-free, recognition-based access without requiring users to scan, tap, or use an app. - **Scale as the Largest Parking Operator**: Through the SP+ acquisition, Metropolis now operates the largest parking network in North America, creating an unmatched physical footprint and data advantage. - **Data Network Effect**: Each parking transaction feeds the AI model, making the platform smarter and more responsive over time across thousands of locations. ## Strategic Focus - **Expanding the "Recognition Economy"**: Metropolis is focused on building a platform that goes beyond parking to make all real-world infrastructure responsive, personalized, and frictionless. - **AI-Driven Infrastructure**: The company is developing an "intelligence layer" for physical spaces, aiming to eliminate repetitive, analog tasks in everyday life (e.g., payments, access control). - **Growth Through M&A**: The acquisition of SP+ was a landmark deal that instantly scaled the network, and the company continues to seek integration and expansion opportunities. ## Why Work Here - **Office-First Culture**: Metropolis values in-person collaboration. Corporate team members are required to be on-site at least four days a week. Offices are located in Santa Monica (HQ), Austin, Chicago, Nashville, New York, Seattle, and Chennai, India. - **Best-in-Class Benefits**: The company offers a generous PTO package, paid holidays (with double pay for those working), parental leave, a 4% 401(k) match, subsidized health insurance, wellness benefits, short- and long-term disability coverage, and life insurance. - **Compensation**: Stock option plan and bonus plans are available for all employees. Example base salary for a Senior Data Engineer in Seattle is listed at $160,000/year (actual base salary is determined by role, experience, and location). - **Culture**: Three core values drive the company: We are leaders, We are innovators, and We are owners. The culture emphasizes agility, iteration, ownership, and challenging each other with respect. - **Scale & Impact**: Employees work on a platform used by 50 million people, with massive real-world infrastructure and an AI-first approach. The company is growing rapidly and is described as "product-led" and "transformational." - **Open Roles**: As of mid-2026, the company has 130 open positions, with significant hiring in Engineering (Cloud Infrastructure, Machine Learning, Software Engineering) and Data Engineering. ## Sources 1. [metropolis.io (Homepage)](https://www.metropolis.io/) 2. [metropolis.io (About/Company)](https://www.metropolis.io/about) 3. [metropolis.io (Careers)](https://www.metropolis.io/careers) 4. [Greenhouse (Metropolis Jobs)](http://job-boards.greenhouse.io/metropolis) 5. 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