Senior AI Engineer - Remote Contract via Lemon.io — Columbus
Traveler-Friendly Insight
Ideal for Digital Nomads: This role is explicitly async-friendly. Lemon.io states you can work async or with only a small overlap with the client's timezone — a genuine green flag for location-independent workers. There are no fixed office hours, no screen trackers, and no micromanagement, making it one of the cleaner nomad-friendly setups available.
Timezone Flexibility: Since clients are primarily US and European-based, a small overlap window (typically 2–4 hours) in EST or CET is likely expected. From Lisbon or Medellín, overlapping with US East Coast hours is very manageable. From Southeast Asia (Bangkok, Bali), covering European client hours requires more discipline — early mornings or late evenings.
Visa Considerations: Lemon.io explicitly does not provide visa sponsorship. However, since you operate as an independent contractor, you can typically work under tourist visas or local digital nomad visas where permitted. Popular options include:
- Portugal: D8 Digital Nomad Visa — widely used, cost of living ~€1,500–2,000/month in Lisbon
- Colombia (Medellín): Digital Nomad Visa available; cost of living ~$1,200–1,800/month
- Thailand (Bangkok/Chiang Mai): LTR Visa or tourist visa; cost of living ~$1,000–1,500/month
Coverage: The platform accepts engineers from 75+ countries across Europe, LATAM, North America, selected Asian nations, Oceania, and parts of Africa — broad enough for most nomads already holding contractor status in their home country.
Lemon.io helps companies in the US and Europe hire experienced engineers, from funded startups to teams like Klarna, Retool, and Pinterest. We've been doing this since 2015, and more than 1,500 companies have hired engineers through us.
New roles for senior AI engineers come in all the time, and several are open right now.
Two Ways to Work with Clients
- Contract: Most roles are contract-based. You join the client's team and work as part of it.
- Direct hire: Some clients hire engineers full-time, and we support you through the process.
Because companies trust our vetting, applying through Lemon.io is often a shortcut. You get to the client faster than going through their full hiring process on your own.
What You Get
- Competitive rate, based on your seniority and skills
- We find the projects — no client hunting or rate negotiations. We match you manually based on your skills and preferences.
- Flexible schedule — work async or with a small overlap with the team's hours
- No micromanagement, no screen trackers
- Direct work with clients, most of them with technical backgrounds
- Ongoing support from your application through every project, plus a community of engineers from 75+ countries
Who We're Looking For
AI Engineer:
- 3+ years of commercial experience applying AI to practical technology solutions
- Solid understanding of Python is a must; experience with other AI-related programming languages is a plus
- Experience with Vector Databases (Pinecone or Weaviate) is required
- 2+ years of experience with LangChain is mandatory
- 2+ years of experience with large language models (LLMs) or vLLMs is mandatory
- 2+ years of experience with RAG or OpenAI is required
AI Agent Architect:
- 3+ years of experience with Python
- 3+ years of experience with LLMs
- Experience with multi-agent systems architecture, AI agent orchestration, and AI telemetry is a must
AI Automation Architect:
- 1+ year of experience with Workflow Automation and Webhooks
- 3+ years with SQL is a must
- Familiarity with AI API integration and Claude is a must
- Knowledge of Make.com, n8n, or Zapier
General Requirements (All Roles):
- You own problems end-to-end: you spot the issue, design and build the solution, and ship it to production
- You can show the business impact of your work with concrete results (e.g., faster processing, lower costs, more users, fewer incidents)
- Advanced English: you discuss business tasks, explain your decisions, raise issues early, and present yourself and your results well on client calls
- You work full-time remotely and deliver without supervision
- You onboard quickly and start shipping in your first weeks
How It Works
- Apply and complete your profile
- Verify your role
- Once approved, we match you with a project — typical time to first project: 3 weeks
Ready? Apply and join the Lemon.io community.
Not Your Tech Stack?
We're placing Senior Developers (4+ years commercial experience) across a wide range of stacks, including: Site Reliability Engineering, Platform Engineering, Enterprise Software Engineering, React & Python, React & Golang, Golang, React & Java, React & Ruby, Ruby, PHP & Vue, Vue & Node.js, React & .NET, Android & iOS, iOS & Swift, Flutter & Firebase, Solutions Engineering, Blockchain (Ethereum/Ethers.js/Wagmi/Viem/Solana), Angular & Node.js, Vue & .NET, Python & Vue, DevOps, MLOps, Data Science, Angular & PHP, Angular & .NET, Symfony & React, Symfony & Vue, Symfony & Angular, Python, Symfony & JavaScript, Next.js & TypeScript, Data Analysis, React & PHP, Data Engineering, Project Management, Product Management, QA Automation, QA Manual, Embedded Software Engineering, React Native & Node, React Native & React, React Native & Ruby, React Native & Python, WordPress, Android, Angular, Python & Node, React & Node.js, Node & TypeScript, Java & Spring, Svelte & Python, Svelte & Node.js, Svelte & TypeScript, Rust, Shopify & JavaScript, Vue & Nuxt, PHP & Laravel, UI/UX Design, Animation, Graphic Design, React & Node & React Native, .NET & C#, Electron, Scala, C++, Unreal Engine & C++, Python & LLM, Unity, Machine Learning Engineering, and more. Reach out and we'll match you.
Important Notes:
- We do not provide visa assistance, and our cooperation model does not include the benefits typically offered with direct hire.
- We work with developers from 75+ countries across Europe, Latin America, North America (the U.S. and Canada), selected countries in Asia (Japan, Singapore, South Korea, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Israel), Oceania (Australia, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea), and Africa (including Morocco and South Africa).
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to work fixed hours or be in a specific timezone?
Is this a full-time job or freelance contract?
How much can I earn as an AI engineer through Lemon.io?
How long does it take to get my first project after applying?
Which countries are eligible to apply for these AI engineering roles?
