Lead AI & Computer Vision Scientist

Lead AI & Computer Vision Scientist

• Role: Lead AI & Computer Vision Scientist
• Location: 100% Remote (US / Canada/Europe/South America)
• Current Company Valuation: $30M
• Compensation Model: Day-1 Equity + Post-Funding Salary

The Opportunity

Are you a visionary interactive developer who thrives at the intersection of cutting-edge AI-native technology and early-stage startup grit?

SportsBiz (SportsBiz.com) is disrupting the $100B sports sponsorship industry. Having already established a leadership foothold with our proprietary AI analytics platform, DeepSport Solutions, we are now expanding our ecosystem. We are seeking an elite AI expert to CV-based products from concept to production — not just research prototypes.architect and scale our from the ground up.

This is not a corporate cog-in-the-wheel role. You will act as a player-coach, building and working on a team data scientists, establishing the technical blueprint, and directly shaping the future of sports sponsorship technology. Must have strong team leadership experience.

Our clients span both major corporate sponsors (brands) and sports properties (teams, leagues, and events).

The Reality of Early-Stage Building (Our Culture)

Transparency is our baseline. We are a lean, high-octane team of 20+ co-founders and executives hailing from Fortune 500s and top-tier boutique firms.

• Current Company Valuation: $30M
• The Phase: We are currently preparing to close our $5M second-round capital raise, which is anticipated by the end of Q3.
• The Compensation: In alignment with our leadership team, this role operates on an equity (stock only) model prior to funding. You will receive meaningful equity ownership from day one, alongside routine cash stipends.
• The Full-Time Transition: Upon the successful completion of our present $5M fundraise, you will transition immediately to a highly competitive, full-time base salary and performance bonuses. Base Salary: $120,000.

If you are energized by the high-upside equity phase of a startup and want true, structural ownership of a product, this is your sandbox.

What You'll Own

• Own the video processing pipelines. Be the directly responsible individual for the pipelines that detect broadcast exposure and assess its value — their technical roadmap, quality, and delivery, from research through production.
• Scale to league level. Architect and deliver the systems that take these pipelines from single venues and teams to processing all games across major leagues (NFL, NHL, MLB) and major college football conferences, with the throughput, reliability, and cost profile that scale demands.
• Own the computer-vision core. Lead detection and identification of sponsorship signage and branded assets in video. Continuously evaluate and prototype alternative approaches — models, architectures, tooling, and vendors — to keep the pipeline at the frontier of a rapidly advancing field.
• Own the full valuation workflow. Take a system-level view of the entire pipeline: tracking signage into impressions, scoring those impressions, and translating them into a defensible dollar value of brand exposure. Ensure each stage is measurable, explainable, and defensible to clients.
• Engineering rigor. Drive strong software practices across the team — clean, tested, maintainable Python; a disciplined SDLC; and robust CI/CD, so research reliably becomes production.
• Lead and grow the team. Manage, mentor, and hire data scientists and ML engineers. Set technical standards, run reviews, and develop the people around you.
• Cross-functional partnership. Work with product and commercial teams to translate client needs into technical requirements, and communicate methodology and results to non-technical stakeholders with credibility.

What We're Looking For

• Delivered a computer-vision product. Proven experience taking a CV-based product from concept to production — not just research prototypes.
• CV models on AWS. Hands-on experience developing and deploying computer-vision models on AWS infrastructure, such as SageMaker.
• System-level thinker. Able to own a multi-stage workflow end to end — detection, tracking, scoring, and valuation — and reason about how choices in one stage affect the whole.
• Deep Python and software-engineering depth. You are a strong software developer, not only a modeler. Fluent in Python with real command of the SDLC and CI/CD.
• Scale experience. Track record building or operating data/ML systems that handle high volume reliably and cost-effectively.
• Leadership. Experience leading and mentoring technical talent; comfortable owning outcomes and setting direction.
• Stays current. Actively tracks the evolving CV and ML ecosystem and has a habit of evaluating and adopting better approaches.
• Communication. Explains technical methodology and results clearly to both engineers and business stakeholders.

Nice to Have

• AWS-based workflows. Experience implementing production data or ML workflows on AWS.
• AI-forward practitioner. Hands-on adopter of AI in your own workflow — you use coding agents and AI-assisted development day to day.
• AI-driven workflows. Experience designing or building AI-driven pipelines and automation.
• Sports / media domain. Familiarity with sports broadcast, sponsorship measurement, or media valuation.
• Video at scale. Experience with video ingestion, streaming, or large-scale media processing infrastructure.

What Success Looks Like

Within your first year, the video processing pipelines reliably run at league scale, the computer-vision core is measurably more accurate and more current than it is today, and the impression-to-dollar valuation is trusted by clients and defensible under scrutiny — backed by a strong team and engineering practices you’ve helped build.

SportsBiz is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds.

Minimum Qualifications

• Experience: 8+ years of professional experience, with a minimum of 4-5+ years dedicated specifically to Computer Vision and alogorythmic modeling.
• Technical Mastery: Flawless skills and a bulletproof understanding of rendering algorithms and data structures.
• Leadership Toolkit: Proven history of leading engineering teams, managing agile pipelines, and mentoring junior/mid-level talent.
• Education: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, or equivalent practical field.
• Portfolio: A stellar portfolio demonstrating complex, production-ready work in AI engineering and computer vision.

Nice-to-Haves

• A genuine passion for sports analytics, gaming, or data-driven visual experiences.
• Experience integrating AI-assisted development tools (like Cursor or Claude Code) into your production workflows.

Perks & Benefits

• Founding Equity: Meaningful ownership (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) in a high-valuation startup.
• Immediate Cash Stipends: Ongoing routine stipends provided prior to our major funding round.
• 100% Remote & Flexible: Work from home with a schedule optimized for async, high-output productivity.
• Uncapped Trajectory: As a foundational engineering leader, your career growth scales directly with the company's valuation.

Pay: $110,000.00 - $130,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Paid time off
• Stock options

Experience:

• Unreal Engine: 5 years (Required)

Work Location: Remote