The following is an edited excerpt from the conversation.
Introduction
Naved: Good evening and welcome, friends. Thank you so much for joining us for the 22nd episode of Career Circles Live. My name is Naved, and I’ll be your host for today’s session.
As you all know, Career Circles are exclusive talent communities by Taggd, where talented professionals like each one of you, along with industry mentors, peers, recruiters, and leaders, come together for open-ended conversations. We bring the best minds and mentors to share the latest trends, insights, and experiences that help shape professional careers.
Today’s session is all about deep diving into Mahindra Last Mile Mobility — or LMM — focusing on technology, innovation, and the future of sustainable mobility. We are honored to have distinguished leaders from one of India’s foremost automobile manufacturing companies.
Please join me in welcoming our guests.
Guest Introductions
Naved: We have with us Ms. Anisha Saluja, who leads HR for Last Mile Mobility. She carries around 11 years of experience in talent management, capability building, and HR business partnering. Welcome, Anisha.
Anisha: Thanks, Naved. Hi everyone, good evening.
Naved: We also have Mr. Vijay Gandhi, Head of Product Planning, with over 15 years of experience in strategic product planning, market strategy, and EV product development. Welcome, Vijay.
Vijay: Thanks, Naved. Hi everybody, good evening.
Naved: And we have Mr. Philip Jose, Head of Product Development, with more than 20 years of experience in engineering, designing, and developing electric powertrain systems. Welcome, Philip.
Philip: Thank you, Naved. Good evening, everyone.
About Mahindra Last Mile Mobility
Nvaed: Do you want to share what LMM is all about for our viewers?
Anisha: LMM is an organization that has grown rapidly in the last couple of years, from a relatively small unit to a large-scale, high-paced business. We work toward electrifying the last mile in India, truly serving the end customer’s needs. We’re the largest electric three-wheeler player in the country, with tremendous growth and career opportunities. You also get to work with fantastic peers, and you’ll hear more as we go deeper into today’s discussion.
Technology & Innovation at LMM
Naved: Product Development division?
Philip: We make livelihood-focused vehicles. So, our biggest challenge, and the one we work on constantly, is making these vehicles affordable and reliable. A day of downtime means a day of lost income for our customers. So, reliability is everything.
We look at every aspect – how systems behave, what can fail during operation, what causes inconvenience, and how we can eliminate those issues. At the same time, we must avoid gold-plating. The tension between reliability and cost is constant.
Another challenge is how the vehicle interacts with the environment, charging on the highly variable Indian grid, dealing with heat, humidity, rain, or flooding. And the third major area is connectivity. Our vehicles are already connected; they send data to the cloud. But then comes the question of data integrity, quality, and turning insights into actionable value for customers.
So, it’s a combination of engineering, environment, and technology integration — and that keeps us constantly engaged.
Collaboration Between Engineers & Designers
Naved: Engineers and designers work very differently. How do you ensure collaboration and integration between these two groups at LMM?
Philip: We have a very collaborative environment. Senior management encourages open discussions, even loud ones, because divergent viewpoints often lead to better products. Mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, electrochemists — everyone works together. Each brings a unique lens to the same problem.
Vijay: Adding to that, innovation cannot be done for the sake of innovation. The real problems come from the ground, in the last mile mobility space. We take engineers to the field, a “day in the life of an auto driver.” When they see the customer’s challenges firsthand, collaboration becomes natural. Everyone focuses on solving the actual problem, not just building in isolation.
Skills & Profiles LMM Looks For
Naved: What skills are you looking for in candidates, especially in the product development domain?
Anisha: We’re hiring across functions: product development, planning, supply chain, manufacturing, quality, finance, HR, sales, service, marketing, everything. Talent is one of our key pillars. For PD specifically, we look for mechanical engineers, electrical/electronic engineers, computer science, mechatronics etc.
Beyond technical skills, we look for curiosity to learn, passion for EVs, and strong ethics. People who look towards end-customer needs and work accordingly. We also look for people who are passionate about EVs and are inclined to solve real-world problems. They don’t compromise and have high standards for ethics and governance.
Philip: We design most of our vehicle aggregates in-house — power electronics, suspension systems, dashboards, body parts, and all vehicle software. So, we need people who can think in systems: mechanical, electrical, heat transfer, control systems, all integrated. All the engineers work on components of vehicle and on the vehicle overall. We would expect different domain engineers to come together and solve the problem as a whole.
Diversity at LMM
Naved: Mahindra is known to be an equal opportunity employer. What does diversity look like at LMM?
Philip: We encourage diverse gender, culture and region. Diversity shows up in our customer base itself, a significant number of our vehicle buyers are women today. We include women engineers in every evaluation team to ensure design sensitivity.
Anisha: We’ve always hired women across R&D, manufacturing, and quality. But recently, we’ve also built strong female presence in sales and service, women going into the field and selling last-mile products. Diversity for us goes beyond gender, thoughts, it’s ideas, age, generation, geography.
Growth Opportunities at LMM
Naved: What growth opportunities exist at LMM for someone who joins today?
Anisha: A lot. We have a strong Internal Job Posting (IJP) policy across Mahindra. Employees can apply for roles across departments after one year. In PD, we encourage people to switch between testing and development or delivery and engineering — to gain holistic vehicle knowledge.
We also offer structured learning through our LXP EdCast, technical certifications, leadership programs, and continuous upskilling.
Emerging Technologies & LMM’s Approach
Naved: EV technologies change fast. How does LMM stay ahead?
Vijay: By focusing on relevant problems and not adopting technology for the sake of it. For example, in case of EV, predicting battery resale value requires machine learning and deep data modelling. We pilot relevant technologies with startups and incubators. We are scouting for problems and the people who are passionate about solving them. India has so much innovation happening in colleges, we tap into that ecosystem.
Challenges in Sustainable Mobility
Naved: What are the biggest challenges LMM faces in creating sustainable mobility solutions?
Vijay: Affordability and reliability. Our customers are daily wage earners, affordability becomes critical. If the vehicle stops, income stops. Frugal innovation is key, solving problems at one-tenth the cost. Reliability across weather, terrain, and usage variations is critical. These are real challenges in last-mile mobility.
Role of Data & UX in EVs
Naved: How do data analytics and user experience influence LMM products?
Philip: We have 35,000–40,000 connected vehicles sending real-time data. We use data to understand average speeds, charging patterns, battery discharge, driver behaviour etc, this helps in improvement of product design and give insights back to customers to extend battery life and maximize uptime.
Advice to Young Engineers & Aspiring EV Professionals
Naved: What advice do you have for young engineers who want to build a career in EVs and with LMM?
Anisha: Fundamentals matter. Curiosity matters. Hands-on experience matters. Being open to working across sub-teams, traveling, visiting suppliers, all that builds true expertise.
Philip: EVs are simple and complex at the same time. Mechanical engineers must understand electronics; electronics engineers must understand embedded systems. Think holistically, work collaboratively, and develop systems thinking.
What Makes a Candidate Stand Out?
Naved: What helps a candidate stand out?
Anisha: Authentic CVs, strong conceptual clarity, demonstrable impact in past roles, and clarity on what they would do differently from others. We look for people who think beyond the obvious.
Perks & Benefits at LMM
Naved: What are the perks and benefits of working with LMM?
Vijay: One intangible perk: purpose. Our vehicles uplift livelihoods. Meeting customers reminds you why your work matters.
Anisha: We offer best-in-class policies, strong learning opportunities, exposure to cutting-edge EV tech, and a great peer group.
Philip: The depth of engineering here is phenomenal. Mahindra has more than a decade of EV learnings, and you get to build on top of that.
Audience Questions
Q: How to become a better battery engineer?
Philip: Battery engineering requires systems thinking. It’s mechanical, electrical, thermal, chemical, all connected. Work across domains, understand busbars, heat transfer, cell behaviour, and collaborate with experts. There are no shortcuts, only deep learning and exposure.
Q: Attrition in the EV sector is high. How does LMM retain talent?
Anisha: True, EV talent is in demand. We focus on purpose alignment, career development, learning, and competitive rewards. Deferred bonuses, differentiated performance rewards, and strong growth pathways help retain talent.
Q: Are sales roles only entry-level?
Anisha: No. We hire across entry, mid, and leadership levels. Many leadership hires were made in the last two years. More openings are coming, keep an eye on our careers page.
Q: Plans for the ECV segment (2–3.5T category)?
Vijay: We continuously evaluate emerging product spaces. Yes, you can expect announcements in this segment soon.
Q: Future of hydrogen internal combustion engines?
Philip: Hydrogen will matter for long-distance heavy-duty applications. But hydrogen IC engines are less efficient and leak-prone compared to fuel cells. Fuel cells may scale faster.
Vijay: Hydrogen and EVs will coexist. India’s government focus ensures both ecosystems will grow.
Closing
Naved: Thank you, Anisha, Philip, and Vijay, for this insightful session. And thank you to our 700+ attendees for your questions and energy. This is just the beginning, follow Taggd’s channels, join Career Circles, and stay tuned for more exciting sessions.
Have a great weekend ahead!
