Principal Maps & Localization Engineer

Job description

About Grab and Our Workplace
Grab
is Southeast Asia's leading superapp.

From getting your favourite meals delivered to helping you manage your finances and getting around town hassle-free, we've got your back with everything.

In Grab, purpose gives us joy and habits build excellence, while harnessing the power of Technology and AI to deliver the mission of driving Southeast Asia forward by economically empowering everyone, with heart, hunger, honour, and humility.


Get to Know the Team
Our team develops production-grade robotics and autonomy capabilities for the uniquely complex, unstructured urban environments of Southeast Asia.

We are ambitious and pragmatic: advancing perception, planning, and control step by step, with safety evidence as the gate for every milestone.

We focus on building robust system capabilities, scaling with uncompromised quality, and collaborating with industry leaders while investing in in-house expertise where it differentiates us.


Get to Know the Role
As the Principal Maps & Localization Engineer, you will be the technical anchor for mapping and localization.

You will architect, design, and deliver the systems that provide our vehicles with a precise, reliable, and continuously updated understanding of where they are in complex urban environments.

This is a hands-on role with broad ownership, setting the standards for localization accuracy, robustness, and scalability while driving the development of production-grade mapping pipelines.


You will report to the Head of Engineering and will contribute directly to both technical and strategic leadership.

This is a fully onsite role at Grab Singapore's One North office.


The Critical Tasks You Will Perform
Mapping Pipeline & Infrastructure
Architect and own the end-to-end pipeline for creating and maintaining high-definition (HD) maps, from raw survey data ingestion to fleet-wide map distribution.


Own large-scale SLAM development to produce globally consistent, high-accuracy 3D point clouds at production scale.


Fuse LiDAR/camera/IMU/GNSS data to build semantically rich, geo-referenced HD maps with measurable quality targets.


Develop robust systems for map change detection, validation, and continuous updates to ensure our maps reflect the real world in dynamic urban environments.


Real-Time Localization & State Estimation
Design and implement the on-vehicle localization system, fusing data from multiple sensors (GNSS, IMU, LiDAR, cameras, odometry) to deliver a precise, real-time vehicle state.


Develop advanced state estimation filters (e.g., Kalman filters, factor graphs) to ensure localization is robust and reliable, especially in challenging GPS-denied areas like tunnels and urban canyons.


Define and monitor key performance metrics for localization, including accuracy, availability, integrity, and latency.


Mentorship & Collaboration
Drive the technical vision and roadmap for all mapping and localization efforts.


Partner closely with technical leaders in Perception, Planning and the Grab Geo teams, providing the foundational context of where we are that enables all other functions.


Mentor other engineers, elevating the team's expertise in state estimation, computer vision, and large-scale geometry.


What Essential Skills You Will Need
Essential Skills
Extensive experience designing, building, and shipping production-grade mapping and/or localization systems for complex mobile robots.


Expert-level proficiency in modern C++ (C++17+) for real-time, on-device applications and strong proficiency in Python for offline pipelines and data analysis.


Deep theoretical and practical knowledge in state estimation (e.g., Kalman Filters, Particle Filters, Factor Graphs) and sensor fusion for multi-sensor systems (IMU, GNSS, LiDAR, etc.).


Strong background in 3D geometry, computer vision, and point cloud processing techniques (e.g., SLAM, ICP, sensor calibration).


Demonstrated leadership in the architecture and design of complex, large-scale software systems.


BS/MS/PhD in CS, EE, Robotics, or equivalent practical experience.


Preferred Skills
Experience with large-scale distributed systems and cloud computing for processing massive mapping datasets.


Deep expertise in advanced GNSS (e.g., RTK, PPP) and IMU error modeling.


Experience with map data formats, tiling strategies, and services for scalable map distribution.


Knowledge of safety-critical systems and localization integrity monitoring.


Publications or patents in top-tier robotics or computer vision venues (e.g., ICRA, IROS, RSS, CVPR).


Life at Grab
We care about your well-being at Grab, here are some of the global benefits we offer:
We have your back with
Term Life Insurance
and comprehensive
Medical Insurance.


With
GrabFlex,
create a benefits package that suits your needs and aspirations.


Celebrate moments that matter in life with loved ones through
Parental
and
Birthday leave , and give back to your communities through
Love-all-Serve-all (LASA)
volunteering leave
We have a confidential
Grabber Assistance Programme
to guide and uplift you and your loved ones through life's challenges.


Balancing personal commitments and life's demands are made easier with our FlexWork arrangements such as differentiated hours
What We Stand For at Grab
We are committed to building an inclusive and equitable workplace that enables diverse Grabbers to grow and perform at their best.

As an equal opportunity employer, we consider all candidates fairly and equally regardless of nationality, ethnicity, religion, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, family commitments, physical and mental impairments or disabilities, and other attributes that make them unique.


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Required Skill Profession

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