Principal Software Development Engineer, Navigation

What We Do

Mapbox is the leading real-time location platform for a new generation of location-aware businesses. Mapbox equips organizations with the full set of tools to power the navigation of people, packages, and vehicles everywhere. More than 3.5 million registered developers have chosen Mapbox because of the platform’s flexibility, security and privacy compliance. Organizations use Mapbox applications, data, SDKs and APIs to create customized and immersive experiences that delight their customers.

As a Principal Software Development Engineer, you will lead the technical excellence, innovation, and execution for the Navigation organization, specifically shaping the future of the Navigation product.

In this strategic role, you will define the technical vision for all Navigation products, aligning their individual initiatives with the broader Navigation and Mapbox organizational goals working hands-on with cross-functional Product partners, Directors, SVP of Location Services, CTO, and globally distributed Mapbox Engineers and Engineering Managers. You will drive the development of secure, frictionless product experiences while designing and building large-scale systems from the ground up.

This highly collaborative, fast-paced environment offers the opportunity to influence how teams leverage data to innovate and support business growth. We are seeking a seasoned leader with deep expertise in distributed systems, a passion for customer experience and experimentation, and the ability to mentor and inspire across the organization.

As a Principal Software Development Engineer you can expect to:

• Develop the
  
  Roadmap:
  
  Set and guide the long-term technical direction and roadmap for the Navigation organization, aligning with Mapbox’s business objectives while driving innovation.

• Shape the Vision
  :
  Lead and mentor a global team of about 80 engineers through the design, development, and execution of critical engineering components to shape the vision for exceptional customer experience.

• Promote
  
  Collaboration:
  
  Collaborate across teams to uncover and align complex technical requirements, evaluate design trade-offs, and influence product direction.

• Proactively Innovate
  :
  Evaluate, prototype, and roll out new technologies/frameworks to cultivate a culture of innovation that supports and scales for the company’s expansion into new markets.

• Advocate for Customers: Engage directly with customers to understand their needs, travel as needed to meet with them, discuss ideas and solutions, and effectively relay insights back to the team.

• 15+ years of engineering experience: Extensive hands-on experience showcasing expertise and a strong track record in the field.

• Technical domain knowledge: Extensive experience coding in languages such as C/C++, Python, Java script, Typescript. Deep knowledge of data structures, algorithms, design patterns, memory management, multithreading, and performance optimization for high-efficiency applications.

• Cloud proficiency: Extensive experience with cloud database services, including AWS RDS, Google Cloud Spanner, and Azure SQL, as well as deploying and managing databases in cloud environments.

• Operational excellence: You drive a culture of quality and continuous improvement in your organization. A passion for clean code and robust architecture, with a drive to elevate engineering practices and design standards across the team.

• Ownership & execution: Own the technical vision, lead the strategy and guide the team to execute towards building the future of Navigation. Experience leading with empathy across globally distributed engineering teams.

• Customer focus: You care deeply about your customers and their problems, and you work tirelessly to innovate on their behalf.

• Growth mindset: Have the humility to accept mistakes, learn and grow from them.

• Partnership: Experience collaborating across teams and domains including product, executives, design and key stakeholders to help drive key search decisions that influence the business.

• Strong written and vocal communication skills: You can explain complex ideas concisely to a wide audience. You…