Senior Software Engineer – Maps Infrastructure
Applied Intuition is hiring a Senior Software Engineer – Maps Infrastructure in Sunnyvale, United States. It pays $160k-$250k a year and Level rates it ; you can apply on Applied Intuition.
Level's read on this job
- Level rates this software engineer role Works on AI ●●●○: the daily work is on AI products, without building the model.
- The listed pay starts close to the typical software engineer posting on Level.
- Tools and skills the posting cites include software engineering, distributed systems and spatial visualization.
- Level classifies it as a senior role.
- Level lists 321 other open roles at Applied Intuition.
AI in this role
Own and maintain HD maps infrastructure functioning as a data flywheel for physical AI and autonomous vehicles.
Applied Intuition, Inc. is powering the future of physical AI. Founded in 2017 and now valued at $15 billion, the Silicon Valley company is creating the digital infrastructure needed to bring intelligence to every moving machine on the planet. Applied Intuition services the automotive, defense, trucking, construction, mining and agriculture industries in three core areas: tools and infrastructure, operating systems, and autonomy. Eighteen of the top 20 global automakers, as well as the United States military and its allies, trust the company’s solutions to deliver physical intelligence. Applied Intuition is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, with offices in Washington, D.C.; San Diego; Ft. Walton Beach, Florida; Ann Arbor, Michigan; London; Stuttgart; Munich; Stockholm; Bangalore; Seoul; and Tokyo. Learn more at applied.co.
We are an in-office company, and our expectation is that full-time employees primarily work from their Applied Intuition office 5 days a week. However, we also recognize the importance of flexibility and trust our employees to manage their schedules responsibly. This may include occasional remote work, starting the day with morning meetings from home before heading to the office, or leaving earlier when needed to accommodate family commitments. This in-office expectation does not apply to contractor positions
About the RoleApplied Intuition is looking for senior software engineers with passion and expertise in owning and maintaining HD maps infrastructure for autonomous vehicles.
At Applied we treat maps not as a static dataset, but as a single integrated, self-healing data flywheel powering Physical AI. Fleets of vehicles collect ground truth from multimodal sensors which feed ingestion pipelines, dynamic change detection algorithms, machine learning models, and real-time onboard localization and map fusion —closing the loop between field data collection and instantaneous autonomy stack updates.
In this full time role on the Maps team, you will solve challenges at the intersection of large-scale distributed systems, continuous data pipelines, and spatial visualization. You’ll be involved in whole life cycle of HD maps from gathering and codifying map requirements, supporting map visualization and editing, enabling large scale simulations, and publishing maps to AV fleets across multiple vehicle types worldwide – from long-haul L4 commercial trucks to L2++ personal cars, to heavy mining rigs, and tactical defense platforms. Our mission is to add intelligence to 1 billion machines.
Key ResponsibilitiesManage and operate distributed simulation workflows to support large-scale testing of robotic control, planning, and perception systems in diverse operating scenarios
Architect and build scalable HD mapping workflows integrated directly into autonomy stacks for control and planning across real-world mapping, localization, and simulation challenges
Design and build infrastructure and tools to provide high definition (HD) map creation, ingestion, and lifecycle management for autonomous vehicle and robotics development across all of Applied’s products
Define and own the Dana for Physical AI map storage format to handle heterogeneous features and distributed map data focusing on UIs, data pipelines and storage, CRUD operations, and SDKs
Design and develop a highly-scalable, high-performance real-time geometric query system to support highly performant three-dimensional spatial queries for vehicle dynamics modeling and testing in autonomous robotic platforms
Support tooling to digitize road network geometry, semantic attributes, and related infrastructure from lidar point clouds, high-resolution satellite and aerial imagery, street-level imagery, and other geospatial inputs
Validate map changes against rigorous mapping specifications to ensure high accuracy, completeness, and consistency of map data thru algorithmic and other quality validation checks
Support, triage, troubleshoot, and root cause map-related simulation and onroad disengagement system failures by correlating simulation results, dynamics behavior, and autonomy stack outputs
Collaborate with engineers and customers to gather requirements, plan features, and create roadmaps
Advise customers on the effective use of simulation and mapping tools to evaluate autonomy performance, safety, and system robustness
BS in in Computer Science, Robotics, Applied Mathematics, or related engineering field
2+ years of experience in HD mapping for autonomous vehicles building software components or sub systems that address real-world mapping and/or localization challenges
3+ years experience in programming & systems including: C++, Python, Go, JavaScript, SQL, Linux, and Git
Engineering Practices: Scalable distributed systems, CI/CD workflows, version control, and cross-team collaboration using Jira and Git-based tooling
A strong working understanding of lane-level geometry at CM precision, routing, and HD (High-Definition) map structures used in autonomous driving
Experience with Kubernetes, AWS, GCP, and/or Azure
Experience with large-scale data processing using frameworks
Deep hands-on expertise in relevant algorithms or methods, 3D geometry or distributed systems
Deep understanding of sensors used for localization, state of the art industry solutions, and common approaches for production systems
Experience working with point cloud data, 3D visualization environments, or lidar-based annotation tools
Experience using browser-based map editors or web-based 3D tooling
Familiarity with feedback loops between mapping, perception, localization, and planning teams
Familiarity with log-based resimulation tooling and simulation-based map validation
Robotics & Simulation: Robot Operating System (ROS), Unreal Engine, MATLAB, Blender
Autonomy Domain Expertise:
Robotic mapping systems, HD maps, and map management pipelines
Simulation-based testing, verification, and validation of autonomous robotic platforms
Autonomous control, motion planning, and perception systems
Experience querying data across global-sized HD maps, including visualization
Don’t meet every single requirement? If you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.
Applied Intuition is an equal opportunity employer and federal contractor or subcontractor. Consequently, the parties agree that, as applicable, they will abide by the requirements of 41 CFR 60-1.4(a), 41 CFR 60-300.5(a) and 41 CFR 60-741.5(a) and that these laws are incorporated herein by reference. These regulations prohibit discrimination against qualified individuals based on their status as protected veterans or individuals with disabilities, and prohibit discrimination against all individuals based on their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or national origin. These regulations require that covered prime contractors and subcontractors take affirmative action to employ and advance in employment individuals without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status or disability. The parties also agree that, as applicable, they will abide by the requirements of Executive Order 13496 (29 CFR Part 471, Appendix A to Subpart A), relating to the notice of employee rights under federal labor laws.
FOR US-BASED ROLES: Applied Intuition is committed to providing an accessible and inclusive application and interview experience to applicants who are disabled veterans and other applicants with disabilities or medical conditions. Reasonable accommodations are available, requesting an accommodation will not affect your candidacy in any way, and you are not required to disclose the nature of your disability or medical condition in order to make a request. If you require an accommodation please contact careers@applied.co. We will work with you!
How we rate this
Senior Software Engineer – Maps Infrastructure at Applied Intuition rates 65 out of 100 for how much of the daily work is AI. That makes it Works on AI (AI Level 3 of 4). The level is about AI in the job, not seniority.
Works on AI. The daily work is on AI products, without building the model.
- ●●●● Builds AI80 to 100
- ●●●○ Works on AI60 to 79
- ●●○○ Uses AI40 to 59
- ●○○○ Little AI0 to 39
Levels come from how often the tools, models and workflows of the role are named in the posting itself. Read the description and count the AI tools, models and workflows it names.
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Skills and AI tools this role asks for
Pay
- This job starts at
- $160k
- Typical software engineer job
- $167k
This posting starts close to the typical software engineer job. See software engineer jobs
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- Tell me about a project where software engineering was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where distributed systems was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where spatial visualization was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where data pipelines was part of your work. What did you do?
- Describe a typical day in a role like this one: which parts run through AI directly?
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- List these exact terms on your resume: Software Engineering, Distributed Systems, Spatial Visualization, and Data Pipelines. An applicant tracking system matches the wording, not the idea.
- Attach one line of real, concrete experience to at least one of them. A tool named with nothing behind it rarely survives a human read.
- Show where AI is part of your daily process, not a one-off project. This role expects it to be a running habit.
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