Lead Applied Scientist

Are you ready to redefine the future of traffic and travel information? 🚗

We’re looking for a Lead Applied Scientist to play a pivotal role in a greenfield project set to transform mobility for millions. This is more than just a job—it’s a chance to create something entirely new and reshape how people navigate their daily lives.

What you'll do

• Design and develop algorithms that extract actionable insights from massive, imperfect datasets, turning raw data into intelligence that powers the future of traffic technology.
• Be a key contributor in an international development team, working collaboratively to conceptualize and build innovative travel information services.
• Work with one of the largest traffic data streams worldwide, applying your expertise to decode complex datasets and improve mobility systems.
• Lead the way in greenfield innovation, using your problem-solving skills to improve algorithms and build and optimize Java systems from scratch.
• Take ownership of the full lifecycle of software projects, ensuring smooth transitions from research to production-level implementation.
• Support and improve production environments to guarantee operational excellence of the systems you build.

What you'll need

• A Master’s or PhD in Research, Computer Science, or a relevant field.
• Academic background in physics, math or data science
• 5+ years of industry experience developing production-grade code, with proficiency in Java and Python.
• Proven experience leading technical projects or initiatives, with strong project management and cross-team coordination skills.
• Expertise in simplifying complex data structures, algorithms, and problem-solving.
• Strong skills in Software Engineering, both in greenfield projects and optimizing existing systems.
• Experience working with AWS or Azure, architecting and maintaining complex data processing systems.
• You’re a collaborative team player who thrives in an international environment, and you have strong written and verbal communication skills in English.
• While GIS and traffic engineering experience is a plus, your ability to simplify complexity and drive innovation is what we value most.

What’s nice to have:

• Familiarity with DevOps practices and cloud platforms like Azure.
• An interest in software architecture to contribute to broader team goals.
• Experience with greenfield innovation, building systems from scratch.

What we offer

• A competitive compensation package, of course.
• Time and resources to grow and develop, including a personal development budget and paid leave for learning days, as well as paid access to e-learning resources such as O’Reilly and LinkedIn Learning.
• Time to support life outside of work, with enhanced parental leave plus paid leave to care for loved ones and volunteer in local communities.
• Work flexibility, where TomTom’ers, in agreement with their manager and team, use both the office and home to focus, collaborate, learn and socialize. It’s all about getting the best out of both worlds – we ask TomTom’ers to come to the office two days a week, and the remaining three are free to be worked in either location.
• Improve your home office with a setup budget and get extra support with a monthly allowance.
• Enjoy options to work from your home country and abroad for a set number of days each year, to visit family and friends, or to simply explore the world we’re mapping.
• Take the holidays you want with a competitive holiday plan, plus an extra day off to celebrate your birthday.
• Join annual events like our Hackathon and DevDays to bring your ideas to life with talented teammates from around the world.
• Become a part of our inclusive global culture and have the chance to collaborate with a diverse community – we have over 80 nationalities at TomTom!

Meet your team

We’re Maps, a global team within TomTom’s Location Technology Products technical unit. Our team is driven to deliver the most up-to-date, accurate and detailed maps for hundreds of millions of users around the world. Joining our team, you’ll continuously innovate our mapmaking processes, directly contributing to our vision: engineering the world's most trusted and useful map.

At TomTom...

You’ll help people find their way in the world. In 2004, TomTom revolutionized how the world moves with the introduction of the first portable navigation device. Now, we intend to do it again by engineering the first-ever real-time map, the smartest and most useful map on the planet.

Work with a team of 3,700 unique, curious and passionate problem-solvers. Together, we’ll open up a world of possibilities for car manufacturers, enterprises and developers to help people understand and get closer to the world around them.

TomTom is an equal opportunity employer

TomTom is where you can find your place in the world. Every day we welcome, nurture and celebrate differences. Why? Because your uniqueness is what makes you, you. No matter your culture or background, you’ll find your impact at TomTom. Research also shows that sometimes women and underrepresented communities can be hesitant to apply for positions unless they believe they meet 100% of the criteria. If you can relate to this, please know that we’d love to hear from you.

Choose to lead

At TomTom, being a leader is a choice anyone can make. Unlock your potential and bridge the gap between aspiration and reality.

Better everyday

Set new limits for yourself and our tech. Join our hackathons, developer days, learning programs and more.

Find your place in the world

3,600 people
80+ nationalities30+ offices20+ countries