Sr Principal Research Engineer

What's the role?

The Privacy Engineering team is looking for a Sr Principal Research Engineer to own and evolve HERE's Privacy by Design framework, ensuring privacy requirements are integrated into every stage of the product development lifecycle. Lead the continuous improvement of privacy threshold assessments, Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs), product privacy assessments, privacy requirements engineering, and review governance. Drive the automation of manual activities, embed privacy controls into engineering workflows, and enable scalable, risk-based decision making.

The Privacy Engineering function is part of the Legal and Compliance team and partners closely with Product, Engineering, Security and Architecture to embed Privacy by Design throughout the product development lifecycle. As a member of this global team, you will design and deliver scalable privacy engineering solutions, drive the automation and continuous improvement of core privacy processes, and provide technical expertise that enables development teams to build privacy into products from the outset.

Main responsibilities

As our privacy program continues to evolve, we are expanding our technical capabilities to automate and scale privacy processes, embed Privacy by Design into engineering workflows, and deliver the next generation of privacy engineering solutions.

Automation of privacy management: Design and deliver the tooling, infrastructure and workflows that automate and scale HERE’s core privacy operations, including DPIA’s, Report of Processing Activities (RoPA), Data Subject Rights (DSR), privacy assessments, consent management, retention controls, and evidence collection. Develop solutions that reduce manual effort, improve auditability, and provide continuous compliance assurance.

Privacy by Design Ownership: Evolve and operate HERE's Privacy by Design framework end-to-end including privacy threshold assessments, DPIA methodology, privacy requirements engineering, and privacy review governance. Optimize how different stakeholders interface with the process, automate manual steps, and 'shift privacy left' so that privacy requirements are embedded from the earliest stages of the product development lifecycle.

Data Subject Rights (DSR) Enablement: Drive the automation and continuous improvement of end-to-end DSR processes, including data discovery, fulfillment, auditability, and operational metrics.

Privacy Scanners, Metrics and Monitoring: Develop privacy risk- estimation scanners across data and code, (including detection of direct and indirect identifiers). Build the metadata, telemetry, dashboards and KPIs that measure privacy program effectiveness, operational efficiency, regulatory compliance, and residual risk. Identify opportunities to simplify, standardize, and automate privacy processes across the organization.

Technical Privacy Advisor:Act as the principal technical advisor to Product, Engineering, Architecture, and Security teams on privacy-by-design implementation. Define engineering patterns, reference architectures, and technical standards for privacy controls, ensuring consistent implementation across products and platforms.

Collaboration and Privacy Standards: Partner with Product, Engineering, Security, Legal, and Privacy teams to promote privacy-by-design practices, conduct technical privacy and risk assessments, contribute to privacy standards and guidance, and support the adoption of scalable privacy engineering solutions.

Who are you?

Degree in Computer Science, Mathematics or another relevant technical field.

Significant experience in privacy engineering, privacy architecture, or a comparable technical privacy role, with a proven track record of implementing Privacy by Design principles in production systems.

Extensive experience designing, operating and continuously improving end-to-end DSR processes, including intake, identity verification, data discovery, fulfilment, and evidencing, including the automation and tooling that support them.

Extensive experience conducting Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs), privacy threshold assessments, and comprehensive privacy assessments of products, platforms, AI systems, and new technologies, including translating findings into technical requirements and implementation plans.

Deep technical expertise in systems architecture, cloud environments, and Privacy-Enhancing Technologies (PETs), with a strong track record of applying these capabilities to build privacy-centric solutions.

Demonstrated ability to improve privacy operations end-to-end, reducing DPIA and privacy-review cycle time, improving DSR SLA performance, increasing control coverage, through bottleneck analysis, automation tooling, and scalable governance mechanisms.

Strong understanding of privacy and AI governance requirements and recognized frameworks such as GDPR, the NIST Privacy Framework, and ISO/IEC 27701.

Demonstrated experience leveraging AI to optimize privacy workflows, increase operational efficiency, and enable scalable privacy governance.

Knowledge of multiple back-end languages (e.g. Java, Python).

Proven experience developing, testing, and deploying code for automated execution on pipelines, experience with the GitLab CI/CD environment.

Proven experience defining, implementing, and validating technical privacy controls within cloud-native architectures, APIs, data platforms, and customer-facing products.

Hands-on experience managing and interfacing with RESTful APIs.

Hands-on experience implementing Privacy-Enhancing Technologies (PETs) in production environments.

Relevant experience in location privacy, including the protection and governance of geospatial and location-derived data, is considered a plus.

Previous experience with LLM model training and tuning is an advantage.

Relevant privacy certifications (e.g., CIPT, CIPP/E, CDPSE) are a strong plus.

Excellent command of written and spoken English.

Ability to work autonomously, drive complex initiatives end-to-end with minimal direction, and mentor peers on privacy engineering practices.

What We Offer

The opportunity to tackle meaningful and challenging problems.

A chance to continuously learn and stay on top of the latest technology trends.

Work that has real-world impact, shaping the future of mobility and technology.

Regular feedback to help you grow and succeed in your role.

A collaborative and supportive team environment where your contributions are valued.

Competitive salary plus bonus.

Flexible working hours and a hybrid working environment.

Medical coverage for you and your family.

This role is eligible for Creative Tax Incentive scheme in Poland” or KUP (Autorskie Koszty Uzyskania Przychodu).

Option to work on a B2B contract (please note: benefits, bonus and KUP do not apply in this case).

Change is HERE. Apply Now!

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Life at HERE in Poland comes with a competitive total rewards package designed to support your health, wellbeing, and performance. This includes a base salary, a Short-Term Incentive (STI) bonus (percentage based on role), a creative tax advantage for eligible positions, private medical care (including dental), life insurance, a meal allowance, vision reimbursement, a remote work allowance (if applicable), access to MyBenefit and Multisport programs, and various wellbeing initiatives. Paid time off, sick leave, and parental leave are provided in accordance with the Polish Labor Code.

As part of HERE Technologies employment process, candidates will be required to successfully complete a pre-employment screening process. This offer and any related claims are subject to the successful completion of a pre-employment screening. This will involve employment, education, and criminal verification if applicable.

HERE is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, parental status, religion, sex, national origin, disability, veteran status, and other legally protected characteristics.

Who are we?

HERE Technologies is a location data and technology platform company. We empower our customers to achieve better outcomes – from helping a city manage its infrastructure or a business optimize its assets to guiding drivers to their destination safely.

At HERE we take it upon ourselves to be the change we wish to see. We create solutions that fuel innovation, provide opportunity and foster inclusion to improve people’s lives. If you are inspired by an open world and driven to create positive change, join us. Learn more about us on our YouTube Channel.