Rules text for the Engulf ability: "...A creature that fails its save is pulled into the monster’s body. It is grabbed, is slowed 1, and has to hold its breath or start suffocating..."
Ergo, a creature that has engulfed a target is grabbing them and can constrict 3 times without needing to use the Grab action to maintain the grabbed status, because the grabbed status is maintained by virtue of the target being engulfed.