Kodiak Robotics, Inc. was founded in 2018 and has become a leader in autonomous ground transportation committed to a safer and more efficient future for all. The company has developed an artificial intelligence (AI) powered technology stack purpose-built for commercial trucking and the public sector. The company delivers freight daily for its customers across the southern United States using its autonomous technology. In 2024, Kodiak became the first known company to publicly announce delivering a driverless semi-truck to a customer. Kodiak is also leveraging its commercial self-driving software to develop, test and deploy autonomous capabilities for the U.S. Department of Defense.
We are looking for a Functional Safety Software Engineer to join us and drive the development and management of our autonomous vehicle safety cases as we bring the Kodiak Autonomy System to market. We first published our Safety Report in 2019 and have based our development on systems engineering, the ISO26262 process and SOTIF principles.
In this role, you will:
- Facilitate bringing the software safety work products across the finish line, following the Safety Plan, reviewing inputs, assisting software teams in understanding the expectations and packaging the information for Independent Assessment.
- Participate in specification of software safety requirements.
- Review software safety architectural design as part of development
- Review software safety unit design and implementation
- Develop and/or review test plans, test procedures, verification reports at the software unit and software integration levels, given software safety requirements input on design from the software teams. Support system level testing from a software safety perspective
- Perform software safety analyses (e.g. dependent failure analysis) to comply with ISO 26262.
- Support Hardware-Software Interface development and derive safety measures.
- Collaborate with Kodiak internal and external stakeholders to review and assess work products for compliance with ISO 26262
What you’ll bring:
- Bachelor’s degree or higher in software, electrical, mechanical or other related engineering and/or a Bachelor’s degree with professional experience in a high tech environment
- Experience with functional safety assessment, preferably at the vehicle component level, and have applied ISO26262 standard to guide the safety case
- Good communication skills with a collaborative approach
- Proactive problem solvers with hands-on experience
- Comfortable preparing safety argumentation
- Ability to structure project tasks and drive evidence development among teams
- Experience with Part 4, 6, 8 and 9 of ISO 26262. Special emphasis on implementation of Part 6 for vehicles
- Experience with system and software level verification and validation of vehicles
- Knowledge of software configuration management and software quality assurance
- Knowledge of C++ and Matlab is not required but is a plus
What we offer:
- Competitive compensation package including equity and biannual bonuses
- Excellent Medical, Dental, and Vision plans through Kaiser Permanente, Anthem, and Guardian (including a medical plan with infertility benefits)
- Flexible PTO and generous parental leave policies
- Our office is centrally located in Mountain View, CA
- Office perks: dog-friendly, free catered lunch, a fully stocked kitchen, and free EV charging
- Long Term Disability, Short Term Disability, Life Insurance
- Wellbeing Benefits - Headspace, One Medical, Gympass, Spring Health
- Fidelity 401(k)
- Commuter, FSA, Dependent Care FSA, HSA
- Various incentive programs (referral bonuses, patent bonuses, etc.)
The pay range listed below reflects the base salary in our SF/Silicon Valley location, across several internal levels. Actual starting pay will be based on job-related factors including: work location, experience, relevant training, education, skill level and performance during interview. Total compensation at Kodiak includes base pay, equity, bonus and a competitive benefits package
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in software, electrical, mechanical engineering or related field
- Experience with ISO 26262, SOTIF, and UL4600
- Experience in developing safety critical systems
- Experience with software verification and validation
- Good communication skills and ability to drive project tasks
Kodiak Robotics Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Kodiak Robotics and has not been reviewed or approved by Kodiak Robotics.
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Fair & Transparent Compensation — Pay is considered market-competitive for core engineering roles, with role postings indicating strong senior bands and offers aligned to autonomy peers. Salary ranges visible on listings reinforce competitiveness for experienced technical hires.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — Equity grants are commonly included with standard multi‑year vesting, and listings frequently note salary plus bonus and equity as part of offers. This makes ownership a regular component of total rewards for technical hires.
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Healthcare Strength — Health coverage includes medical, dental, and vision alongside life and short‑/long‑term disability, with FSA/HSA options available. Wellness partners such as mental‑health and primary‑care services are highlighted alongside core plans.
Kodiak Robotics Insights
What We Do
Kodiak Robotics is an autonomous technology company redefining the long-haul trucking industry. We believe self-driving trucks will be the first economically viable application of autonomous vehicle technology. We founded Kodiak in the spring of 2018 to make that belief a reality. Safety is our top priority. We are taking a safe and responsible approach to developing and testing our technology. We are proud to work with some of the best in the business. We’ve built a world class team of technologists from leading autonomous driving programs who know the industry inside and out. Our combined experience and commitment to the vision will allow us to put self-driving technology on the road in the safest and most effective way.
