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 seeking a hands-on Perception Software Engineer to join the Perception team. In this role, you will use your expertise to shape the perception stack as we scale, incorporating and developing state of the art algorithms and techniques. You’ll leverage advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) models and techniques to deploy and scale safe autonomous perception systems.
In this role you will:
- Design, develop, and optimize perception and machine learning (ML) systems for autonomous trucking applications.
- Implement and evaluate real-time perception algorithms for 3D object detection, tracking, and scene understanding using multimodal sensor data (LiDAR, camera, and radar).
- Develop new deep learning architectures to enhance perception model accuracy and reliability under diverse driving conditions.
- Integrate perception models into real-time autonomous driving stacks and deploy models to production systems running on autonomous trucks.
- Lead development of offboard and onboard perception pipelines, including association evaluators, auto labeling frameworks, and ground estimation networks.
- Design and implement large-scale evaluation tools for tracking and association, improving error diagnosis and reducing false positive braking events.
- Conduct model optimization for real-time inference using TensorRT and ONNX and implement efficient multi-threaded data processing in C++ for perception modules.
- Collaborate cross-functionally with planning, safety, and simulation teams to improve pedestrian safety cases and vehicle behavior around vulnerable road users.
- Design and execute experiments to analyze perception failures, build evaluation suites, and refine MLdriven improvements to perception performance.
What you’ll bring:
- Master of Science degree in Robotic Systems Development, Robotics Engineering, Mechatronics Engineering, Computer Science or a closely related field.
- At least ONE (1) year of experience in the job offered or at least ONE (1) year of experience in the following:
- Computer Vision & Deep Learning
- Designing and implementing image segmentation ML architectures
- Image preprocessing and augmentation
- Python and ML libraries, including TensorFlow, Keras, OpenCV, Scikit-image, NumPy, and SciPy
- Train and optimize ML models, including hyperparameter tuning, dropout scheduling, loss weighting, and evaluation metrics
- TensorBoard
What we offer:
- Competitive compensation package including equity and annual bonuses
- Annual salary: $187,741.00-198,000.00 per year. Total compensation at Kodiak includes base pay, equity, bonus and a competitive benefits package.
- Excellent Medical, Dental, and Vision plans through Kaiser Permanente, Cigna, and MetLife (including a medical plan with infertility benefits)
- MetLife Legal Services, Identity & Fraud Protection, Hospital Indemnity Insurance, Accident Insurance, & Critical Illness Insurance
- Flexible PTO, 10 paid holidays, 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 through Cigna, Calm through Kaiser, One Medical, Gympass, Spring Health through Cigna, Rula (mental health navigation)
- 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
- Master of Science in Robotic Systems Development, Robotics Engineering, Mechatronics Engineering, Computer Science, or closely related field
- At least one year of experience in Computer Vision and Deep Learning
- Experience designing and implementing image segmentation ML architectures
- Experience with image preprocessing and augmentation techniques
- Proficiency in Python and ML libraries (TensorFlow, Keras, OpenCV, Scikit-image, NumPy, SciPy)
- Experience training and optimizing ML models including hyperparameter tuning, dropout scheduling, loss weighting, and evaluation metrics
- Familiarity with TensorBoard for model visualization and debugging
- Proficiency in C++ and implementing efficient multi-threaded data processing for perception modules
- Experience with model optimization and real-time inference using TensorRT and ONNX
- Experience developing perception algorithms for multimodal sensor data (LiDAR, camera, radar) for 3D detection, tracking, and scene understanding
- Experience integrating perception models into real-time autonomous driving stacks and deploying models to production systems
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.
