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 Sensor Hardware Engineer to join us and help develop world-class sensor systems for autonomous trucking. This role will focus on optimizing the perception sensor architecture and data pipeline via test, analysis, and cooperation with suppliers.
In This Role You Will:
- Collaborate with external partners to choose and optimize performance of autonomous driving sensors such as lidar, radar, camera, and ultrasonics
- Analyze on-road data to understand trends in sensor performance and prioritize efforts to optimize and debug
- Develop and execute hands-on sensor tests to help define vehicle architecture and improve perception performance
- Develop sensor field of view requirements and test new vehicle platforms against those requirements
- Research and evaluate the latest in autonomous-driving sensor technology
- Assist with sensor integration onto the vehicle and debug issues that arise
- Manage relationships with contract manufacturers, suppliers, and external partners
- Work with the perception team to identify, understand, and solve sensor performance issues
- Travel (<15%) to field locations to support testing in the operational design domain
- Strong technical background. BS or MS, or equivalent experience, in Physics, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Robotics, or related fields with 5 years of experience in the automotive, aerospace or related industry
- Experience with defining autonomous-driving sensing systems or diving deep into one of the sensing modalities
- Software experience (especially for data analysis) is a plus but not required
- A team leader. Whether formally or informally, you have previously played the lead role on several projects. You take ownership and drive the team to deliver exceptional results
- Proven ability to build and iterate quickly
- You have experienced product development in all of its stages and are comfortable in the earlier stages – moving from zero to one
- Hands on. You are just as comfortable with a wrench as a keyboard
- You have a deep understanding of manufacturing processes for both low and high volume production
- Great communicator. You have experience writing clear, concise, and detailed documentation
- You are skilled in leading and participating in cross-functional design reviews
- Competitive compensation package including equity and annual bonuses
- 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
- BS or MS (or equivalent experience) in Physics, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Robotics, or related field with 5 years of industry experience
- Experience defining autonomous-driving sensing systems or deep expertise in one sensing modality (lidar, radar, camera, ultrasonics)
- Experience with sensor integration onto vehicles and debugging sensor issues
- Hands-on prototyping and test execution skills (field tests, sensor performance analysis)
- Deep understanding of manufacturing processes for low and high volume production
- Proven ability to lead projects and take ownership (formal or informal team leadership)
- Experience with product development across early stages (zero to one) and rapid iteration
- Strong written communication and documentation skills; experience in cross-functional design reviews
- Ability to manage relationships with contract manufacturers, suppliers, and external partners
- Software experience for data analysis (a plus)
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.
