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 an experienced Software Engineer to develop software for mapping, map validation, and map tooling. Your work will be critical to Kodiak’s ability to quickly scale its autonomous freight network and serve more customers.
In this role, you will:
- Design and implement automated mapping algorithms to generate drivable maps with minimal human effort.
- Develop tools to validate and edit maps, ensuring our maps are of sufficiently high quality.
- Write and optimize queries for accessing map data onboard.
- Create pipelines that use our data to evaluate & improve our map quality.
- Build onboard and offboard infrastructure to deploy map changes across the fleet.
- Collaborate with other engineering teams that use the information stored in maps (e.g, localization, planning).
- Shape Kodiak’s strategy for mapping, which is critical to the company’s expansion into new geographies and markets.
What you’ll bring:
- Experience writing algorithms for map creation, validation, and maintenance for autonomous vehicles
- Knowledge of mapping, SLAM, probabilistic filtering, and optimization
- Authored map formats, solved map/software versioning issues, and handled map version upgrades
- Software development experience writing production-level C++ and Python code
- High standards for software quality and rigor, and a testing-oriented mentality
- Good communication skills and a collaborative bent
- Proven ability to iterate quickly and work hands-on
Bonus points if you have:
- Experience with data processing pipelines to develop automated workflows.
- Written highly optimized code for geometric queries on large-scale map data.
- Worked with cloud-based deployment strategies.
- A desire to rethink what really needs to be in a map for autonomous vehicles.
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.)
Actual starting pay will be based on job-related factors, including exact work location, experience, relevant training and education, and skill level. Please note that the compensation details listed above are base salary only and do not include bonus, equity, or benefits.
Top Skills
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.
