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 Simulation Operations Specialist to join the Software Quality team. In this role, you will drive improvements across large-scale simulation sets, enhance simulation workflows and tools, and help advance safe and reliable autonomous trucking technology.
In this role, you will:
- Develop test plans and create simulations to test the behavior of our autonomous trucks.
- Actively run daily simulation operations, including scenario execution, triage, and reporting.
- Improve efficiency in test planning, scenario execution, and results tracking across large-scale simulation suites.
- Partner with engineering teams to ensure simulation scenarios accurately reflect real-world conditions.
- Work closely with systems engineers on structured test design and execution, ensuring comprehensive coverage of safety-critical and edge-case scenarios.
- Share actionable insights from simulation results with autonomy software engineers to accelerate software development and validation.
- Collaborate with infrastructure and tools teams to enhance automation, debugging, and scaling of simulations.
What you’ll bring:
- 2+ years of experience in autonomous vehicle or robotics industry.
- Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science or related field.
- 3+ years of experience in simulation, QA, or test automation, ideally in robotics or autonomous systems.
- Familiarity with python or C++ programming.
- Hands-on experience with simulation workflows or large-scale simulation testing environments.
- Strong problem-solving skills and ability to dive into technical details.
- Passion for autonomous technology and improving safety and efficiency through simulation.
- Familiarity with structured test planning and execution; experience working with systems engineers preferred.
- Experience with Applied Intuition tools is a plus.
- Great communicator with experience writing clear, concise, and detailed communication
- Love of robots - You love to be in, around, or near robots
What we offer:
- 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
- 2+ years of experience in autonomous vehicle or robotics industry.
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science or related field.
- 3+ years of experience in simulation, QA, or test automation, ideally in robotics or autonomous systems.
- Familiarity with Python or C++ programming.
- Hands-on experience with simulation workflows or large-scale simulation testing environments.
- Familiarity with structured test planning and execution.
- Experience working with systems engineers.
- Experience with Applied Intuition tools.
- Strong problem-solving skills and ability to dive into technical details.
- Excellent written and verbal communication; ability to write clear, concise, detailed reports.
- Passion for autonomous technology / love of robots.
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.
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