Kodiak AI, Inc. (Nasdaq: KDK), founded in 2018, is a leader in Physical AI, developing driverless technology that powers machines that move. Its Kodiak Driver is a vehicle-agnostic autonomous driving system that combines AI-powered software with modular hardware. Today it operates in long-haul trucking, industrial trucking, and defense. In 2024, Kodiak launched commercial Driver-as-a-Service operations with no one in the cab, and plans to launch driverless long-haul service between Dallas and Houston by the end of 2026.
Kodiak has partnered with many of the biggest names in freight, including Bosch for scaled hardware production, AWS, and leading customers including Atlas Energy Solutions, IKEA, Bridgestone, Werner Enterprises, C.R. England, Roehl Transport, and General Dynamics Land Systems.
We are looking for a Staff Software Engineer to help build and improve behavior planning and motion planning systems for autonomous driving. In this role, you will own planning features end to end, from design and implementation through validation, deployment, and analysis.
You will work on real-world autonomy behavior and help the system make safe, comfortable, and effective decisions in complex driving scenarios. This role is ideal for someone with strong planning experience who enjoys building production-quality autonomy software and collaborating across the autonomy stack
In this role, you will
- Design, implement, and improve motion planning features.
- Own planning projects from problem definition through deployment.
- Debug autonomy behavior using logs, simulation, metrics, and real-world data.
- Improve how the autonomy system balances safety, comfort, progress, and operational constraints.
- Collaborate with teams across Prediction, Controls, Perception, ML, Simulation, Systems, and Safety.
- Define success metrics and validation plans for planning features.
- Write production-quality C++ software.
- Participate in technical design reviews, code reviews, and architecture discussions.
- Lead and mentor junior and senior engineers.
What you’ll bring
- Leadership, ideally managing direct reports, while being a leader who is not afraid to roll their sleeves up and set the example.
- Experience in behavior planning, motion planning, decision-making, robotics, autonomous vehicles, or related areas.
- Strong software engineering skills, preferably in C++ (Yes, you will still code).
- Experience building autonomy software in industrial, production, or near-production environments.
- Ability to debug complex robotics or autonomy behavior using logs, metrics, and simulation.
- Strong system-level judgment around safety, comfort, and deployment readiness.
- Strong collaboration and communication skills
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
- Leadership experience, ideally including management of direct reports
- Experience in behavior planning, motion planning, decision-making, robotics, autonomous vehicles, or related areas
- Strong software engineering skills, preferably in C++
- Experience building autonomy software in industrial, production, or near-production environments
- Ability to debug complex robotics or autonomy behavior using logs, metrics, and simulation
- Strong system-level judgment regarding safety, comfort, and deployment readiness
- Strong collaboration and communication skills
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.
