Senior Software Engineer, Motion PlanningMountain View, CAKodiak 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 join our Behavior & Motion Planning team and lead the development of core planning capabilities that directly shape how the Kodiak Driver behaves on the road.This is a senior technical role for engineers who thrive on ambiguous, high-leverage problems at the intersection of robotics, optimization, and real-time systems. You will own complex planning challenges end-to-end: framing the problem, aligning stakeholders, designing the technical approach, driving implementation, and validating on-road impact. Your work will influence not only individual algorithms, but also the architecture, interfaces, and evaluation strategies that enable the planning stack to scale.You will work across Planning, Perception, Simulation, Systems, and related teams to create cross-functional solutions to some of the hardest problems in autonomous trucking.
You should be excited to combine deep technical judgment with hands-on execution, using data from real-world operation to improve safety, driving quality, and system performance.In this role, you will:Lead the design and deployment of behavior and motion-planning capabilities for complex real-world driving scenariosOwn ambiguous technical problems from concept through production rollout and iterative refinementShape the architecture, interfaces, and requirements across planning-related systemsTranslate high-level driving goals into robust algorithms, cost functions, and performance-critical production codeDrive improvements in planning quality, prediction integration, latency, and overall system reliabilityBuild and influence evaluation frameworks, tooling, and workflows that turn real-world logs into measurable autonomy improvementsProvide technical leadership across cross-functional efforts and raise engineering quality through strong design and code reviewsMentor other engineers and help guide technical direction within the teamWhat you'll bring:Deep background in robotics, motion planning, optimization, controls, or related fieldsMS, PhD, or equivalent experience in a technically rigorous domain6+ years of experience building production software, including substantial experience in C++Proven track record of owning and delivering complex technical projects with real-world impactStrong systems thinking and the ability to work effectively across software boundaries and organizational interfacesExcellent technical judgment, communication, and collaboration skillsAbility to balance long-term design quality with fast, pragmatic iteration in a production environmentBonus points if you have:Experience shipping autonomy or robotics software on real vehicles or robotic platformsStrong knowledge of motion planning, trajectory optimization, prediction, optimal control, or related areas in the autonomous systemsExperience working on real-time, performance-critical systemsExperience building evaluation, debugging, and data-analysis tools for autonomy or robotics stacksTrack record of mentoring engineers and leading technical direction across projectsWhat we offer:Competitive compensation package including equity and annual bonusesExcellent 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 InsuranceFlexible PTO, 10 paid holidays, and generous parental leave policiesOur office is centrally located in Mountain View, CAOffice perks: dog-friendly, free catered lunch, a fully stocked kitchen, and free EV chargingLong Term Disability, Short Term Disability, Life InsuranceWellbeing 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, HSAVarious 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 packageCalifornia Pay Range$185,000 - $235,000 USD