Staff Software Engineer, Learned & Hybrid Behavior Planning

1. Job Overview

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 Staff Software Engineer to help shape how learned models are integrated into behavior planning for autonomous driving. In this role, you will sit at the intersection of Planning and Machine Learning, working closely with ML engineers and autonomy teams to bring learned components into a production autonomy stack.

This is a high-impact role for someone who understands both the practical constraints of real-world planning systems and the opportunities enabled by modern learned models. You will help shape how ML improves autonomy behavior while ensuring that new capabilities are safe, measurable, debuggable, and deployable.

Why Join Us

• Work at a company that has developed an AI-powered technology stack purpose-built for commercial trucking and the public sector.
• Be part of a team that delivers freight daily using autonomous technology and that in 2024 publicly announced delivering a driverless semi-truck to a customer.
• Contribute to autonomy capabilities being developed and deployed, including work relevant to the U.S. Department of Defense.

2. Key Responsibilities

• Lead Planning-side integration of learned models into the behavior planning stack.
• Collaborate closely with ML teams on model improvements, requirements, evaluation, and deployment.
• Work on learned planning components as well as other ML-driven planning signals, such as behavior classification, actor intent understanding, and data-driven decision-making.
• Design integration strategies that balance learned components with existing heuristic planning systems.
• Define validation, fallback, monitoring, and safety criteria for learned planning components.
• Debug and analyze model behavior using simulation, logs, metrics, and real-world autonomy data.
• Partner with cross-functional teams across Perception, ML, Planning, Simulation, Systems, and Safety.
• Lead technical designs and mentor other engineers.

3. Required Qualifications

• (No formal education degree or specific qualification was stated in the source description.)

4. Required Skills

• Strong experience in autonomous vehicles, robotics, or a related autonomy domain.
• Deep technical background in behavior planning, decision-making, or motion planning.
• Strong software engineering skills with proficiency in C++.
• Experience working with heuristic or classical planning systems.
• Experience integrating or developing learned behavior policies, behavior classification, trajectory prediction, or actor intent models.
• Ability to reason about safety, system behavior, evaluation, and deployment risk.
• Excellent cross-functional communication and technical leadership skills.

5. Preferred Qualifications

• Python proficiency is a plus.

6. Experience Requirements

• No specific experience range was stated in the source description.

7. Additional Job Information

• Employment type: (not explicitly stated in the source description).
• Work mode: Location provided (see below); specific remote/hybrid/on-site policy not explicitly stated in the source description.
• Notice period: Not specified.
• Locations provided by the employer: Mountain View, CA; Santa Clara County, CA; California, United States.
• Application instructions and additional information:
• Kodiak may provide visa sponsorship for eligible candidates.
• Kodiak uses a third-party AI tool (Endorsed) to assist in initial screening of applications. As part of the evaluation process, Kodiak provides Endorsed with job requirements and candidate-submitted applications. Final hiring decisions are made by Kodiak's human recruitment team.
• If you have questions or would like to request a separate review of your application, contact careers@kodiak.ai with "Separate Review Request" in the email subject line.
• Note regarding eligibility and restrictions: Certain roles may be limited to candidates who can satisfy additional scrutiny and eligibility (such as residence, U.S. person status, and/or citizenship). If a candidate cannot satisfy such requirements, Kodiak may consider the candidate for alternative positions or opt not to proceed, at Kodiak's sole discretion.