Autonomy Systems Software Engineer

About this role

Kodiak Robotics seeks an Autonomy Systems Software Engineer to develop safety-critical requirements for autonomous trucking and defense applications. You'll use first-principles analysis to strengthen perception, planning, and control systems while identifying edge cases and supporting testing across simulation and real-world environments.

What you'll do

• Derive safety requirements for perception, localization, prediction, motion planning, and control algorithms
• Identify edge cases and system weaknesses before field deployment
• Analyze design trade-offs to inform autonomy system architecture decisions
• Support simulation scenarios, track testing, on-road validation, and hardware-in-the-loop testing
• Collaborate with autonomy software teams on requirements development
• Provide technical analysis to support safety claims for autonomous systems

What they're looking for

• Kinematics, dynamics, and system modeling
• Python, MATLAB, C++, or C programming
• Sensor fusion and object tracking (Kalman filtering, particle filters)
• Machine learning methods (neural networks, SVMs, regression models)
• Classical computer vision (edge detection, camera calibration)
• Motion planning algorithms (A*, RRT, potential fields)
• First-principles problem solving
• Autonomous systems or robotics experience in aerospace/defense/automotive