Senior Software Engineer, Controls (Simulation)

Kodiak; Mountain View (CA); On-site; USD 190,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity and annual bonus

Flexible PTO

Dog-friendly office

Free lunch

Job summary

Kodiak Robotics, Inc. in Mountain View, CA seeks a Senior Software Engineer, Controls (Simulation) to advance motion control and high-fidelity vehicle modeling for autonomous trucks.

You will work on both vehicle dynamics modeling and control theory, with emphasis on simulation accuracy and safety. The role offers exposure to linear and nonlinear dynamics, multi-vehicle simulations, and collaboration with hardware and software teams.

Qualifications

• Interest in theoretical and empirical vehicle modeling.
• Facility with mechanical physics.
• Enthusiasm for increasing the scope and fidelity of vehicular simulation.
• A focus on vehicle safety.

Responsibilities

• Simulate articulated truck motion in response to steering, accelerator, and brake inputs.
• Model vehicular motion including the interaction between coupled tractor and trailers.
• Incorporate environmental effects, such as incline, road bank, rolling resistance, and wind.
• Characterize non-linear effects, such as gear shifting and electronic stability control.
• Analyze simulation fidelity by comparing simulated and real-world performance.
• Evaluate controller performance across multi-dimensional assessments.
• Build a safety case for driverless operation.

Skills

Motion control

Simulation

Vehicle dynamics

Mathematical modeling

Software engineering

Job description

Senior Software Engineer, Controls (Simulation)

Mountain View, CA

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.

Kodiak 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. In 2025, Kodiak listed publicly on the NASDAQ.

Kodiak is recruiting an experienced Software Engineer who is passionate about motion control and simulation to join our Controls team. The role offers the opportunity to work on both vehicle modeling and control theory, including deep mathematical modeling.

This is an opportunity to model linear and nonlinear vehicle dynamics, in order to establish high fidelity between simulation results and on-road data. Kodiak operates multiple vehicle platforms in a wide range of operating domains, which surface many interesting modeling and simulation problems.

This role combines both mathematical innovation and software engineering expertise to expand the frontier in autonomy simulation.

In this role, you will:

• Simulate articulated truck motion in response to steering, accelerator, and brake inputs
• Model vehicular motion, including the interaction between coupled tractor and trailers
• Incorporate environmental effects, such as incline, road bank, rolling resistance, and wind
• Characterize non-linear effects, such as gear shifting and electronic stability control
• Analyze simulation fidelity by comparing simulated and real-world performance
• Evaluate controller performance across multi-dimensional assessments
• Build a safety case for driverless operation

What you’ll bring:

• Interest in theoretical and empirical vehicle modeling
• Facility with mechanical physics
• Enthusiasm for increasing the scope and fidelity of vehicular simulation
• A focus on vehicle safety

Bonus points if you have:

• Simulated automotive robots, especially controls and the robotic platform
• Experience with driverless autonomous vehicles
• Strength in statistical analysis and evaluation
• Familiarity with automotive safety cases, processes, and standards

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
• 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

The pay range listed below reflects the base salaryin 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

$190,000 - $260,000 USD

At Kodiak, we strive to build a diverse community working towards our common company goals in a safe and collaborative environment where harassment of any kind is strictly prohibited. Kodiak is committed to equal opportunity employment regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, or veteran status, or any other basis protected by applicable law.

In alignment with its business operations, Kodiak adheres to all relevant statutes, regulations, and administrative prerequisites. Accordingly, roles that carry more sensitive requirements may be limited to candidates that can satisfy additional scrutiny and eligibility for such positions may hinge on verification of a candidate’s residence, U.S. person status, and/or citizenship status. Should the position require, and Kodiak determines that a candidate’s residence, U.S. person status, and/or citizenship status necessitate an export license, bar the candidate from the position, or otherwise fall under national security-related restrictions, Kodiak will consider the candidate for alternative positions unaffected by such restrictions, under terms and conditions set forth at Kodiak’s sole discretion, or, as an alternative, opt not to proceed with the candidate’s application. If applicable, Kodiak may provide visa sponsorship for eligible candidates.

We use a third-party AI tool (Endorsed) to assist in the initial screening of applications. As part of the evaluation process, we provide Endorsed with job requirements and candidate-submitted applications. Final hiring decisions are made by our human recruitment team, and no automated system makes the ultimate decision regarding hiring. Certain features of the platform may qualify it as an Automated Employment Decision Tool (AEDT) under applicable regulations. We began using Endorsed on January 1, 2026. You can review the independent bias audit report covering our use of Endorsed [here] (https://endorsed.com/local-law-144). By submitting your application, you acknowledge that your application may be processed by AI systems as part of the screening and selection process.