Senior Software Engineer, Localization

Kodiak; Mountain View (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity and bonuses

Excellent medical, dental & vision

MetLife legal services

Flexible PTO & holidays

Mountain View office

Dog-friendly office

Free lunch & fully stocked kitchen

Free EV charging

Wellbeing programs

401(k)

Job summary

Kodiak Robotics, Inc. is hiring a Localization Engineer to advance onboard navigation and pose estimation for autonomous trucking. You will optimize sensor fusion across IMU, camera, and lidar, and develop visual and lidar odometry capabilities in a high‑reliability software environment.

The role emphasizes rigorous data analysis, machine‑level verification, and collaboration with multi-disciplinary teams to deliver robust autonomous sensing and navigation systems in Mountain View, CA.

Qualifications

• BS, MS or PhD with academic or industry experience in navigation, localization, and odometry.
• Proficient in C++ and building high‑reliability software.
• Experience transforming sensor data from GNSS, IMU, wheel speed into 6‑DOF pose using Kalman Filtering or factor graphs.
• Experience with computer vision, visual odometry, and/or odometry from point clouds.
• Solid understanding of metrics, data analysis, and scientific evaluation.

Responsibilities

• Develop and integrate onboard navigation and pose estimation algorithms.
• Optimize sensor fusion and pose estimation using IMU, camera, and lidar sensors.
• Develop visual and lidar odometry algorithms.
• Develop navigation metrics for evaluating onboard and offboard performance.
• Troubleshoot, solve problems, and collaborate across teams.
• Evaluate sensor performance and optimize sensor selection.
• Verify correct sensor calibrations and uncertainties.

Skills

C++

Navigation and localization

Sensor fusion

Odometry

Computer vision/visual odometry

Data analysis

Documentation

Team collaboration

Education

BS/MS/PhD in a relevant field

Tools

Kalman Filtering

Factor graphs

Git

ROS

PCL/Point Cloud Libraries

Job description

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 Localization Engineer — a problem solver with solid expertise in state estimation, inertial navigation, and sensed odometry.

In this role, you will:

• Develop and integrate onboard navigation and pose estimation algorithms.
• Optimize sensor fusion and pose estimation using IMU, camera, and lidar sensors.
• Develop visual and lidar odometry algorithms.
• Develop navigation metrics for evaluating offboard and onboard performance of algorithms and systems in the autonomous trucking domain.
• Troubleshoot, problem solve, innovate, create, and collaborate.
• Evaluate sensor performance and optimize sensor selection.
• Verify correct sensor calibrations, settings, and uncertainty characterizations.

What you’ll bring:

• Strong technical background. BS, MS or PhD with academic or industry experience in building navigation, localization, and odometry systems.
• Skilled in C++ and strong problem‑solving skills.
• Strong software engineering skills and experience building high‑reliability deployed applications. You write well‑designed, highly maintainable code. Code is your craft.
• Experience with transforming raw sensor data from GNSS, IMU, wheel speed, etc into 6‑DOF pose using common approaches like Kalman Filtering or factor graphs.
• Experience with computer vision, visual odometry, and/or odometry from point clouds.
• Solid understanding of metrics, data analysis, and scientific evaluation.
• A team player. You take ownership and work with the team to deliver exceptional results. You are interested in the performance of the entire system across engineering disciplines.
• Ability to build and iterate quickly. You enjoy working fast and smart, and you are comfortable in defining and building lasting infrastructure components from scratch.
• Hands on. Curious. Flexible. Interested in new domains to expand your horizons and provide a complete system wide solution.
• Great communicator. You have experience writing clear, concise design documentation to gather feedback from across the team to find the best solution.

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

$180,000 – $230,000 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.