Staff, Harness Engineering Manager

Talanto; Mountain View, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 170,000 - 235,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical benefits

Flexible PTO

Equity & annual bonuses

Mountain View office perks

Job summary

Kodiak Robotics, Inc. in Mountain View, CA is seeking a Lead Harness Engineer/Manager to own harness architecture for our autonomous vehicle platform.

You will shape standards, drive supplier strategy, and mentor a growing team across high‑speed, low‑voltage, and high‑power systems. You will lead cross‑functional reviews with Software, Mechanical, Manufacturing, and external suppliers, ensuring robust design and integration while advancing automated validation and testing efforts.

Qualifications

• BS or MS in Electrical or Mechanical Engineering.
• 10+ years of hardware development experience in safety‑critical industries.
• Deep expertise in electrical harness design, architecture, and manufacturing.
• Proven experience setting design/quality standards and mentoring teams.
• Strong troubleshooting with hands‑on root cause analysis.
• Familiarity with IPC quality standards (IPC/WHMA‑A‑620).
• Experience with on‑vehicle debugging of CAN/Ethernet/LIN buses.
• Experience leading supplier negotiations and external partnerships.
• Hands‑on and able to debug in the shop and drive architecture decisions.
• Excellent communicator and technical writer, with leadership experience.
• Passion for autonomous vehicles and their impact.

Responsibilities

• Own the technical strategy and architecture for wire harness design across the vehicle platform.
• Set and enforce design standards, review processes, and DFM/DFA practices for harness diagrams.
• Drive make/buy and supplier strategy for harness manufacturing and partnerships.
• Lead trade studies on harness topology, routing, and EMI/signal integrity.
• Own program lifecycle governance: reviews, DVP&R, testing, and release.
• Lead root cause analyses and drive corrective actions across teams.
• Define and champion automated harness validation tooling and test strategy.
• Mentor harness and electrical engineers and manage the team.
• Represent harness engineering in cross‑functional and executive reviews.

Skills

Electrical engineering

Mechanical engineering

Hardware development

Leadership

Troubleshooting

EMI/Signal integrity

Education

BS or MS in Electrical/Mechanical Engineering

Tools

CAN bus

Ethernet

LIN

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’re seeking a Lead Harness Engineer/Manager to lead harness architecture and strategy for our autonomous vehicle platform. This is a hands on role who owns the technical direction for harness design across the full vehicle system – high speed, low voltage, and high power – and sets the standards, processes, and supplier relationships that the harness engineering function runs on. You’ll drive cross-functional alignment with electrical, mechanical, integration, and manufacturing teams, and mentor engineers building toward those standards.

In this role, you will:

• Own the technical strategy and architecture for wire harness and subassembly design across the vehicle platform, balancing high speed, low voltage, and high power requirements
• Set and enforce design standards, review processes, and DFM/DFA practices for harness schematics, diagrams, and system interconnect diagrams
• Drive make/buy and supplier strategy for harness manufacturing; own key external manufacturing partner relationships and scale-up readiness
• Lead trade studies on harness architecture (topology, routing, connector strategy, EMI/signal integrity tradeoffs) with system-level cost, weight, and reliability impact
• Own full program lifecycle governance: technical reviews, DVP&R, outsourced cable manufacturing, qualification testing, and release
• Lead or oversee root cause analysis on complex/escalated electrical system issues; drive corrective and preventive action across teams
• Define and champion automated harness validation tooling and test strategy
• Mentor and provide technical leadership to harness and electrical engineers and directly manage a harness engineering team
• Represent harness engineering in cross-functional and executive-level design reviews with Software, Mechanical, Manufacturing, Systems, and external suppliers

What you’ll bring:

• BS or MS in Electrical or Mechanical Engineering, or equivalent experience
• 10+ years of hardware development experience, including automotive, aerospace, or related safety-critical industries, with a track record of technical leadership
• Deep expertise in electrical harness design, architecture, and manufacturing at the system level
• Proven experience setting design/quality standards and mentoring or leading engineers or teams
• Strong troubleshooting skillset with hands‑on root cause analysis experience
• Expert familiarity with IPC quality standards (IPC/WHMA-A-620, etc.) and their application to program-level quality processes
• Experience with implementation and on-vehicle debugging of low-level hardware buses (CAN, Ethernet, LIN)
• Demonstrated ability to lead supplier negotiations and manage external manufacturing partnerships
• Hands‑on. Comfortable in the shop debugging a subsystem and in the room driving architecture decisions
• Excellent communicator — experience writing and reviewing clear, concise technical documentation and presenting to leadership
• Passion for autonomous vehicles and their potential impact

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
• Long Term Disability, Short Term Disability, Life Insurance
• 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
• Various incentive programs (referral bonuses, patent bonuses, etc.)

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

California Pay Range$170,000—$235,000 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.