Staff Machine Learning Engineer - Data

Kodiak; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 200,000 - 265,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation including equity

Excellent Medical, Dental, and Vision plans

Flexible PTO and generous parental leave

Dog-friendly office

Free catered lunch

Wellbeing Benefits

Job summary

Kodiak in San Francisco, CA, is seeking Machine Learning Engineers to develop robust data pipelines that enhance the intelligence of the Kodiak Driver. In this role, you'll work closely with various teams to improve the performance of Kodiak's autonomous technology, collaborating on projects that utilize large-scale data.

Applicants should have a strong background in computer science or engineering with proven experience in automation and machine learning systems. Kodiak offers competitive compensation, flexible PTO, and a collaborative work environment.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of practical experience working with ML teams.
• Proficiency in Python.
• Strong software engineering fundamentals including testing, debugging, and system design.

Responsibilities

• Develop data pipelines for machine learning systems.
• Automate existing and new pipelines using orchestration frameworks.
• Contribute to the development of scalable AI infrastructure.

Skills

Python

Scalable ELT pipelines

Machine Learning

Collaborative work

Education

MS or PhD in Computer Science, Robotics, Engineering, Mathematics

Tools

Apache Airflow

Metaflow

SQL

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.

Kodiak is seeking Machine Learning Engineers focusing on data, pipelines and tooling to help build the intelligence that powers the Kodiak Driver. Our ML teams work across perception, prediction, planning, and AI infrastructure to turn real‑world driving data into models that enable safe and scalable autonomous trucking.

In this role, you will develop the data pipeline which helps design machine learning systems that improve our vehicles’ ability to understand the world, predict the behavior of other road users, and make safe driving decisions. You will collaborate closely with robotics, autonomy, and infrastructure teams to continuously improve the performance of our autonomy stack using large‑scale data from our growing fleet.

In this role, you will:

• Work with the ML team to automate existing and new pipelines using Airflow/Metaflow like orchestration frameworks.
• Utilize different auto‑generated / manually labeled signals to stratify datasets to dedup data and improve the information content of ML datasets.
• Improve and support the metrics dashboard and the underlying datastore to allow it to be scalable for growing volume of tests, performant and cost effective.
• Be the advocate for additional tooling to simplify and improve current processes to become more powerful and automated. This includes but is not limited to dataset curation and mining, evaluation and problem discovery, labelling and triage including utilizing LLMs and offboard models.
• Contribute to the development of scalable AI infrastructure that supports continuous learning and deployment across Kodiak’s fleet.

What you’ll bring:

• MS or PhD in Computer Science, Robotics, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related technical field, and 3+ years of practical experience working with ML teams.
• Proficiency in Python.
• Proven ability to build scalable ELT pipelines and data models using SQL and modern data lakes using automated workflow orchestration tools such as Apache Airflow / Metaflow.
• Strong software engineering fundamentals including testing, debugging, and system design.
• Ability to work collaboratively across teams to solve complex autonomy and robotics challenges.

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.

Pay range: $200,000 – $265,000 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.