Staff Systems Engineer, Fault Management

Kodiak; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 200,000 - 268,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation including equity

Flexible PTO and generous parental leave

Dog-friendly office with free catered lunch

Well-being benefits

Job summary

A leading autonomous transportation company is seeking an experienced professional to lead the development of its Autonomy Fault Management System. The ideal candidate will have a background in real-time safety-critical applications and possess strong collaboration skills. Responsibilities include defining fault management architecture and supporting safety engineering across multiple teams. This role offers competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits in a dynamic work environment.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in highly automated or autonomous systems.
• Experience with systems engineering V-model and application within the product life cycle.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead development of the next generation of the Autonomy Fault Management System.
• Create systems engineering artifacts, including requirements and traceability.
• Develop strategies for managing system availability through fault management.

Skills

Real-time safety-critical applications

Fault management

Agile software engineering

Collaboration with technical stakeholders

Education

B.S., M.S., or Ph.D. in engineering or a related field

Tools

C/C++

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.

Responsibilities

• Lead the end‑to‑end development of the next generation of Autonomy Fault Management System, coordinating across hardware, software, system safety, and operations teams.
• Own systems and safety engineering execution for fault management across the full V‑model lifecycle.
• Develop systems engineering artifacts, including requirements, traceability, V&V plans, and V&V evidence.
• Define and lead the fault management architecture and concept of operations, covering detection, isolation, response, safe‑state definition, and minimum risk conditions.
• Generate technical evidence to support the adequacy, coverage, and sufficiency of the Fault Management System as part of Kodiak’s Driverless Safety Case.
• Support quantitative and qualitative analyses used to set detection thresholds, prioritize hazards, and evaluate risk associated with fault responses and minimum risk maneuvers.
• Lead and influence system architecture trade studies impacting fault coverage, system availability, safety risk, and operational continuity.
• Develop strategy for managing system availability, degraded operation, and operational continuity through the Fault Management System.
• Quantify the commercial and safety impact of false‑positive and false‑negative detections.
• Provide analysis to support complex autonomy system design trade‑offs informing system design decisions affecting safety and performance.
• Serve as the technical leader to align cross‑functional teams around a unified fault‑management strategy.

Qualifications

• B.S., M.S., or Ph.D. in engineering or a related technical field.
• 5+ years of experience in real‑time safety‑critical applications, preferably in highly automated or autonomous systems (autonomous vehicles, aerospace, nuclear, medical, etc.).
• Experience with fault management, diagnostic development, safe‑state identification, and development.
• Experience working with Agile software engineering teams.
• Ability to read C/C++ code.
• Experience with Systems Engineering V‑model and application within product life cycle.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with technical stakeholders spanning multiple disciplines.

Benefits

• 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, and Critical Illness Insurance.
• Flexible PTO, 10 paid holidays, and generous parental leave policies.
• Office located centrally in Mountain View, CA.
• Office perks: dog‑friendly, free catered lunch, fully stocked kitchen, and free EV charging.
• Well‑being 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 – $268,000 USD (base salary in the SF/Silicon Valley location).

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.