Winter 2027 Intern, Data Engineering

Kodiak; Mountain View (CA); On-site; USD 41,000 - 55,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive pay

Medical benefits (health/dental/vision

Dog-friendly office

Free catered lunch

Beautiful facility in Mountain View

Job summary

Kodiak Robotics, Inc. invites applications for a Data Engineering Intern in Mountain View, CA. The role focuses on optimizing data stores, building scalable data pipelines, and evaluating BI/dashboarding tools to surface insights for autonomous robotics projects.

The internship emphasizes hands-on learning, collaboration, and applying data engineering skills to real-world robotics datasets with a focus on safety and reliability.

Qualifications

• Pursuing a BS, MS, or PhD in Computer Science, Data Engineering, Statistics, or a related quantitative technical field.
• Strong working knowledge of relational and/or object database design, query optimization, and schema management.
• Experience or strong familiarity with cloud-based data platforms such as AWS Aurora DB and ElasticSearch, and building associated ETL/ELT pipelines.
• Familiarity with BI tools, dashboarding frameworks, or automated reporting factories (e.g., AWS QuickSight, Kibana, or custom visualization frameworks).
• Thinking with a safety mindset and an interest in autonomous systems or robotics.
• Ability to take ownership and enjoy working collaboratively to deliver dependable data solutions.
• Experience with version control systems (e.g., Git) and modern software development workflows.

Responsibilities

• Optimize and maintain AuroraDB, ElasticSearch, and other data stores to ensure high availability, scalability, and performance for critical robotics and safety datasets.
• Design, build, and maintain robust data pipelines to facilitate the continuous development of our data platform, ensuring data cleanliness, reliability, and efficient ingestion.
• Explore, evaluate, and scale QuickSight and modular dashboarding frameworks/factories to streamline reporting and surface actionable insights across the organization.

Skills

SQL

Data pipelines

Cloud experience

Git

Education

CS/CE/Data Eng degree

Tools

AWS Aurora DB

ElasticSearch

QuickSight

Kibana

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.

Data Engineering Intern

We are looking for a highly skilled Data Engineering Intern to join us and solve real-world robotics problems. Our ideal candidates exhibit a can-do attitude and approach their work with vigor and determination. Candidates will be expected to demonstrate excellence in their respective fields and possess the ability to learn quickly in a fast-paced environment.

In this role, you will:

• Optimize and maintain AuroraDB, ElasticSearch, and other data stores to ensure high availability, scalability, and performance for critical robotics and safety datasets.
• Design, build, and maintain robust data pipelines to facilitate the continuous development of our data platform, ensuring data cleanliness, reliability, and efficient ingestion.
• Explore, evaluate, and scale QuickSight and modular dashboarding frameworks/factories to streamline reporting and surface actionable insights across the organization.

Qualifications:

• Pursuing a BS, MS, or PhD in Computer Science, Data Engineering, Statistics, or a related quantitative technical field.
• Strong working knowledge of relational and/or object database design, query optimization, and schema management.
• Experience or strong familiarity with cloud-based data platforms such as AWS Aurora DB and ElasticSearch, and building associated ETL/ELT pipelines.
• Familiarity with BI tools, dashboarding frameworks, or automated reporting factories (e.g., AWS QuickSight, Kibana, or custom visualization frameworks).
• Thinking with a safety mindset and an interest in autonomous systems or robotics.
• Ability to take ownership and enjoy working collaboratively to deliver dependable data solutions.
• Experience with version control systems (e.g., Git) and modern software development workflows.

Bonus Points:

• Hands-on internship or project experience building automated data pipelines or managing cloud database infrastructure.
• Familiarity with infrastructure-as-code or automated data integration frameworks.

Internship Program Details:

• Start Date: January 2027
• Our internship program is 12-16 weeks; the end date is flexible based on individual needs.
• Location: Mountain View, CA.
• Housing: Interns are responsible for housing.

What We Offer:

• A fast paced environment where we work with talented, committed and supportive teammates.
• Competitive pay.
• Excellent medical, dental and vision benefits.
• A beautiful facility in Mountain View.
• We love our dogs, so we are a dog friendly office!
• Free catered lunch.

The pay range listed below reflects the base salary in 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

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.