Senior Software Engineer, Controls (Simulation)

About the company

Kodiak Robotics is an autonomous trucking company developing self-driving heavy vehicles and commercial logistics operations.

About this role

<div class="content-intro"><p>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.</p></div><p><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">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. In 2025, Kodiak listed publicly on the NASDAQ.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Kodiak is recruiting an experienced Software Engineer who is passionate about motion control and simulation to join our Controls team. The role offers the opportunity to work on both vehicle modeling and control theory, including deep mathematical modeling.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">This is an opportunity to model linear and nonlinear vehicle dynamics, in order to establish high fidelity between simulation results and on-road data. Kodiak operates multiple vehicle platforms in a wide range of operating domains, which surface many interesting modeling and simulation problems.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">This role combines both mathematical innovation and software engineering expertise to expand the frontier in autonomy simulation.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong>In this role, you will:</strong></span></p> <ul> <li style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Simulate articulated truck motion in response to steering, accelerator, and brake inputs</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Model vehicular motion, including the interaction between coupled tractor and trailers</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Incorporate environmental effects, such as incline, road bank, rolling resistance, and wind</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Characterize non-linear effects, such as gear shifting and electronic stability control</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Analyze simulation fidelity by comparing simulated and real-world performance</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Evaluate controller performance across multi-dimensional assessments</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Build a safety case for driverless operation</span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong>What you’ll bring:</strong></span></p> <ul> <li style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">4+ years controls development experience for automotive robots</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Strong C++ programming skill</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Interest in theoretical and empirical vehicle modeling</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Facility with mechanical physics</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Enthusiasm for increasing the scope and fidelity of vehicular simulation</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">A focus on vehicle safety</span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong>Bonus points if you have:</strong></span></p> <ul> <li style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Simulated automotive robots, especially controls and the robotic platform</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Experience with driverless autonomous vehicles</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Strength in statistical analysis and evaluation</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Familiarity with automotive safety cases, processes, and standards</span></li> </ul> <p class="p2"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><strong>What we offer:</strong></span></p> <ul> <li style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Competitive compensation package including equity and annual bonuses</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Excellent Medical, Dental, and Vision plans through Kaiser Permanente, Cigna, and MetLife (including a medical plan with infertility benefits)</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">MetLife Legal Services, Identity &amp; Fraud Protection, Hospital Indemnity Insurance, Accident Insurance, &amp; Critical Illness Insurance</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="f