Senior Autonomy Software Engineer, Mapping
About this role
Setting the technical strategy for onboard navigation and pose estimation systems occupies the core of daily operations on the Calibration, Localization and Mapping team at Kodiak. Engineers within this group design advanced sensor fusion approaches across inertial measurement units, cameras, and lidar sensors while driving the direction of visual and lidar odometry algorithms. Furthermore, team members define navigation metrics and serve as escalation points for complex localization challenges.
Autonomous commercial trucking and defense applications rely heavily on the artificial intelligence technology stack built by this organization. Operating in Mountain View, California, the team seeks a technical leader with deep expertise in state estimation, inertial navigation, and sensed odometry to set direction across the engineering group. Candidates who succeed here combine strong C++ programming capabilities with a collaborative mindset, taking ownership of high-reliability deployed applications from scratch.
What you will do
- Set the technical strategy and architecture for onboard navigation and pose estimation systems.
- Lead the design and development of advanced sensor fusion and pose estimation approaches across IMU, camera, and lidar sensors.
- Drive the direction of visual and lidar odometry algorithms by evaluating build-versus-adopt tradeoffs.
- Define and evangelize navigation metrics and evaluation methodology across the organization.
- Serve as a technical escalation point for complex, ambiguous, or cross-cutting localization problems.
- Evaluate sensor performance, optimize sensor selection, and verify correct calibrations and uncertainty characterizations.
What you need
- Hold a Bachelor of Science, Master of Science, or PhD with academic or industry experience in building navigation, localization, and odometry systems.
- Demonstrate expertise in C++ alongside strong problem-solving capabilities.
- Possess robust software engineering skills with experience building high-reliability deployed applications.
- Show deep experience transforming raw sensor data into six-degrees-of-freedom pose using Kalman filtering, factor graphs, or comparable state estimation techniques.
- Bring a history of mentoring engineers and elevating the technical practices of a team.
Nice to have
- Experience with computer vision and visual odometry
- Experience with odometry derived from point clouds
Benefits
- Competitive compensation package including equity and annual bonuses
- Medical, Dental, and Vision plans through Kaiser Permanente, Cigna, and MetLife
- Flexible PTO, 10 paid holidays, and generous parental leave policies
- Office perks including free catered lunch, a fully stocked kitchen, and free EV charging
- Wellbeing benefits including Headspace, Calm, One Medical, Gympass, Spring Health, and Rula
- Fidelity 401(k), commuter benefits, FSA, dependent care FSA, and HSA
Skills and tech stack
Questions candidates ask
Where is the office located?
The office is centrally located in Mountain View, California.
What is the salary range for this role?
The base salary range for the SF and Silicon Valley location is $200,000 to $260,000 USD, with actual starting pay determined by job-related factors such as experience and performance during the interview.
What benefits are included?
Employees receive competitive compensation including equity and annual bonuses, medical, dental, and vision plans, flexible PTO, 10 paid holidays, and various wellbeing benefits.
How is visa sponsorship handled?
Kodiak may provide visa sponsorship for eligible candidates depending on role requirements and regulatory compliance.