Senior Technical Program Manager

Kodiak Robotics , in only 5 years and with 200 employees, has built the best self-driving technology purpose-built for long-haul trucks and defense applications. We care deeply because this technology will save lives and transform the freight industry. Lauded by commercial partners as the safest and most capable autonomous freight solution on the market, the Kodiak team is ushering in a new era of transportation. We’re led by many of the self-driving industry’s leading minds, who have built Kodiak’s technology from day one to be deployable and scalable.

Over the past year and a half, we announced commercial partnerships with a range of companies including IKEA, Pilot Company, Werner Enterprises, Forward, U.S. Xpress, Maersk, and CR England. We have demonstrated fundamental tech differentiators such as an on-road fallback, maintaining control of a truck after a catastrophic steer tire blowout, and our hot-swappable SensorPod.

We are looking for a Technical Program Manager who thrives in fast-paced, highly collaborative and innovative environments, and has the passion to advance the development of our commercial and defense product lines.

This role is based in Mountain View, CA and will have some limited travel required.

In this role you will:

• Primarily work with autonomy software teams to plan work for the development of new self driving software.
• Collaborate with engineering, product, and operations teams to develop new features for commercial and defense product lines.
• Work across multiple engineering teams to lead technical feature planning activities against our product requirements, ensuring scope is well defined and features are feasible according to our timelines. Work closely with product managers to negotiate scope in order to ensure that requirements will always have a feasible plan in place. 
• Create technical execution roadmaps across engineering teams to tie features and dependencies to time, and track dependencies across teams.
• Manage the progress of the overall engineering program to meet objectives and goals, defining schedules, milestones, and resource allocation for successful execution. Communicate schedules, status, and priorities to all levels of the organization. 
• Improve the overall performance of the system by driving top performance issues to completion, such as prioritizing and burning down bugs, and making priority calls on team direction. 
• Prioritize and manage issues, risks, and dependencies and resolve any barriers to moving projects forward. 
• Support and guide decision making by clearly communicating risks and implications to stakeholders. 
• Perform technical analysis to resolve open issues. 
• Develop tools and processes to improve engineering productivity.

What you'll bring:

• Due to the nature of this role, this position requires U.S. citizenship or lawful permanent residency (Green Card)
• Program management background, with at least 2+ years of experience managing core autonomy / robotics software development.
• Bachelors in Computer Science, Engineering, or a similar technical field.
• Experience managing fast paced initiatives, often with multiple stakeholders, complex schedules, and priority calls that need to be made.
• Strong understanding of software development processes and how to efficiently execute.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills. You know how to facilitate tradeoffs between engineering and product requirements, but always maintain high safety standards.
• Passion. You are passionate about autonomous vehicles and their potential impact on humanity.

What we offer:

• Competitive compensation package including equity and biannual bonuses
• Excellent Medical, Dental, and Vision plans through Kaiser Permanente, Anthem, and Guardian (including a medical plan with infertility benefits)
• Flexible PTO and generous parental leave policies
• Office perks: dog-friendly, free catered lunch, a fully stocked kitchen, and free EV charging
• Long Term Disability, Short Term Disability, Life Insurance
• Wellbeing Benefits - Headspace, One Medical, Gympass, Spring Health
• Fidelity 401(k)
• Commuter, FSA, Dependent Care FSA, HSA
• Various incentive programs (referral bonuses, patent bonuses, etc.)

The annual salary range for this full-time position is $140,000-$210,000 + bonus + equity + benefits. Our salary ranges are determined by role, level and location. The range displayed on each job posting reflects the minimum and maximum target for new hire salaries for the position across all US locations. Within the range, individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. We can share more about the specific salary range for your job level during the hiring process. Please note that the compensation details listed above are base salary only and do not include bonus, equity, or benefits.

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 U.S. national security statutes, regulations, and administrative prerequisites. These statutes may impose limitations on Kodiak's capacity to engage specific individuals in particular roles based on various national security-related criteria. Consequently, the eligibility for this position may hinge on Kodiak's verification of a candidate's residence, U.S. person status, and/or citizenship status. In accordance with these statutes , Kodiak may find it necessary to secure a U.S. government export license before disseminating its technologies to specific individuals. Should Kodiak determine that a candidate's residence, U.S. person status, and/or citizenship status necessitate a license, prohibit the candidate from assuming this position, or otherwise fall under national security-related restrictions, Kodiak explicitly retains the right to either assess the candidate for an alternative position 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.