Hardware Technical Program Manager at Kodiak

<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-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">We are looking for a Hardware Technical Program Manager to join us and advance the development of all our product lines (Industrial, Over the Road and Defense).&nbsp;Kodiak is a highly collaborative organization based in Mountain View, CA. This role will require presence in our Mountain View office to collaborate, with some travel expected.</span></p> <p class="p2"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><strong>In this role, you will:&nbsp;</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;">Create technical execution roadmaps across engineering teams to tie features and their dependencies to time, and track dependencies across teams.</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Manage and optimize the development and integration efforts specifically for our current hardware platform, ensuring its stability and performance as we scale.</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Manage the progress of the build to meet Program objectives and goals, defining schedules, milestones, and resource allocation for successful execution. Communicate schedules, status, and priorities to all levels of the organization.&nbsp;</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Work closely with the Hardware, Software, systems, and operations teams to ensure cross functional deliverables are delivered on time and on quality</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Prioritize and manage issues, risks, and dependencies and resolve any barriers to moving programs forward.&nbsp;</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Support and guide decision making by clearly communicating risks and&nbsp; tradeoffs to stakeholders.&nbsp;</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Develop tools and processes to improve manufacturing productivity.</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Maintain a strong technical understanding of our autonomous vehicle platforms, hardware lifecycle, safety clearance process, and test operations.</span></li> </ul> <p class="p2"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><strong>What you’ll bring:&nbsp;</strong></span></p> <ul> <li class="p2"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">5+ years of experience of Technical Program Management experience</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering, Engineering, or a similar technical field.</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Experience managing fast paced initiatives, often with multiple stakeholders, complex schedules, and priority calls that need to be made.</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Strong bias for action&nbsp;</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Experience in the automotive or trucking industry with bonus points for Hardware Programs on autonomous vehicles.</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Experience in a startup environment, managing hardware projects towards manufacturing at scale.</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Expertise in project management tools such as Linear, JIRA, Smartsheet or LucidChart.</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 communication and interpersonal skills. You know how to facilitate tradeoffs between engineering and product requirements, but always maintain high safety standards.</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Passion. You are passionate about autonomous vehicles and their potential impact on humanity.</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="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Flexible PTO, 10 paid holidays, and generous parental leave policies</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Our office is centrally located in Mountain View, CA</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Office perks: dog-friendly, free catered lunch, a fully stocked kitchen, and free EV charging</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Long Term Disability, Short Term Disability, Life Insurance</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Wellbeing Benefits - Headspace through Cigna, Calm through Kaiser, One Medical, Gympass, Spring Health through Cigna, Rula (mental health navigation)&nbsp;</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Fidelity 401(k)</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Commuter, FSA, Dependent Care FSA, HSA</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Various incentive programs (referral bonuses, patent bonuses, etc.)</span></li> </ul><div class="content-pay-transparency"><div class="pay-input"><div class="description"><p>The pay range listed below reflects the base salary&nbsp;<strong data-stringify-type="bold">in our SF/Silicon Valley location,&nbsp;</strong>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</p></div><div class="title">California Pay Range</div><div class="pay-range"><span>$140,000</span><span class="divider">&mdash;</span><span>$190,000 USD</span></div></div></div><div class="content-conclusion"><div>&nbsp;</div> <div>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.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>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.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><em>We use a third-party AI tool (Endorsed) to assist in the initial screening of applications. As part of the evaluation process, we provide Endorsed with job requirements and candidate-submitted applications. Final hiring decisions are made by our human recruitment team, and no automated system makes the ultimate decision regarding hiring. Certain features of the platform may qualify it as an Automated Employment Decision Tool (AEDT) under applicable regulations. We began using Endorsed on January 1, 2026. You can review the independent bias audit report covering our use of Endorsed [here](</em><em><a href="https://endorsed.com/local-law-144" target="_blank" data-sk="tooltip_parent">https://endorsed.com/local-law-144</a></em><em>). By submitting your application, you acknowledge that your application may be processed by AI systems as part of the screening and selection process. If you have any questions or would like to request a separate review of your application, please contact </em><em><a href="mailto:[email protected]" target="_blank" data-sk="tooltip_parent">[email protected]</a></em><em> with "Separate Review Request" in the email subject line.</em></div> <p>&nbsp;</p></div>