Staff Software Engineer, Controls at Kodiak
Mountain View, CA
$190,000–$230,000
Jul 20, 2026
Mountain View, CA
Jul 22, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
This role sits within the Motion Planning & Controls team at an autonomous trucking company, focused on designing and implementing feedback, control, and actuation systems for self-driving semi-trucks operating on public roads. Day-to-day work spans vehicle characterization (steering, braking, throttle, dynamics), model development for simulation and planning, and building safety-critical, redundant control software in C/C++. It suits engineers with a strong controls and robotics background and hands-on experience tuning controllers for complex autonomous vehicles.
Senior level · San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA · Full-time
Pay in the description: $190,000–$230,000
“or” means any one of them counts — you don't need all of them.
We read this from the posting text with AI. Skim the description below before ruling yourself out.
How this req sits in the market our data
Roughly 1,400 people in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA area plausibly meet what this posting asks for (software developers). range 290–2,100
Applicant volume Moderate — A normal amount of company. The rare requirements below are what will separate a shortlisted application from the rest.
What the occupation pays Median $217,796 (middle half $177,469–$231,052). This posting is about at that midpoint.
Estimated from BLS employment for this occupation and area, per-skill prevalence across our listing corpus, and published wage benchmarks — as of Jul 28, 2026. It is a model, not a headcount.
Why we read it this way (10)
The title 'Controls Software Engineer' carries no seniority level word, so advertised seniority is Unspecified; however, the scope (designing and implementing safety-critical control architectures for autonomous trucks, end-to-end vehicle safety ownership, collaboration across hardware/planning/systems teams) and the expectation of an MS, PhD, or equivalent experience support a Senior classification.
Degree requirement is set to None: the JD states 'MS, PhD, or equivalent experience', explicitly accepting equivalent experience in lieu of a formal degree.
C and C++ are listed together as 'C or C++' in the requirements block and are treated as interchangeable alternatives on a single hard-gated skill.
Controls systems experience (feedback control, actuation, tuning controllers for autonomous vehicles) and robotics background are hard gates drawn from the 'What you'll bring' requirements section.
System identification, modeling, and simulation are listed as a single compound requirement in the 'What you'll bring' section; captured as a single required skill.
CAN and Ethernet appear under 'Bonus points' (preferred) as low-level driver/protocol experience.
Python, MATLAB, and Simulink appear under 'Bonus points' as simulation/analysis tools; they are genuinely interchangeable for this purpose and are also marked preferred.
Embedded systems and RTOS experience, and formal verification methods, appear under 'Bonus points' and are marked preferred.
The posted pay range ($190,000–$230,000) is described as a base salary range spanning 'several internal levels' for the SF/Silicon Valley location; actual pay will vary by experience and interview performance.
The posting notes that some roles may require export-control eligibility verification (U.S. person status/citizenship) due to DoD work, but no formal security clearance is explicitly required.
Read the full posting
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