Senior Systems Engineer, Fault Management
Kodiak · San Francisco, CA
$150,000–$190,000
Jul 20, 2026
San Francisco, CA
Jul 22, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
This role centers on building and owning a next-generation Fault Management System for self-driving trucks, covering the full engineering lifecycle from requirements and architecture through verification, validation, and safety case integration. The work involves defining how the autonomous system detects, isolates, and responds to onboard faults — including when to degrade or take the vehicle out of service. It suits engineers with a background in safety-critical, real-time systems and familiarity with systems engineering processes.
Mid level · 2+ years · San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA · Bachelor's required · Full-time
Pay in the description: $150,000–$190,000
“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 700 people in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA area plausibly meet what this posting asks for (computer systems analysts). range 140–1,050
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 $160,596 (middle half $124,008–$198,593). 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 (8)
The role is titled 'Systems Engineer' with no explicit seniority level in the title; the title states no level accordingly.
The minimum experience gate is 2+ years in real-time safety-critical applications, which maps to a Mid-level band despite the role's broad ownership language — the low experience floor is the binding constraint.
SOC classification is a genuine judgment call: the role is a Systems Engineer focused on fault management architecture, requirements, V&V, and safety case integration — closer to 15-1211 (Computer Systems Analysts) than to a pure software developer (15-1252). 15-1299 (Computer Occupations, All Other) is a plausible runner-up given the specialized safety-systems engineering nature.
C/C++ is listed under 'What you'll bring' as 'Ability to read C/C++ code' — a reading/review capability rather than active development, but it is in the requirements section and treated as a hard gate.
The posting notes that some roles may require export-license review or U.S. person/citizenship verification due to DoD work, but no formal security clearance is explicitly required to gate on this position.
The pay range ($150,000–$190,000) is stated as a base salary range for the SF/Silicon Valley location and spans 'several internal levels,' so actual placement within the range will vary.
Autonomous vehicles experience is listed as 'preferably' — along with aerospace, nuclear, and medical — making it preferred rather than required.
Ignored 3 non-technology phrase(s) as skills (responsibilities/concepts, not named tools): fault management, Systems Engineering V-model, hazard analysis.
Read the full posting
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