Senior Autonomy Systems Software Engineer
Kodiak · Mountain View, CA
$200,000–$245,000
Jul 20, 2026
Mountain View, CA
Jul 22, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A senior engineering role focused on deriving safety requirements for autonomous vehicle software — covering perception, localization, prediction, motion planning, and control — across both commercial trucking and defense applications. The work involves first-principles analysis, edge-case identification, system design trade-offs, and support for simulation, track, and on-road testing. Best suited to engineers with a background in autonomy or robotics algorithms from aerospace, automotive, or defense contexts, and familiarity with safety-critical standards and analysis methods.
Senior level · San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA · Full-time
Pay in the description: $200,000–$245,000
“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 360 people in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA area plausibly meet what this posting asks for (software developers). range 130–560
Applicant volume Moderate — A normal amount of company. The rare requirements below are what will separate a shortlisted application from the rest.
Rare in this occupation — lead with these, and say what you built with them.
Most people in this occupation already list these. Still required — just not what gets you shortlisted.
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 (7)
The role is titled 'Senior Autonomy Software Systems Engineer' and sits at the intersection of software development and systems/safety engineering; 15-1252 (Software Developers) was chosen as the primary SOC because the core work involves developing and analyzing algorithms for autonomous systems, but 15-1299 (Computer Occupations, All Other) is a reasonable runner-up given the heavy systems-engineering and safety-analysis emphasis.
Programming languages (Python, MATLAB, C++, C) are listed together as a group under 'What you'll bring' with an 'or' framing, so they are captured as a single requirement with alternatives rather than separate hard gates.
The sensor fusion, ML, computer vision, motion planning, and control systems bullets each present multiple interchangeable techniques; the most representative technique is used as the skill name with the others as alternatives.
The second block of skills ('Background in one or more of the following') is explicitly optional/preferred in framing — Bayesian inference, Markov models, simulation, safety standards (ISO 26262/DO-178/IEC 61508), safety analysis methods (FTA/FMEA/HARA), SOTIF/UL 4600, real-time systems, and V&V experience are all marked preferred accordingly.
The posted pay range ($200,000–$245,000 USD/year) is described as a base salary range for the SF/Silicon Valley location and explicitly covers 'several internal levels'; actual pay will vary by experience and interview performance.
The posting notes that some roles may require export-control eligibility or U.S. person status due to defense work, but no formal security clearance is explicitly required as a hard gate.
Ignored 2 non-technology phrase(s) as skills (responsibilities/concepts, not named tools): motion planning, simulation development.
Read the full posting
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