Functional Safety Engineer, Hardware

Kodiak•Mountain View, CA

8h•Onsite

About The Position

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. Kodiak Robotics, Inc. was founded in 2018 and has become the trusted world leader in autonomous ground transportation committed to a safer and more efficient future for all. The company is developing an industry-leading artificial intelligence (AI) powered technology stack purpose-built for driverless long-haul trucking applications. Kodiak’s unique modular hardware approach integrates sensors into a streamlined sensor-pod structure that optimizes for perception, scalability, and maintainability. The company autonomously delivers freight daily for its commercial customers across the Sun Belt states and for Atlas Energy in the Permian Basin. Kodiak also leverages its commercial self-driving software to develop, test and deploy autonomous capabilities for the U.S. Department of Defense. We are looking for a Functional Safety Hardware Engineer to join us and drive the development and management of our autonomous vehicle safety cases as we bring the Kodiak Autonomy System to market. We first published our Safety Report in 2019 and have based our development on systems engineering, the ISO26262 process and SOTIF principles.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree or higher in hardware, electrical, mechanical or other related engineering and/or a Bachelor’s degree with professional experience in a high tech environment
Experience with Part 4, 5, 8 and 9 of ISO 26262. Special emphasis on implementation of Part 5 for autonomous vehicles
Experience with developing work products for safety critical systems, especially DFMEAs for electrical and embedded components.
Experience with system and hardware level verification and validation of autonomous vehicles
Experience with functional safety standards such as ISO26262, SOTIF, and UL4600.
Good communication skills with a collaborative approach
Ability to structure project tasks and drive evidence development among teams
Knowledge of hardware configuration management and hardware quality assurance

Responsibilities

Perform hardware safety analyses (e.g. dependent failure modes and effects analysis (DFMEAs) to comply with ISO 26262. Hardware to be analyzed includes primarily electrical and embedded components as well as systems with supplier-designed components.
Perform fault tree analysis (FTAs) and assess reliability.
Participate in developing technical safety requirements to be used in the Kodiak Autonomy System in various approved Operational Design Domains.
Allocate technical safety requirements to the hardware components.
Participate in hardware safety unit design and implementation.
Develop test plans, test procedures, verification reports at the hardware unit and hardware integration levels. Support system level testing from a hardware safety perspective.
Support hardware-software interface development and derive safety measures.
Support supplier management activities.
Collaborate with Kodiak internal and external stakeholders to review and assess work products for compliance with ISO 26262.
10% travel to test sites possible

Benefits

Competitive compensation package including equity and annual bonuses
Excellent Medical, Dental, and Vision plans through Kaiser Permanente, Cigna, and MetLife (including a medical plan with infertility benefits)
MetLife Legal Services, Identity & Fraud Protection, Hospital Indemnity Insurance, Accident Insurance, & Critical Illness Insurance
Flexible PTO, 10 paid holidays, and generous parental leave policies
Our office is centrally located in Mountain View, CA
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 through Cigna, Calm through Kaiser, One Medical, Gympass, Spring Health through Cigna, Rula (mental health navigation)
Fidelity 401(k)
Commuter, FSA, Dependent Care FSA, HSA
Various incentive programs (referral bonuses, patent bonuses, etc.)