Pay
In line with similar jobs
$200K–$265K against $166K–$240K, the middle half of what similar US postings state.
From 1,279 postings in the last year. Stated ranges, not salaries paid.
Staff Machine Learning Engineer - Deployment
Mountain View, CA
Open 6 months, first seen by us 196 days ago- Pay
USD 200,000–265,000/yearAnnual period assumed — pay source
California Pay Range $200,000—$265,000 USD 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.
Read the full posting- Work setting
- Not stated
- Employment
- Not stated
Before you apply
- Work authorization
- Sponsors visas
What you’ll work on
Full postingDesign and train ML models with a focus on deploying them onboard the vehicle
Optimize model speed with quantization, pruning, ONNX/TensorRT and custom GPU kernels
Validate parity between onboard and offboard models using HIL testing
Analyze real-world driving logs to find edge cases and improve model safety
Integrate ML models into production systems with perception, planning and infrastructure teams
From the employer’s posting
Help design, train, with a focus towards deploying onboard machine learning models
which includes quantization, pruning, converting to ONNX/TensorRT, custom GPU kernels and profiling.
Help identify and achieve parity between onboard and deployed offboard models using validation on HIL
Analyze real-world driving logs to identify edge cases and improve model robustness and safety.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams including perception, planning, simulation, and autonomy infrastructure to integrate ML models into production systems.
Education & alternatives
What you’ll bring: - MS or PhD in Computer Science, Robotics, Machine Learning, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience. - 6+ years experience deploying machine learning or deep learning systems in production environments.
Benefits in the posting
Full benefits wording- 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
- 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
- The pay range listed below reflects the base salary in our SF/Silicon Valley location, 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
- California Pay Range
- 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.
- 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](https://endorsed.com/local-law-144). 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 careers@kodiak.ai with "Separate Review Request" in the email subject line.
From the employer’s posting.
Posting record
Report an errorOpen 6 monthsWe first saw this posting 196 days ago and it is still up. Roles open this long are often slow to fill or kept open to collect applications.
- Status in our records
- Live
- First seen by us
- Apr 22, 2026196 days ago
- Recorded sightings
- 181
- Last seen by us
- Nov 5, 2026
These dates show when we found the posting. Check the employer’s website to confirm it is still accepting applications.
How this job compares
Time since we first saw it
Day 196
Up longer than most. Similar jobs usually come down between day 6 and day 70.
From 4,444 similar postings that came down. Coming down is not always a hire.
Kodiak is hiring
2 open jobs
Open jobs by the week we first saw them, last 12 weeks.
- Takes jobs down at a usual pace
See how this role fits your experience
Add your resume and we’ll mark which of these tools you already use, and point out anything in the posting that could rule you out.
- C++
- Python
- AWS
- PyTorch
- TensorFlow
Where the posting names them
- 6+ years experience deploying machine learning or deep learning systems in production environments. - Proficiency in Python, C++ and modern ML frameworks such as PyTorch or TensorFlow. - Experience working with large-scale distributed training systems.
Kodiak AI, Inc. (Nasdaq: KDK), founded in 2018, is a leader in Physical AI, developing driverless technology that powers machines that move. Its Kodiak Driver is a vehicle-agnostic autonomous driving system that combines AI-powered software with modular hardware. Today it operates in long-haul trucking, industrial trucking, and defense. In 2024, Kodiak launched commercial Driver-as-a-Service operations with no one in the cab, and plans to launch driverless long-haul service between Dallas and Houston by the end of 2026. Kodiak has partnered with many of the biggest names in freight, including Bosch for scaled hardware production, AWS, and leading customers including Atlas Energy Solutions, IKEA, Bridgestone, Werner Enterprises, C.R. England, Roehl Transport, and General Dynamics Land Systems. Kodiak is seeking Staff Machine Learning Engineers, focusing on model deployment to help build the intelligence that powers the Kodiak Driver. Our ML teams work across perception, prediction, planning, and AI infrastructure to turn real-world driving data into models that enable safe and scalable autonomous trucking.
Your next step
Complete your application on job-boards.greenhouse.io. The employer’s form will show what is required.
Applying through Greenhouse
- No account needed: the form is one page, with an “Autofill my application” option that reads your resume.
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Already applied? Track this application
About Kodiak
- People
- About 1,300 in 2025, about the same as the year before.Annual report (SEC Form 10-K)
- Company
- Listed as KGS.
Demand for ML Engineer roles
New ML Engineer postings at the employers we follow are up 12% over the last 5 weeks compared with the 5 before.
Each bar is one week of new postings. The darkest bars are the last 5 weeks.
Counted from the hiring pages we’ve followed for at least five weeks, so employers we add don’t look like growth. Updated weekly.
About the role
We file this job under ML Engineer, by the work the posting describes.
ML engineers put machine learning models into products. They write the code that trains, ships, serves and monitors models so a recommendation or prediction works for real users.
Postings ask for strong Python and software engineering, a framework such as PyTorch, cloud services, and more and more often experience with large language models.
A data scientist often works out which model to build; an ML engineer makes it run reliably in production.
US government figures for computer and information research scientists
- Median yearly pay, May 2025
- $140,300
- Expected change, 2025 to 2035
- 21.8% more jobsagainst 3.5% for all jobs
The government has no code for ML engineers, so these figures are for the closest group, computer and information research scientists.
Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025) and Employment Projections (2025 to 2035). Occupation code 15-1221.
Job description
Kodiak AI, Inc. (Nasdaq: KDK), founded in 2018, is a leader in Physical AI, developing driverless technology that powers machines that move. Its Kodiak Driver is a vehicle-agnostic autonomous driving system that combines AI-powered software with modular hardware. Today it operates in long-haul trucking, industrial trucking, and defense. In 2024, Kodiak launched commercial Driver-as-a-Service operations with no one in the cab, and plans to launch driverless long-haul service between Dallas and Houston by the end of 2026.
Kodiak has partnered with many of the biggest names in freight, including Bosch for scaled hardware production, AWS, and leading customers including Atlas Energy Solutions, IKEA, Bridgestone, Werner Enterprises, C.R. England, Roehl Transport, and General Dynamics Land Systems.
Kodiak is seeking Staff Machine Learning Engineers, focusing on model deployment to help build the intelligence that powers the Kodiak Driver. Our ML teams work across perception, prediction, planning, and AI infrastructure to turn real-world driving data into models that enable safe and scalable autonomous trucking.
In this role, you will design and deploy machine learning systems that improve our vehicles’ ability to understand the world, predict the behavior of other road users, and make safe driving decisions. You will collaborate closely with robotics, autonomy, and infrastructure teams to continuously improve the performance of our autonomy stack using large-scale data from our growing fleet.
This is a high-impact opportunity to work on cutting-edge AI systems operating in the real world, where every mile driven improves our models and brings autonomous trucking closer to global deployment.In this role, you will:
- Help design, train, with a focus towards deploying onboard machine learning models that improve the performance/latency of the Kodiak autonomy stack which includes quantization, pruning, converting to ONNX/TensorRT, custom GPU kernels and profiling.
- Help identify and achieve parity between onboard and deployed offboard models using validation on HIL
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams including perception, planning, simulation, and autonomy infrastructure to integrate ML models into production systems.
- Analyze real-world driving logs to identify edge cases and improve model robustness and safety.
- Use profiling tooling to additionally help improve the train time for models by identifying and removing bottlenecks.
- Contribute to the development of scalable AI infrastructure that supports continuous learning and deployment across Kodiak’s fleet.
What you’ll bring:
- MS or PhD in Computer Science, Robotics, Machine Learning, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.
- 6+ years experience deploying machine learning or deep learning systems in production environments.
- Proficiency in Python, C++ and modern ML frameworks such as PyTorch or TensorFlow.
- Experience working with large-scale distributed training systems.
- Solid understanding of optimization, and machine learning fundamentals.
- Strong software engineering fundamentals including testing, debugging, and system design.
- Ability to work collaboratively across teams to solve complex autonomy and robotics challenges.
What we offer:
- 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.)
The pay range listed below reflects the base salary in our SF/Silicon Valley location, 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
California Pay Range
$200,000—$265,000 USD
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.
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.
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](https://endorsed.com/local-law-144). 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 careers@kodiak.ai with "Separate Review Request" in the email subject line.
Source details
Source notes
Source excerptsSelected passages from the saved posting. Check the full description for conditions and exceptions.
- Pay
California Pay Range $200,000—$265,000 USD 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.
- Location & working pattern
Mountain View, CA
Working pattern and location restrictions need checking in the full posting.
- Work authorization
This passage needs a closer read in the full description.