Software Engineer, Computational Geometry (Autonomy)

Kodiak • San Francisco, CA

90d • $150,000 - $200,000

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. We are looking for a Software Engineer with deep expertise in computational geometry to join our core algorithms team. In this role, you’ll design and implement the geometric foundations that power mission-critical systems across our stack. You’ll be building a high-performance geometry library that is robust, mathematically rigorous, and optimized for modern hardware, enabling advanced applications in autonomy, simulation, and beyond.

Requirements

• Strong background in computational geometry, linear algebra, and applied mathematics (MS, PhD, or equivalent experience).
• Expert-level modern C++ skills with a track record of production-quality, high-performance libraries.
• Deep grasp of CPU/GPU architecture, cache/memory layouts, SIMD, and parallel algorithms.
• A rigorous, test-driven mindset with high standards for software quality and mathematical correctness.
• Excellent collaboration and communication skills, able to work across teams and explain complex ideas clearly.
• Hands-on, proactive approach to problem-solving and performance tuning.

Nice To Haves

• GPU programming experience with CUDA or OpenCL.
• Proficiency in Python or TypeScript for prototyping, tooling, or bindings.
• Familiarity with SIMD instruction sets (AVX, SSE).
• Experience with libraries like Clipper or Boost.Geometry.
• Robotics/AV background (planning, mapping, SLAM, 3D graphics/CAD/physics sim).

Responsibilities

• Build the core library: Design, implement, and maintain a library of computational geometry algorithms in modern C++.
• Develop primitives: Create and optimize fundamental operations, such as distances, intersections, projections, polygon operations, and convex hulls, for complex geometries.
• Maximize performance: Profile and optimize code for CPU architectures (especially x86), leveraging cache-efficient data layouts, and instruction-level parallelism.
• Ensure reliability: Establish a testing framework to guarantee numerical stability, robustness, and correctness at scale.
• Enable visibility: Develop tools for visualizing, debugging, and validating geometric computations.
• Collaborate & integrate: Partner with other engineering teams to design clean APIs and integrate the geometry library into larger systems.
• Innovate: Research and apply state-of-the-art methods from academia and industry to tackle novel geometric challenges.

Benefits

• Competitive compensation package including equity and biannual bonuses.
• Excellent Medical, Dental, and Vision plans through Kaiser Permanente, Anthem, and Guardian (including a medical plan with infertility benefits).
• Flexible PTO 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, One Medical, Gympass, Spring Health.
• Fidelity 401(k).
• Commuter, FSA, Dependent Care FSA, HSA.
• Various incentive programs (referral bonuses, patent bonuses, etc.).

What This Job Offers

• Education Level: Master's degree