Staff Systems Engineer

Kodama Systems Inc. • Remote, CA, CA

21h • Remote

About The Position

Kodama is seeking a Staff Systems Engineer to own system-level architecture and safety engineering for its teleoperated and autonomous platform, spanning individual machines and multi-machine fleets. The role defines system behavior across hardware, software, networking, controls, autonomy, human operators, and field operations, and strengthens requirements, safety analyses, and verification as the platform evolves. It includes ownership of how the platform detects, manages, and recovers from faults and degraded conditions, and translating requirements and analyses into actionable engineering work. This is a hands-on, senior individual contributor role.

The position leads system-level requirements, hazard and failure analyses, safety-critical control architecture, verification strategies, and evidence that capabilities are ready for field deployment. It also helps ensure that Kodama’s architecture and engineering practices appropriately apply relevant safety standards, and serves as a technical resource to customers, OEM partners, and other external stakeholders.

The role can be performed remotely within the United States. Approximately 10–20% travel to customer sites is expected, with more concentrated travel during the first few months.

Requirements

• BS or advanced degree in electrical, mechanical, systems, or a related engineering field, or 10+ years of systems engineering or equivalent practical experience.
• Significant experience designing or integrating complex, safety-critical electromechanical or distributed systems, with the ability to reason across hardware, software, networking, controls, and physical-machine behavior.
• Experience writing clear, testable system requirements and interfaces, and applying system or functional safety methods through design, integration, and verification.
• Experience with multi-machine systems, such as fleet management, one operator controlling multiple machines, or networking that scales across machines and sites.
• Experience right-sizing systems engineering and safety processes for a fast-moving team, and communicating technical tradeoffs clearly to engineers, customers, and partners.
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-disciplinary technical decisions through influence and judgment, and willingness to get hands-on with debugging, data, and machine testing when needed.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in autonomous vehicles, mobile robotics, heavy equipment, defense, or other safety-critical cyber-physical systems.
• Experience with functional safety standards such as ISO 17757, ISO 13849, IEC 61508, IEC 62061, ISO 26262, or related frameworks.
• Safety certification or third-party assessment with organizations such as TÜV or UL, or participation in standards committees.
• Experience with teleoperation, distributed robotics, or real-time networking and communications.
• Experience with embedded systems, safety controllers, PLCs, CAN/J1939, hardware-in-the-loop testing, or fault injection.
• Experience in robotics perception, localization, planning, control, or autonomy safety.
• Experience validating machine learning-based components for field deployment.
• Proficiency in system modeling tools (Python or equivalent software language).
• Experience with human factors, operator interface design, or human-machine interaction.
• Experience in off-road or unstructured operating environments, such as forestry, mining, construction, or agriculture.

Responsibilities

• Define system-level functional, performance, and fault behavior requirements, and develop subsystem requirements with hardware and software engineers.
• Own system analysis, including hazard analyses, FMEAs, and fault trees; define responses by the platform, operators, and operating procedures to failures or degraded behavior across operating environments.
• Lead next-generation architecture, trade studies, and requirements for safety-critical control systems, including safety controllers, E-stops, and human-to-machine and machine-to-machine interaction.
• Translate system and safety requirements into actionable engineering work, verification strategies, and evidence that new capabilities are ready for field deployment.
• Ensure architecture and engineering practices appropriately apply relevant safety standards, including BS EN 17067:2018, BS EN 62745:2017, and ISO 17757:2019.
• Serve as a technical resource to customers, OEM partners, and other external stakeholders on system architecture and safety design.
• Lead cross-disciplinary technical decisions through influence and judgment, and get hands-on with debugging, data, and machine testing when needed.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior