Hardware Technical Program Manager

The job

LIVE Employer public job feed (private-sector employer) Source: the employer's public careers feed · Data: listed 2026-09-29

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.

We are looking for a Technical Program Manager to join us and advance the development of all our product lines (Industrial, Over the Road and Defense).

Kodiak is a highly collaborative organization based in Mountain View, CA. This role will require presence in our Mountain View office to collaborate, with some travel expected.

In this role, you will:

• Create technical execution roadmaps across engineering teams to tie features and their dependencies to time, and track dependencies across teams.
• Manage and optimize the development and integration efforts specifically for our current hardware platform, ensuring its stability and performance as we scale.
• Manage the progress of the build to meet Program objectives and goals, defining schedules, milestones, and resource allocation for successful execution. Communicate schedules, status, and priorities to all levels of the organization. 
• Work closely with the Hardware, Software, systems, and operations teams to ensure cross functional deliverables are delivered on time and on quality
• Prioritize and manage issues, risks, and dependencies and resolve any barriers to moving programs forward. 
• Support and guide decision making by clearly communicating risks and  tradeoffs to stakeholders. 
• Develop tools and processes to improve manufacturing productivity.
• Maintain a strong technical understanding of our autonomous vehicle platforms, hardware lifecycle, safety clearance process, and test operations.

Qualifications:

• 5+ years of experience of Technical Program Management experience
• Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering, Engineering, or a similar technical field.
• Experience managing fast paced initiatives, often with multiple stakeholders, complex schedules, and priority calls that need to be made.
• Strong bias for action 
• Experience in the automotive or trucking industry with bonus points for Hardware Programs on autonomous vehicles.
• Experience in a startup environment, managing hardware projects towards manufacturing at scale.
• Expertise in project management tools such as Linear, JIRA, Smartsheet or LucidChart.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills. You know how to facilitate tradeoffs between engineering and product requirements, but always maintain high safety standards.
• Passion. You are passionate about autonomous vehicles and their potential impact on humanity.

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

Explore around this job

Field: Engineering, Construction and Energy Sub-niche: Manufacturing and hardware engineering All jobs at Kodiak Jobs in California Jobs in Mountain View, CA California state guide

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About the role

This is a — role in the Engineering, Construction and Energy field (Manufacturing and hardware engineering) at Kodiak.

We could not match this job title to one occupation in the official wage statistics, so no pay estimate is shown. Pay is not in the source listing; ask the employer for the range and compare in the 240 job niches.

How to prepare and behave

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• Read the whole description and match your examples to its requirements; use the same words the posting uses where they are true for you.
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The city

Mountain View, CA is not one of the cities with its own page in our guides, so here is the state: California.

The state economy in brief

California is in the West region (Pacific division) and has 39,287,376 residents (the 1st largest of the 50 states and DC by population), with a median age of 37.9. Its economy produced about $4,438,822 million in the latest four quarters (BEA), 1st among states and DC, equal to $112,983 per resident.

Jobs and the labour market

The unemployment rate was 5.1% in 2026M09, which is 49th lowest of 51 (1st is the lowest). Employers had job openings equal to 3.6% of employment, 37th highest of 51, a measure of how hard it is to hire. The median wage across all occupations is $58,240 a year ($28.00 an hour), 14% above the national median ($58,240 against $50,980).

What people do and what it pays

The occupations with the most jobs in California are Home Health and Personal Care Aides (970,150 jobs, median $34,320); Fast Food and Counter Workers (449,840 jobs, median $42,280); Retail Salespersons (376,460 jobs, median $38,440); Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand (355,500 jobs, median $44,710); Registered Nurses (338,940 jobs, median $140,270). Among occupations with at least 2,000 jobs, the best paid are Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers (median $353,900); Psychiatrists (median $353,500); General Internal Medicine Physicians (median $313,890). Compared with the nation, the state is most specialised in farming, fishing, and forestry (4.1 times the national share of workers) and healthcare support (1.5 times the national share of workers).

Cost of living, taxes and workplace rules

Prices are above the national average in California: the regional price parity is 110.7 against 100 for the whole country (51st lowest of 51). Median gross rent is $2,036 a month and the median household income $99,122, so a year of rent equals 24.6% of income; the median home value is $734,700. The state minimum wage is $16.90 (the higher of state and federal rates applies to most workers). State income tax on wages: Graduated, top rate 13.30%. It is not a right-to-work state, so union contracts can require fees from covered workers. It runs a state paid family and medical leave programme.

People and commuting

27.0% of residents were born abroad and 37.1% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Among workers, 65.7% drive alone, 2.9% use public transit and 17.2% work from home; 19.4% commute 45 minutes or more.

State guide: California →

Where to live

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Career paths

We could not match this title to one occupation, so here are the other sub-niches in Engineering, Construction and Energy, where your skills may carry over:

Construction and field engineering (458) Energy and utilities (623)

Distances

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The employer

Kodiak is the employer in this listing. See all its open jobs here →

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Other open jobs at Kodiak

Similar jobs

Same sub-niche: Manufacturing and hardware engineering

More jobs in Mountain View, CA

All Manufacturing and hardware engineering jobs → · All Engineering, Construction and Energy sub-niches →

FAQ

What is the Hardware Technical Program Manager job at Kodiak?

A private-sector role in engineering, construction and energy (manufacturing and hardware engineering) listed 41 days ago. The full description is on this page and on the employer's page.

Where is this job?

Mountain View, CA.

How do I apply?

Use the "View this job and apply on the employer's page" button. AtiveSite does not receive applications.

How much does it pay?

The listing does not publish pay, and we could not match the title to one official occupation.

What is the cost of living there?

See the state or country guide for rent, income and taxes.

How old is this listing?

It was posted on 2026-09-29 (41 days ago). Jobs older than 90 days are not shown.

Are there similar jobs?

Yes: browse manufacturing and hardware engineering jobs in California.

Sources and terms

• Job data: Kodiak careers page public feed (listing dated 2026-09-29). The job disappears from this site when it disappears from the source.
• Wages and projections: BLS OEWS (May 2025) and Employment Projections 2025–35.
• City and county figures: Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024, BEA, BLS QCEW and LAUS, NASA POWER climatology; distances from Census Gazetteer coordinates.

AtiveSite is not affiliated with or endorsed by the employer or any government agency, and does not process applications. Verify every detail with the employer before acting.

Sources

• BLS OEWS (wages and employment by occupation, May 2025)
• BLS Employment Projections 2025–35
• BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics
• BLS JOLTS
• BLS State and Metro Area Employment
• Census Bureau American Community Survey (via Census Reporter)
• BEA GDP by state and Regional Price Parities
• IRS 2026 tax adjustments
• U.S. Department of Labor, minimum wage by state
• Tax Foundation state income tax rates 2026
• USAJOBS
• USCIS
• U.S. Department of State, visas
• NASA POWER climatology
• GeoNames / Census Gazetteer (coordinates)