Vice President of Product, Kodiak Robotics
$280-350k
+ Equity + Biannual bonuses
Office located in Mountain View, CA
Self-driving technology for long-haul trucks
Be an early applicant
Self-driving technology for long-haul trucks
201-500 employees
Be an early applicant
$280-350k
+ Equity + Biannual bonuses
Office located in Mountain View, CA
201-500 employees
Company mission
Kodiak Robotics' mission is to carry freight forward—so people, partners, and the planet thrive.
Role
Who you are
- This role requires a unique blend of technical depth in autonomous systems, product sense, business acumen, and program execution rigor with a strong understanding of customer-centric product deployment
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Business Administration, or a related field. An MBA is a plus
- 15+ years of experience in product management, with at least 10+ years in a leadership role managing teams
- Proven track record of successfully defining, launching, and scaling complex hardware and software products, preferably in autonomous vehicles, robotics, AI/ML, automotive, or a related high-tech industry
- Deep understanding of the product development lifecycle, from concept to commercialization
- Strong technical background with the ability to engage effectively with engineering teams on complex technical details of autonomous systems, sensors, software, and AI
- Experience with agile development methodologies and program management tools
- Excellent leadership, communication, interpersonal, and presentation skills, with the ability to influence and inspire cross-functional teams and engage with executive leadership
- Strategic thinker with strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities
- Demonstrated ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic, and pre-IPO/newly public company environment
- Experience working with both commercial and government/defense customers is highly desirable
- Understanding of the trucking, logistics, or transportation industry is a significant advantage
- Willingness to travel as needed to engage with customers, partners, and internal teams
What the job involves
- Kodiak Robotics is seeking a highly experienced and strategic Vice President of Product to lead the vision, strategy, execution, and lifecycle of our autonomous trucking solutions for both our commercial and defense-oriented customers
- This is a critical leadership role that will drive the definition and delivery of our product roadmap, ensuring Kodiak remains at the forefront of the autonomous vehicle industry
- You will be responsible for a team of product managers, fostering a culture of innovation and excellence
- Product Vision and Strategy:
- Define and champion a compelling product vision and a multi-year strategic roadmap for Kodiak’s autonomous driving solutions, encompassing both commercial and public sector applications
- Translate the company’s strategic objectives into actionable product plans and priorities
- Articulate and evangelize the product strategy internally and externally to stakeholders, partners, and customers
- Product Lifecycle Management:
- Oversee the entire product lifecycle from ideation, concept definition, and requirements gathering through development, launch, and post-launch performance analysis and iteration
- Work closely with engineering, operations and commercialization teams to ensure successful product development and deployment
- Define and track key product metrics (KPIs) to measure success and drive continuous improvement
- Product Deployment and Execution:
- Drive cross-functional alignment and collaboration across all departments involved in product development and deployment
- Collaborate and guide teams to proactively identify and mitigate risks, resolve roadblocks, and manage dependencies across multiple projects
- Customer and Stakeholder Engagement:
- Act as one of the key voices of the customer within the organization, deeply understanding their needs, pain points, and operational workflows
- Build long-lasting relationships and credibility with internal and external stakeholders and gather and synthesize customer feedback to inform product development and prioritization
- Team Leadership and Development:
- Build, lead, and mentor a high-performing team of product management professionals
- Foster a collaborative, innovative, and results-oriented team culture aligned with Kodiak’s values
- Set clear goals, provide regular feedback, and support the professional growth of team members
- At Kodiak, leadership means to not just be a coach, but also a player, and this role will require the ability and willingness to take own management of parts of the product yourself
Our take
Global supply chains rely on frictionless long-haul trucking freight networks, but the repetitive and stationary nature of the job has resulted in a lack of willing drivers. Whilst this has been partially resolved through the introduction of self-driving trucks, such systems are notoriously difficult to maintain which ultimately leads to significant downtime.
Kodiak Robotics develops self-driving technology for long-haul trucks, providing wing mirrors built with sensors called Kodiak SensorPods. These sensors provide the technology necessary for the trucks to be driven safely and autonomously and have been designed to be replaced or serviced rapidly to minimize downtime.
Whilst the company’s most significant challenge will present itself as other self-driving truck providers, Kodiak Robotics has taken a unique approach by recognizing the high-maintenance nature of existing self-driving systems, innovating upon this through its easily replaceable SensorPods. Through this approach and several successful rounds of funding, the company aims to fill empty truck driving positions with safer AI drivers, whilst ensuring its technology is quick and simple to maintain.
Steph
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
21% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Funding (last 2 of 3 rounds)
Sep 2023
$75m
CONVERTIBLE
Nov 2021
$125m
SERIES B
Total funding: $240m
Company benefits
- Remote-friendly work environment
- 401k
- Generous PTO policy
- Life insurance
- Assortment of medical (PPO/HMO/HDHP), dental, vision, and FSA plans
- Family-friendly company events
- Dog-friendly office
- Employee-driven fitness classes
- Beautiful, renovated facilities in Mountain View, CA and Lancaster, TX
- Free EV charging
- Trivia and board game nights
Company HQ
Mountain View, CA
Leadership
Don Burnette
(CEO)Experience as Co-founder of Otto. Software Technical Lead at Uber from 2016 to 2018.
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