Kodiak · 21 hours ago
Defense Technical Program Manager
San Francisco, CA
Full-time
Onsite
Mid Level
$175K/yr - $245K/yr
3+ years expKodiak Robotics, Inc. is a leader in autonomous ground transportation, focusing on developing AI-powered technology for commercial trucking and defense applications. They are seeking a Defense Technical Program Manager to lead technical programs for defense and government customers, ensuring delivery with high rigor and accountability while maintaining startup speed.
Autonomous VehiclesLogisticsRoboticsSoftwareTransportation
No H1B
U.S. Citizen Only
Responsibilities
Own end-to-end execution of defense-focused technical programs, from requirements definition through delivery, test, and customer acceptance
Partner closely with engineering teams to plan, build, integrate, and validate autonomy and platform capabilities for defense use cases
Collaborate with product, operations, and leadership to translate customer, mission, and contractual requirements into clear technical scope and execution plans
Lead cross-team technical planning, ensuring requirements are traceable, dependencies are understood, and delivery plans are realistic and defensible
Work with product managers to manage scope, tradeoffs, and change control while maintaining delivery commitments
Build and maintain integrated program roadmaps that align features, milestones, reviews, and dependencies to schedules
Establish and manage program operating rhythms (milestone reviews, risk reviews, readiness checkpoints) appropriate for government-facing programs
Identify, track, and mitigate technical, schedule, and integration risks; escalate issues with clear options and recommendations
Drive closure of top program risks and quality issues, including prioritization of critical defects and system-level performance gaps
Communicate program status, risks, and decisions clearly to internal leadership and, when appropriate, external partners or customers
Support technical decision-making by articulating constraints, assumptions, and downstream impacts
Improve tools, processes, and documentation practices to support repeatable, auditable execution in defense contexts
Qualification
Required
3+ years of experience in technical or program management supporting autonomy, robotics, aerospace, defense, or other complex safety-critical systems
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical discipline
Experience managing programs with external customers, contractual milestones, or government-style delivery expectations
Strong understanding of software and systems development lifecycles, including integration, verification, and validation
Demonstrated ability to operate in environments requiring high rigor, documentation, and accountability
Excellent communication skills, with the ability to align engineering, product, and leadership while maintaining safety and quality standards
Interest in defense or government-adjacent applications of autonomous systems
Preferred
Nice to have experience working with government customers, primes, or defense contractors
Benefits
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.)
Company
Kodiak
Endlessly adaptable. Always reliable. Through the endless demands of a world in constant motion, Kodiak helps you get the job done.
201-500 employees
Funding
Current Stage
Public CompanyTotal Funding
$494.9MKey Investors
Horizon Technology FinanceAliya Capital PartnersU.S. Department of Defense
2025-12-31Post Ipo Debt· $30M
2025-09-25Post Ipo Equity· $145M
2025-09-25IPO
Leadership Team
Don Burnette
Founder & CEO
Andreas Wendel
Chief Technology Officer
Recent News
2026-01-07
Company data provided by crunchbase