Joblaze summary

In this role, the Technical Lead for Multimodal Transformers at Kodiak Robotics will oversee the architecture and implementation of AI systems that integrate data from various sensors, such as cameras and LiDAR. The position requires deep expertise in transformer architectures and proficiency in Python and PyTorch, along with a strong background in leading technical projects from research to production. This senior role is ideal for candidates with a PhD or extensive industry experience who have a passion for advancing autonomous technology in a collaborative environment.

Joblaze insights

Listed about a month ago — first seen on Joblaze September 3, 2026. Last confirmed on Kodiak Robotics's careers page October 27, 2026.
Salary band is above the typical range for AI/ML roles (median ~$190,000).
Starts above 75% of 36 comparable lead ai/ml roles in United States that list AI/ML we track (median $194,800 across 24 companies). See AI/ML salary trends
AI/ML appears in 68.8% of 96 comparable lead ai/ml roles in United States; PyTorch appears in 2.1% of 96 comparable lead ai/ml roles in United States.

Quick facts

Is the Technical Lead, Multimodal Transformers role remote?: No — this is an on-site role in Mountain View, CA.
What's the salary range?: Kodiak Robotics lists $230,000–$300,000 for this role.
How much experience is required?: 5–8 years of relevant experience for this Technical Lead, Multimodal Transformers role.
Where is the role based?: Kodiak Robotics is hiring for this position in Mountain View, CA.
What's the tech stack?: Joblaze extracted these technologies from the posting: AI/ML, PyTorch, Python, multi-stream, multimodal, transformer architectures.
Does Kodiak Robotics sponsor work visas for this role?: Yes — the posting indicates visa sponsorship is available for the right candidate.
What seniority level is this role?: Kodiak Robotics targets lead candidates for this position.
Is this full-time or contract?: Full-time for this Technical Lead, Multimodal Transformers role at Kodiak Robotics.

From the original posting

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's autonomy stack is built on AI that fuses diverse sensor streams into a unified, actionable understanding of the world. We are developing GigaFusionNet, a large-scale multimodal transformer that learns rich, joint representations across camera, LiDAR, and radar through attention-based fusion. We are looking for a technical leader to own the architecture direction of this effort and grow the engineers building it.

This is a senior individual contributor role with significant scope. You will set technical direction for multimodal fusion at Kodiak, lead the workstream executing against it, and be accountable for the results landing on trucks.

In this role, you will:

Own the architecture roadmap for multimodal transformers that fuse camera, LiDAR, and radar into unified representations
Lead the project end to end: problem framing, experiment design, implementation, and production deployment
Drive research direction on cross-modal attention, token fusion strategies, and efficient multi-stream tokenization, and make the calls on what gets built
Set the technical bar through design reviews, code reviews, and architectural decisions on scalable training pipelines
Mentor junior and mid-level engineers, and raise the level of research execution across the org
Define the pretraining strategy, including self-supervised and contrastive objectives that learn transferable multimodal representations
Partner with perception, planning, and infrastructure leads to align model design with system-level latency and compute budgets

What you’ll bring:

PhD with 5+ years of industry experience, or MS/BS with 8+ years, in AI, Computer Science, or a related field
Track record of leading multi-engineer technical efforts from research through production
Deep expertise in transformer architectures, particularly in multimodal or multi-stream settings
Strong command of cross-attention, token fusion, and modality alignment techniques
Experience mentoring engineers and growing technical talent
Expert proficiency in Python and PyTorch, including large-scale distributed training and mixed-precision optimization
Ability to influence technical direction across teams without formal authority
Passion for building AI that reasons over the full breadth of sensory input to operate safely in the real world

What we offer:

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.)

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

California Pay Range

$230,000—$300,000 USD

Standard company text repeated across Kodiak Robotics's postings is omitted here.

Technical Lead, Multimodal Transformers

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