Back to jobs
New

Operations Safety and Compliance Manager

Lancaster, TX

Kodiak Robotics, Inc. was founded in 2018 and has become a leader in autonomous ground transportation committed to a safer and more efficient future for all. The company has developed an artificial intelligence (AI) powered technology stack purpose-built for commercial trucking and the public sector. The company delivers freight daily for its customers across the southern United States using its autonomous technology. In 2024, Kodiak became the first known company to publicly announce delivering a driverless semi-truck to a customer. Kodiak is also leveraging its commercial self-driving software to develop, test and deploy autonomous capabilities for the U.S. Department of Defense.

As an Operations Safety & Compliance Manager, you will own the execution of safety and regulatory compliance across Kodiak’s operational environments. This role ensures Kodiak can scale commercial and testing operations safely, consistently, and in compliance with regulatory requirements.

This position is embedded within Operations and focused on execution, readiness, and accountability. You will translate established safety strategy, regulatory requirements, and company policy into practical, enforceable operational processes. The role partners closely with Operations leadership, Safety, Legal, People Operations, Fleet, and Training teams, while remaining distinct from Safety Engineering and safety strategy ownership.

If you are an operations-focused leader who thrives on building structure, reducing risk, and enabling teams to execute safely at scale, this role is for you.

In this role, you will:

Operational Safety Execution

  • Own safety execution across Operations, including OSS, drivers, depots, yards, and on-road activities.
  • Ensure operational teams adhere to established safety standards, policies, and approved safety frameworks.
  • Represent Operations in incident reviews, providing operational context and driving corrective actions.
  • Lead operational incident response from an execution perspective, including classification, response coordination, and post-incident follow-up.
  • Identify recurring operational safety risks and partner with Operations leadership to reduce repeat incidents.

Compliance Ownership

  • Own FMCSA and DOT Motor Carrier compliance execution for Kodiak, maintaining audit readiness at all times. This includes IRP, IFTA, HVUT (2290), UCR, MCS-150, and state-specific filings.
  • Own driver compliance programs, including CDL qualifications, driver qualification files, HOS adherence and HOS logfile certification, medical certifications, and Clearinghouse requirements.
  • Own drug and alcohol testing workflows for operational roles, including pre-employment, post-incident, random, and reasonable suspicion testing.
  • Serve as the primary Operations point of contact for regulatory audits, inspections, and compliance inquiries.

Training, SOPs & Readiness

  • Embed safety and compliance requirements into Operations SOPs, QRGs, and training programs.
  • Partner with Training Operations to ensure training reflects real-world operational risks and expectations.
  • Support new sites, customers, and operational expansions with safety and compliance readiness reviews.

Cross-Functional Leadership

  • Leads cross-functional alignment across Operations, Safety, Legal, and People Operations through clear ownership, sound judgment, and operational credibility.
  • Partner with Operations leadership to define and track safety and compliance metrics that support execution and scale.
  • Own operational compliance tooling workflows in partnership with Ops Systems and Fleet teams.

What you'll bring:

Experience:

  • 5+ years of experience in operations, compliance, fleet management, or regulated operational environments.
  • Prior experience owning safety or compliance execution in transportation, logistics, or industrial operations.
  • Experience supporting audits, inspections, or regulatory reviews.

Background:

  • Strong operational mindset with the ability to translate policy into executable processes.
  • Experience working closely with frontline teams, drivers, and operational leaders.
  • Comfortable operating in scaling, fast-changing operational environments.

Industry Knowledge:

  • Working knowledge of FMCSA and DOT regulations applicable to commercial operations.
  • Familiarity with driver compliance, vehicle compliance, and incident response workflows.

Leadership Mindset:

  • Execution-focused leader who drives accountability through clarity and follow-through.
  • Trusted operator who balances safety, compliance, and operational realities.
  • Builds structure and consistency without adding unnecessary friction.

Why Join Kodiak?

At Kodiak, you’ll help ensure operations scale safely and compliantly as autonomous trucking moves into real-world commercial deployment. Your work will directly protect people, enable uptime, and reduce operational risk while supporting Kodiak’s continued growth.

What we offer:

  • Competitive compensation package including equity and biannual bonuses
  • Excellent Medical, Dental, and Vision plans through Kaiser Permanente, Cigna, and Guardian (including a medical plan with infertility benefits)
  • Flexible PTO and generous parental leave policies
  • Facility is located in Lancaster, TX - 3901 Corporate Dr Ste 300
  • 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, One Medical, Gympass, Spring Health
  • Fidelity 401(k)
  • Commuter, FSA, Dependent Care FSA, HSA
  • Various incentive programs (referral bonuses, patent bonuses, etc.)
 
At Kodiak, we strive to build a diverse community working towards our common company goals in a safe and collaborative environment where harassment of any kind is strictly prohibited. Kodiak is committed to equal opportunity employment regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, or veteran status, or any other basis protected by applicable law.
 
In alignment with its business operations, Kodiak adheres to all relevant statutes, regulations, and administrative prerequisites. Accordingly, roles that carry more sensitive requirements may be limited to candidates that can satisfy additional scrutiny and eligibility for such positions may hinge on verification of a candidate’s residence, U.S. person status, and/or citizenship status. Should the position require, and Kodiak determines that a candidate’s residence, U.S. person status, and/or citizenship status necessitate an export license, bar the candidate from the position, or otherwise fall under national security-related restrictions, Kodiak will consider the candidate for alternative positions unaffected by such restrictions, under terms and conditions set forth at Kodiak’s sole discretion, or, as an alternative, opt not to proceed with the candidate’s application. If applicable, Kodiak may provide visa sponsorship for eligible candidates.

 

Create a Job Alert

Interested in building your career at Kodiak? Get future opportunities sent straight to your email.

Apply for this job

*

indicates a required field

Resume/CV*

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Education

Select...
Select...
Select...

U.S. Standard Demographic Questions

We invite applicants to share their demographic background. If you choose to complete this survey, your responses may be used to identify areas of improvement in our hiring process.
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in Kodiak’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

Select...
Select...
Race & Ethnicity Definitions

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability

Form CC-305
Page 1 of 1
OMB Control Number 1250-0005
Expires 04/30/2026

Why are you being asked to complete this form?

We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.

Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp.

How do you know if you have a disability?

A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)
  • Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS
  • Blind or low vision
  • Cancer (past or present)
  • Cardiovascular or heart disease
  • Celiac disease
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
  • Diabetes
  • Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders
  • Epilepsy or other seizure disorder
  • Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome
  • Intellectual or developmental disability
  • Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD
  • Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
  • Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports
  • Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS)
  • Neurodivergence, for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities
  • Partial or complete paralysis (any cause)
  • Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema
  • Short stature (dwarfism)
  • Traumatic brain injury
Select...

PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.