Vice President of Commercialization

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. This is a leadership role at the heart of Kodiak’s growth story. As the Vice President of Commercialization, you will be the architect and driver of our commercial engine. This role moves beyond transactional sales; it is about building the commercial foundation for a new industry by forging deep, long-lasting partnerships built on trust and a shared vision for the future of logistics. You will be the crucial link between our customers, our product, and our operations, ensuring that Kodiak not only delivers on its promises but also builds a sustainable, scalable, and profitable business alongside our partners. In this role, you will: Go-to-Market Strategy & Execution: Develop, own, and execute Kodiak’s comprehensive go-to-market strategy, including market segmentation, customer profiling incl customer value discovery, and identification of new business opportunities and use cases Define and track key commercial KPIs, providing regular performance reports to the COO and the rest of the leadership team. Continuously analyze the competitive landscape and market dynamics to ensure Kodiak maintains a strategic advantage. Business Development: Lead the entire business development lifecycle, from identifying and qualifying leads to negotiating complex, multi-faceted contracts and closing cornerstone deals with fleet customers Cultivate and champion deep, long-lasting relationships with our customers, establishing a foundation of trust and acting as their senior advocate within Kodiak to ensure mutual success. Build and nurture a robust pipeline of commercial opportunities to meet and exceed revenue and deployment targets. Structure and negotiate first-of-their-kind partnerships that are critical to scaling our RoboTruck deployments and its ecosystem Commercial Operations & Scalability: Define the operational requirements for commercial success, including service level agreements (SLAs), customer support protocols, and performance metrics for our driverless transportation services. Create a seamless feedback loop between customers, our operations and product team to drive efficiency and customer satisfaction. Cross-Functional Product & Engineering Alignment: Work directly with Product and Engineering leadership to discuss, influence, and align the commercial and product roadmaps. Translate customer needs and market feedback into clear insights and collaborate with the Product team to ensure our product development is directly tied to commercial value. Team Leadership: Recruit, mentor, and lead a world-class commercial team capable of executing in a fast-paced, ambiguous, and highly technical environment. Foster a culture of data-driven decision-making, accountability, and relentless execution. What you'll bring: 15+ years of experience in business development, corporate development, or a senior commercial role, with at least 10 years in a leadership position. Proven track record of developing and executing go-to-market strategies for new products or services in a B2B environment. Demonstrated experience leading the full lifecycle of complex, long-cycle enterprise deals from inception to close ($100M+ contract value). Experience working within the logistics, freight, transportation, enterprise SaaS, or deep technology sectors. Exceptional cross-functional le