Knightscope · 11 hours ago
Vehicle Engineering Manager – K7 Autonomous Security Robot
Sunnyvale, CA
Full-time
Onsite
Senior Level, Lead/Staff
$185K/yr - $250K/yr
10+ years expKnightscope is building an Autonomous Security Force to make America the safest country in the world. The Vehicle Engineering Manager will be the vehicle-level technical owner of the K7 Autonomous Security Robot, responsible for leading cross-functional execution, driving trade-off decisions, and delivering a production-ready vehicle.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)HardwarePredictive AnalyticsRoboticsSecurity
Responsibilities
Own the K7 vehicle system from architecture through production release
Establish, maintain, and rebalance vehicle targets (BOM cost, weight, performance, durability, manufacturability, serviceability, timing)
Maintain the Program Description Book (PDB) as the authoritative definition of vehicle content
Lead vehicle-level technical reviews and program milestones
Drive vehicle trade studies across cost, weight, timing, function, quality, and investment
Make disciplined decisions when targets conflict — and clearly communicate rationale
Continuously rebalance the vehicle as supplier realities, test data, and schedule constraints emerge
Coordinate mechanical, electrical, autonomy, software, manufacturing, supply chain, and quality teams
Ensure subsystem designs integrate cleanly at the vehicle level, not just on paper
Serve as the escalation point when integration or priority conflicts arise
Ensure the vehicle architecture supports autonomy sensing, compute, power, and redundancy needs
Oversee integration of EV systems including battery, thermal management, power electronics, and charging
Balance autonomy and sensor requirements against cost, robustness, and serviceability
Lead vehicle engineering decisions appropriate for low-volume production
Work directly with suppliers on cost, timing, technical risk, and manufacturability
Partner with manufacturing to define build strategy, tolerances, and assembly sequencing
Define and oversee vehicle-level test and validation strategy
Ensure prototype and field learnings drive design changes
Deliver a production-ready vehicle with known risks, mitigations, and documented decisions
Qualification
Required
10+ years of vehicle engineering experience at a major automaker or Tier-1 supplier
Prior experience as a Vehicle Engineering Supervisor, Manager, or equivalent vehicle-level role
Proven track record of taking at least one complete vehicle from concept to production and/or been deeply involved in every phase of product development across multiple vehicle programs
Deep understanding of: Vehicle architecture and system integration, Automotive product development processes, Cost, mass, and timing trade-offs
Experience with electric vehicles and low-volume or specialty programs
Willingness to work on-site at Knightscope HQ in Sunnyvale, CA
Preferred
Experience with autonomous or ADAS-heavy vehicles
Hands-on involvement in prototype builds and launches
Background spanning mechanical, electrical, and software integration
Experience stepping into greater responsibility than a traditional OEM role allowed
Benefits
Medical
Dental
Vision
401(k)
Paid time off
Company
Knightscope
Knightscope specializes in developing autonomous security robots.
51-200 employees
H1B Sponsorship
Knightscope has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (3)
2024 (5)
2023 (1)
2022 (3)
2021 (2)
Funding
Current Stage
Public CompanyTotal Funding
$113.77MKey Investors
Silicon Valley BankKonica MinoltaStructure Capital
2025-03-28Post Ipo Equity· $1.7M
2024-11-21Post Ipo Equity· $12.1M
2022-01-27IPO
Leadership Team
William Santana Li
Chairman and CEO
Apoorv Dwivedi
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Recent News
2025-12-17
2025-12-01
Company data provided by crunchbase