We describe an approach for empirical modeling of steel phase kinetics based on symbolic regression and genetic programming. The algorithm takes processed data gathered from dilatometer measurements and produces a system of differential equations that models the phase kinetics. Our initial results demonstrate that the proposed approach allows to identify compact differential equations that fit the data. The model predicts ferrite, pearlite and bainite formation for a single steel type. Martensite is not yet included in the model. Future work shall incorporate martensite and generalize to multiple steel types with different chemical compositions.