Technical Program Manager, Operations Readiness

Gatik, the leader in autonomous middle-mile logistics, is revolutionizing the B2B supply chain with its autonomous transportation-as-a-service (ATaaS) solution and prioritizing safe, consistent deliveries while streamlining freight movement by reducing congestion. The company focuses on short-haul, B2B logistics for Fortune 500 retailers and in 2021 launched the world’s first fully driverless commercial transportation service with Walmart. Gatik's Class 3-7 autonomous trucks are commercially deployed across major markets, including Texas, Arkansas, and Ontario, Canada, driving innovation in freight transportation.

The company's proprietary Level 4 autonomous technology, Gatik Carrier™, is custom-built to transport freight safely and efficiently between pick-up and drop-off locations on the middle mile. With robust capabilities in both highway and urban environments, Gatik Carrier™ serves as an all-encompassing solution that integrates advanced software and hardware powering the fleet, facilitating effortless integration into customers' logistics operations.

About the Role

Gatik is looking for an operational and solution-oriented Technical Program Manager who will focus on Operations Readiness to ensure our commercial operations seamlessly adapt to engineering and technology changes. In this role, you will oversee operational impact evaluations, process change management, and readiness preparation for all incoming hardware, software, map, and posture modifications originated by engineering. Reporting to the Director of Program Management, you will partner closely with Operations, Autonomous Vehicle Operations (AVO), Technical Operations, and Engineering teams. You will be instrumental in maintaining operational safety and business continuity while driving smooth scaling of autonomous commercial routes. 
This role is hybrid in our Santa Clara, CA office.

What You'll Do

• Serve as the primary bridge between Engineering and Commercial Operations for all engineering-driven technology and product changes.
• Ask probing, structured questions across technical stakeholders to thoroughly evaluate how new hardware, software, map, or posture changes impact daily operations.
• Map out operational touchpoints and build end-to-end readiness plans, training materials, and updated operational workflows prior to deployment.
• Coordinate cross-functional alignment between Ops leadership, AVO drivers, field safety, and engineering to ensure field teams are fully qualified for incoming updates.
• Track operational rollout milestones, manage operational risks, and provide post-deployment feedback loops to engineering.

What We're Looking For

• 3–5+ years of experience in operations readiness, product feature rollouts, program management, or operational training in a scaled technology/logistics company.
• Background in AV/robotics, mobility, logistics, or hardware-enabled service platforms 
• Superior cross-functional communication and questioning skills, with an ability to translate technical engineering changes into practical operational procedures.
• Strong organizational skills and capability to manage complex operational change management workflows.
• Strong preference for candidates based in the Bay Area with willingness to work closely with local test/operations teams onsite.

Salary range: $170,000-220,000

More about Gatik

Founded in 2017 by experts in autonomous vehicle technology, Gatik has rapidly expanded its presence to Mountain View, Dallas-Fort Worth, Arkansas, and Toronto. As the first and only company to achieve fully driverless middle-mile commercial deliveries, Gatik holds a unique and defensible position in the AV industry, with a clear trajectory toward sustainable growth and profitability.

We have delivered complete, proprietary AV technology - an integration of software and hardware - to enable earlier successes for our clients in constrained Level 4 autonomy.  By choosing the middle mile – with defined point-to-point delivery, we have simplified some of the more complex AV challenges, enabling us to achieve full autonomy ahead of competitors. Given extensive knowledge of Gatik’s well-defined, fixed route ODDs and hybrid architecture, we are able to hyper-optimize our models with exponentially less data, establish gate-keeping mechanisms to maintain explainability, and ensure continued safety of the system for unmanned operations.

Visit us at Gatik for more company information and Careers at Gatik for more open roles.

Notable News

• Forbes: Forget robotaxis. Upstart Gatik sees middle-mile deliveries as the path to profitable AVs
• Tech Brew: Gatik AI exec unpacks the regulations that could shape the AV industry
• Business Wire: Gatik Paves the Way for Safe Driverless Operations (‘Freight-Only’) at Scale with Industry-First Third-Party Safety Assessment Framework
• Auto Futures: Autonomous Trucking Group Gatik Secures Investment From NIPPON EXPRESS HOLDINGS
• Automotive News: Gatik foresees hundreds of self-driving trucks on road soon, and that's just the beginning
• Forbes: Isuzu And Gatik Go All In To Scale Up Driverless Freight Services
• Bloomberg: Autonomous Vehicle Startup Takes Off by Picking Off Easier Routes
• Reuters: Driverless vehicles on limited routes bump along despite US robotaxi scrutiny

Taking Care of Our Team

At Gatik, we connect people of extraordinary talent and experience to an opportunity to create a more resilient supply chain and contribute to our environment’s sustainability. We are diverse in our backgrounds and perspectives yet united by a bold vision and shared commitment to our values. Our culture emphasizes the importance of collaboration, respect and agility.

We at Gatik strive to create a diverse and inclusive environment where everyone feels they have opportunities to succeed and grow because we know that together we can do great things. We are committed to an inclusive and diverse team. We do not discriminate based on race, color, ethnicity, ancestry, national origin, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, marital status or any legally protected status.