Robotics Engineer

Who We Are

Gatik is in the business of autonomous freight, and that business is already on the road.

Every day, Gatik’s autonomous trucks move freight for Fortune 50 retailers, grocers and consumer brands across Texas, Arizona, Arkansas and Canada, connecting distribution centers and stores and keeping goods moving. At the heart of it all is the Gatik Driver™, our proprietary Level 4 autonomous driving system, powered by scalable, interpretable AI and engineered to deliver safe, reliable, high-frequency freight operations.

Gatik’s momentum is real. With more than $600 million in contracted revenue and $200 million raised in our August 2026 Series D round, Gatik has taken one of the toughest challenges in autonomous technology and turned it into a proven commercial business.

And the market is paying attention. In 2026, Gatik earned a place on Forbes' America's Best Startup Employers list, Fast Company's World's Most Innovative Companies list and the Inc. 5000 list of America's fastest-growing private companies. The Gatik Driver™ won an Edison Award for Advancements in Autonomous Driving, and Inc. named our Co-founder and Chief Engineer, Apeksha Kumavat, to its Female Founders 500 list.

There's a lot more road ahead, and some of the brightest, most driven minds in autonomous technology are building the next chapter at Gatik. We're taking on hard engineering problems, pushing the limits of what's possible and building on a commercial foundation that's already proven itself in the real world with some of the biggest companies in the world, like PepsiCo and Loblaw. If you're ambitious, love solving problems that matter and want to see your work make a real difference, you'll find plenty to get excited about here.

About the role

We are looking for a Robotics Engineer to join our self-driving technology team. In this role, you will be responsible for validating the performance, reliability, and safety of autonomous driving systems through structured testing on both simulated environments and real vehicles. You will work closely with perception, planning, and controls engineers to design test cases, log and analyze data, and identify failure modes before they reach production.

If you are passionate about robotics, automobiles, and building systems that operate safely in the real world, we'd love to hear from you.

What you'll do

• Design, execute, and document test plans for autonomous driving features, including perception, localization, path planning, and vehicle control.
• Develop and maintain test scripts and automation tools using Python and C++ on Linux-based platforms.
• Work with ROS1 and ROS2 to launch nodes, record/replay rosbags, debug topic streams, and integrate test harnesses.
• Interface with vehicle electronics over the CAN bus — sending, receiving, and decoding signals using tools such as CANalyzer, SocketCAN, or equivalent.
• Reproduce, triage, and log defects with detailed steps, sensor data, and rosbag artifacts; collaborate with the development team to drive issues to closure.
• Calibrate and verify sensor stacks (LiDAR, camera, radar, IMU, GNSS) and validate sensor fusion outputs.
• Participate in track testing, closed-course evaluations, and structured public-road drives in accordance with safety protocols.
• Contribute to test infrastructure: data pipelines, regression suites, KPIs, and dashboards that measure autonomy performance over time.
• Maintain accurate, audit-ready test documentation and reports.

What we're looking for

• Master's degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Electronics, Mechatronics, Robotics, Computer Science, or a related engineering discipline.
• Hands-on experience with Linux (Ubuntu) — comfortable with the shell, build systems, networking, and debugging tools.
• Working knowledge of ROS1 and ROS2 — nodes, topics, services, launch files, rosbag, tf, and basic package development.
• Practical exposure to the CAN protocol, including message decoding using DBC files and use of CAN tools/hardware (Vector, Kvaser, or similar).
• Solid foundation in automobile systems — powertrain, steering, braking, vehicle dynamics.
• Understanding of robotics fundamentals — coordinate frames, transforms, sensors, actuators, and basic state estimation.
• Basic Python scripting for automation, log parsing, and data analysis.
• Reading-level proficiency in C++, with the ability to navigate, debug, and make small modifications to existing codebases.
• Strong analytical mindset with attention to detail and a structured approach to problem-solving.
• Good written and verbal communication skills for clear test reporting.

Bonus Points

• Familiarity with version control (Git), CI/CD pipelines, and issue trackers (Jira).
• Exposure to functional safety standards (ISO 26262) or SOTIF (ISO 21448).
• Experience working with sensor calibration tools and rosbag analysis at scale.
• A valid driver's license and willingness to participate in on-road test drives.

More about Gatik

Founded in 2017, Gatik has grown into a commercial force in autonomous freight, operating trucks daily in live customer networks across the United States and Canada. We're headquartered in Santa Clara, California, but our impact is felt on the roads and in the supply chains that keep essential goods moving for some of the biggest companies in North America.

Our trucks do some of the most demanding work in freight, running high-frequency, time-sensitive routes between distribution centers and stores, where reliability matters every single day. For our customers, that means more capacity, better service and products arriving where they need to be, when they need to be there.

Behind it all is AI-first technology built from the ground up for autonomous trucking, capable of navigating highways and surface streets and tackling the complexity of real-world logistics at scale.

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

Notable News

For the latest company news, visit the Gatik newsroom.

Recent media coverage

• TechCrunch: Self-driving truck startup Gatik raises $200M following PepsiCo deal
• Reuters: Gatik secures $200 million in funding as autonomous freight market accelerates
• Bloomberg: Driverless Trucks Can Save Lives on America's Roads
• PepsiCo website: PepsiCo and Gatik announce multi-year agreement to deploy autonomous freight in North America
• Wall Street Journal: Driverless Trucks Are Here - and They’re Delivering Bags of Doritos
• CBS News: Pepsi deploys self-driving delivery trucks
• Bloomberg: Autonomous Trucking Firm Gatik Inks Contracts Worth $600 Million
• Forbes: Hundreds’ Of Gatik Robot Delivery Trucks Headed For U.S. Roads
• CNBC-TV18: No more test runs: Gatik says driverless trucks are now a real, money-making business
• Forbes: Gatik And Loblaw Announce Largest Commercial Deployment Of AV Trucks

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.

E-Verify Notice: By submitting your application, you acknowledge that Gatik participates in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security E-Verify program.