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The company focuses on autonomous middle-mile logistics using the Gatik Carrier, a Level 4 autonomous technology for freight between pick-up and drop-off locations. Gatik operates in mountain view and other markets, delivering autonomous vehicle solutions for B2B logistics.
Overview
We’re seeking Senior or Staff Engineers to help build the core behavior planning system for autonomous vehicles, enabling safe and intelligent decision-making. The role involves designing behavior tree architectures, developing robust C++ infrastructure, collaborating across autonomy teams, evaluating planner performance, and providing technical leadership within the team.
This role is onsite 5 days a week at our Mountain View, CA office!
What you’ll do
- Design, implement, and maintain the core behavior planning system for autonomous vehicles, enabling intelligent, interpretable, and safe decision-making in complex real-world scenarios.
- Develop and extend behavior tree architectures for hierarchical decision logic, including support for mission planning, tactical maneuvers, and contingency handling.
- Collaborate closely with the motion planning, prediction, and control teams to ensure seamless transitions from high-level decisions to executable trajectories.
- Build and optimize C++-based software infrastructure for behavior planning, including tools for simulation, debugging, visualization, and closed-loop testing.
- Evaluate planner performance in diverse real-world and simulated environments; identify failure modes and develop strategies to improve robustness and generalization.
- Participate in design reviews and system integration across the full autonomy stack.
- Provide technical leadership, mentorship, and architectural guidance for junior team members.
What we’re looking for
- Ph.D. with 3+ years or Master’s with 5+ years of industry experience in robotics, autonomous systems, or behavior planning.
- Proven experience in behavior planning, including use of behavior trees, finite state machines, or rule-based planners in autonomous driving or robotics applications.
- Strong proficiency in C++ with a deep understanding of performance, memory management, and software architecture in production systems.
- Solid understanding of motion planning and prediction interfaces, with experience building real-time, safety-critical systems.
- Knowledge of diffusion models and/or Vision-Language-Action (VLA) models is a strong plus.
- Strong debugging, system thinking, and collaborative communication skills.
Salary Range - $180,000- $260,000
About Gatik
Founded in 2017 by experts in autonomous vehicle technology, Gatik has rapidly expanded its presence in multiple markets. As the first and only company to achieve fully driverless middle-mile commercial deliveries, Gatik holds a unique position in the AV industry with a 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 focusing on the middle mile, we have simplified complex AV challenges, enabling us to achieve full autonomy ahead of competitors. We leverage well-defined fixed-route ODDs and a hybrid architecture to hyper-optimize models with less data and maintain explainability for safe 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
- 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 collaboration, respect and agility.
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.
Seniority level
- Mid-Senior level
Employment type
- Full-time
Job function
- Design and Engineering
- Industries: Software Development and Transportation, Logistics, Supply Chain and Storage
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