Head Manufacturing

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, 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

As Head of Manufacturing at Gatik, you will lead the strategy and execution for scaling production of our fully autonomous freight vehicles into high-volume manufacturing. This role owns end-to-end vehicle manufacturing operations — including production ramp and optimization, quality systems, supply chain execution, and field retrofit programs — ensuring world-class reliability, safety, and operational performance across our commercial fleet.

You will build and lead a high-performing team of engineers and technicians while partnering closely with internal hardware and fleet operations teams, as well as external contract manufacturing partners, to implement repeatable, cost-efficient, and scalable production processes for a safety-critical platform already deployed in active commercial operations.

The ideal candidate brings deep experience in automotive manufacturing, hardware production scaling, quality systems, and contract manufacturing operations within complex vehicle or robotics platforms.

This role requires working onsite five days a week from our Santa Clara, CA headquarters.

What you'll do

• Lead vehicle manufacturing operations across production ramp and high-volume execution for Gatik’s autonomous freight fleet.
• Own relationships with external contract manufacturing partners, driving quality, throughput, cost optimization, and schedule performance.
• Own factory floor planning, line layout, and production process optimization to ensure efficient throughput, space utilization, and overall manufacturing flow.
• Develop and execute long-term manufacturing and quality strategies, establishing scalable production systems aligned with regulatory and safety standards.
• Lead field retrofit and upgrade programs for vehicles already in operation, coordinating service, engineering, and manufacturing teams.
• Support critical service & maintenance escalations, ensuring rapid response for complex hardware repairs or recalls.
• Define and enforce build documentation, manufacturing procedures, and quality processes using automotive industry best practices.
• Establish best-in-class standards for the installation, integration, and verification of automotive electronics, harnessing, compute platforms, sensors, and electrical subsystems.
• Partner cross-functionally with Autonomy Engineering, Hardware Engineering, Programs, Fleet Operations, Supply Chain, and Safety to bring vehicles from design into reliable production.
• Drive continuous improvement across cost, yield, cycle time, reliability, and field performance metrics.

What we’re looking for

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Mechanical, Electrical, Robotics, or a closely related discipline.
• 10+ years of progressive manufacturing experience, with demonstrated leadership in scaling vehicle or complex hardware production environments.
• Proven leadership experience building and running manufacturing organizations within automotive, EV, AV, robotics, or complex hardware platforms.
• Demonstrated success developing and executing manufacturing and quality strategies that enable scale and operational reliability.
• Deep experience managing contract manufacturing partners and multi-vendor production networks.
• Hands-on background with vehicle electronics integration, harnessing, sensor mounting, and subsystem verification.
• Strong track record leading Quality teams and establishing robust quality management systems.
• Ability to drive cost improvement, efficiency gains, and production scalability.
• Solid project leadership experience managing builds, retrofits, NPI efforts, and manufacturing ramp programs.
• Experience operating at a senior strategic level while remaining hands-on in execution.
• Strong technical understanding of:
  • Automotive manufacturing processes
  • Electrical/compute hardware integration
  • Vehicle assembly and verification procedures
  • Safety-critical production environments

Salary Range - $200,000- $270,000

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.