Sr. Manager, Market Operations

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

The Sr. Manager, Market Operations is the market end-to-end operational leader responsible for building, operating, and scaling Gatik’s market presence in an assigned region. Reporting directly to the Director, Market Operations, you serve as the primary site lead with overall accountability for local fleet performance, depot and yard logistics, fueling infrastructure / practices, safety compliance, customer SLA delivery, driver management, and third-party vendor operations.
This is a multi-faceted hybrid role bridging hands-on operational leadership with strategic regional growth. You will lead a multidisciplinary site leadership team, managing live commercial autonomous freight routes while operating in a dynamic, tech-forward R&D environment. As Gatik expands its autonomous network across North America, you will refine, test, and execute the local operating playbook—ensuring fleet reliability and uptime, efficiency, uncompromising safety, adherence  and scalable market growth without a linear increase in overhead.

This role is onsite 5 days a week at our Phoenix, AZ office!

What you'll do

• Depot, Freight & Yard Logistics: Oversee daily facility operations, layout optimization, yard traffic, and infrastructure safety. Direct inbound/outbound staging, route alignment, and schedules to meet customer SLAs. Manage fueling routines, schedules, and protocols while continuously optimizing vehicle turnaround times to minimize yard dwell time and maximize active route hours.
• Fleet Maintenance & R&D Integration: Partner with the local Fleet Manager to oversee medium- and heavy-duty vehicle maintenance, major repairs, lifecycle management, and vendor relationships. Collaborate closely with AV Engineering, Hardware, and Product teams on field testing, sensor calibrations, software/hardware upgrades, and diagnostic troubleshooting. Act as the primary bridge between local technicians and central engineering to expedite return-to-service cycles.
• Driver Workforce & Shift Leadership: Lead the recruitment, onboarding, scheduling, and performance management of safety drivers, field operators, and yard technicians. Drive shift excellence through clear handover protocols, labor/overtime management, and high accountability across all shifts. Ensure ongoing driver recertification on new AV software releases, emergency protocols, and local route hazards.
• Safety, Compliance & Risk Management: Champion a safety-first culture by enforcing strict adherence to Gatik’s Safety Management System (SMS) and PPE policies. Ensure total compliance with DOT, FMCSA, IFTA, vehicle registrations, DVIRs, HOS, and local fuel storage/permitting regulations. Direct immediate incident response, vehicle recovery operations, root-cause investigations, and regulatory reporting in coordination with Safety and Compliance leadership.
• Market Expansion & Scalable Growth: Execute Gatik’s Market Launch Playbook to set up new depots, customer hubs, and expansion routes using Leader Standard Work (LSW). Support commercial growth by evaluating route feasibility and building strong relationships with local municipal authorities, landlords, and regional partners. Continuously identify operational bottlenecks to drive efficiency and scale route volume sustainably without proportional headcount or cost growth.

What we're looking for

• 6–10+ years of operational leadership in freight logistics, depot operations, commercial fleet management, autonomous transportation, or high-velocity logistics hubs.
• Proven track record directly managing multi-disciplinary teams (fleet, safety, customer service, field technicians, shift supervisors).
• Deep expertise in middle-mile/last-mile freight flows, yard management systems, dock staging, and fleet fueling infrastructure.
• Solid mechanical understanding of commercial vehicle systems (brakes, powertrains, electrical systems, PM) with comfort operating in an R&D/technology environment.
• Hands-on experience negotiating vendor SLAs, managing regional maintenance providers, and holding suppliers accountable.
• Hands-on operational grit with a willingness to resolve real-time field disruptions on-site at local depots.
• Strong business acumen with the ability to link daily depot execution to commercial growth, vendor costs, and market profitability.
• Data-driven mindset skilled at using KPIs and diagnostic metrics to identify root causes and implement lasting fixes.
• Excellent communication and leadership presence to represent Gatik to enterprise clients, municipal officials, and local workforces.

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.