Program Manager, Operations Readiness

Gatik; Phoenix (AZ); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Gatik is seeking a detail-oriented Program Manager, Operations Readiness, to ensure readiness for software releases, hardware updates, platform updates, and process changes across the autonomous fleet.

Reporting to the Director of Central Operations, you will bridge Technical Engineering and Operations, translating tech changes into actionable operational guidance and coordinating with Product, Training, and Safety before launches.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Operations Management, Business, or related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• 5+ years of experience in program management, operations, or launch management.
• Experience managing cross-functional programs with several stakeholders, including technical engineering teams.
• Experience building or running an issue triage, intake, or escalation process.
• Working knowledge of lean principles and process standardization.
• Experience preparing operations teams for product, technology, or process changes.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, including turning technical information into clear operational guidance.
• Experience with program management and issue tracking tools such as Jira, Confluence, Asana, or Smartsheet.
• Experience in autonomous vehicles, trucking, logistics, or fleet operations preferred.
• Lean Six Sigma Yellow or Green Belt, or equivalent lean training preferred.
• Experience supporting software or hardware release cycles in a technology or robotics environment preferred.
• Familiarity with safety-critical operations and change management processes preferred.
• Experience working with training and enablement teams to roll out SOPs and field training preferred.
• PMP, CSM, or similar program management certification preferred.
• Experience in a high-growth or startup environment preferred.

Responsibilities

• Own readiness programs end to end. Plan and run readiness for software releases, hardware improvements, platform updates, process changes, and end-state rollouts, from early scoping through launch and post-launch stabilization.
• Standardize the readiness process. Build and maintain standard work, templates, checklists, and go/no-go gates so every launch follows a consistent, repeatable process.
• Apply lean principles. Use lean tools to make readiness and rollout workflows faster, simpler, and less error-prone.
• Bridge Engineering and Operations. Translate technical changes into operational impact, and bring field realities back into engineering priorities.
• Maintain the operations triage process. Own the triage process for issues from operations to routing and resolution.
• Escalate field feedback. Collect and synthesize feedback from operations teams and influence future releases.
• Partner across functions. Align with Product, Operations, Training, and Safety on scope and owners for each change.
• Drive training and enablement. Ensure documentation, SOP updates, training content, and field communications are delivered before launch.
• Manage risk and safety alignment. Identify risks and ensure mitigations and safety/regulatory requirements are met.
• Coordinate rollouts and close the loop. Plan phased launches and run post-launch retrospectives to improve the process.

Skills

Program management

Cross-functional collaboration

Lean principles

Communication skills

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor's degree

Equivalent practical experience

Tools

Jira

Confluence

Asana

Smartsheet

Job description

Who We Are

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

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

Gatik is looking for a detail-oriented, highly organized Program Manager, Operations Readiness to make sure our operations teams are prepared for every change that reaches the field. In this role, you will manage readiness for software releases, hardware improvements, platform updates, operational process changes, and end-state improvement rollouts, using lean principles and standardized processes. Reporting to the Director of Central Operations, you will act as the primary conduit between Technical Engineering and Operations, and partner closely with Product, Training, and Safety so that every change is enabled, communicated, trained, and validated before launch. You will be instrumental in maintaining safety and operational continuity while driving fast, reliable delivery of improvements across our autonomous fleet.

This role is hybrid, 2 days per week in Santa Clara, Phoenix, Dallas, or Toronto.

What You’ll Do

• Own readiness programs end to end. Plan and run readiness for software releases, hardware improvements, platform updates, process changes, and end-state rollouts, from early scoping through launch and post-launch stabilization.
• Standardize the readiness process. Build and maintain standard work, templates, checklists, and go/no-go gates so every launch follows a consistent, repeatable process.
• Apply lean principles. Use lean tools (value stream mapping, waste elimination, root cause analysis) to make readiness and rollout workflows faster, simpler, and less error-prone.
• Bridge Engineering and Operations. Act as the conduit between Technical Engineering and Operations: translate technical changes into operational impact, and bring field realities back into engineering priorities.
• Maintain the operations triage process. Own the triage process for issues coming out of operations, including intake, prioritization, routing to the right engineering or functional owners, and tracking to resolution.
• Escalate field feedback. Collect and synthesize feedback from operations teams, elevate critical issues quickly and clearly, and make sure feedback shapes future releases and improvements.
• Partner across functions. Work with Product, Operations, Training, and Safety to align on scope, dependencies, timelines, and owners for each change.
• Drive training and enablement. Coordinate with Training to make sure documentation, SOP updates, training content, and field communications are delivered and completed before launch.
• Manage risk and safety alignment. Work with Safety to identify operational risks, confirm mitigations are in place, and make sure changes meet safety and regulatory requirements.
• Coordinate rollouts and close the loop. Plan phased or market-by-market rollouts, serve as the single point of coordination at launch, and run retrospectives to improve the process.

What We’re Looking For

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Operations Management, Business, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• 5+ years of experience in program management, operations, or launch management.
• Experience managing cross-functional programs with several stakeholders, including technical engineering teams.
• Experience building or running an issue triage, intake, or escalation process.
• Working knowledge of lean principles and process standardization.
• Experience preparing operations teams for product, technology, or process changes.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, including turning technical information into clear operational guidance.
• Experience with program management and issue tracking tools such as Jira, Confluence, Asana, or Smartsheet.
• Experience in autonomous vehicles, trucking, logistics, or fleet operations preferred.
• Lean Six Sigma Yellow or Green Belt, or equivalent lean training preferred.
• Experience supporting software or hardware release cycles in a technology or robotics environment preferred.
• Familiarity with safety-critical operations and change management processes preferred.
• Experience working with training and enablement teams to roll out SOPs and field training preferred.
• PMP, CSM, or similar program management certification preferred.
• Experience in a high-growth or startup environment preferred.

Salary Range

$150,000-200,000

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.