Safety Lead

Gatik; Santa Clara (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Gatik is seeking a Head of Systems and Safety Engineering in Santa Clara, CA to own the safety architecture and risk management for its AV platform. You will build and lead a high-performing team, drive safety governance with clients, OEMs, and Tier 1 suppliers, and oversee safety verification across hardware, compute, and software stacks.

You will define system-level safety requirements, lead hazard analyses, and ensure regulatory compliance with NHTSA/CA DMV and standards such as ISO 26262,

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Systems Engineering, Robotics, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or related field.
• 10+ years of systems safety engineering experience in safety-critical domains (AV/automotive/aerospace).
• 4+ years of direct engineering management experience leading teams and budgets.

Responsibilities

• Lead safety architecture, risk management, and system safety lifecycle for AV platform.
• Own safety program governance across clients, OEMs, and suppliers.
• Define safety requirements, hazard mitigations, and fail-operational paths.
• Oversee risk analyses (HARA, FMEA, FTA, STPA) and traceability matrices.
• Coordinate with regulatory bodies (NHTSA, CA DMV, DOT) and auditors.
• Interface with OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers to align safety frameworks.
• Engage with customers to explain safety concepts and mitigations.
• Lead safety verification through HIL testing, simulations, and validation.

Skills

Team Leadership

Safety Case Leadership

AI/ML Safety

Systems Safety Architecture

Risk Management

Regulatory Engagement

OEM & Tier 1 Collaboration

Customer Safety Liaison

HIL Testing & Validation

V&V Integration

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Systems Engineering/Robotics/Electrical Engineering/CS

Tools

Jama

Polarion

DOORS

Job description

Gatik, the leader in autonomous middle-mile logistics, is revolutionizing the B2B supply chain with its autonomous transportation-as-a-service (ATaaS) solution and prioritizing safe, consistent deliveries while streamlining freight movement by reducing congestion. The company focuses on short-haul, B2B logistics for Fortune 500 retailers and in 2021 launched the world’s first fully driverless commercial transportation service with Walmart. Gatik's Class 3-7 autonomous trucks are commercially deployed across major markets, including Texas, Arkansas, and Ontario, Canada, driving innovation in freight transportation.

The company's proprietary Level 4 autonomous technology, Gatik Carrier™, is custom-built to transport freight safely and efficiently between pick-up and drop-off locations on the middle mile. With robust capabilities in both highway and urban environments, Gatik Carrier™ serves as an all-encompassing solution that integrates advanced software and hardware powering the fleet, facilitating effortless integration into customers' logistics operations.

About the role

As the Head of Systems and Safety Engineering, you will own the overarching safety architecture, risk management strategy, and system safety engineering life cycle for our autonomous vehicle (AV) platform. You will build and lead a high-performing engineering team while managing technical integration, customer safety alignment, and safety governance across clients, internal engineering divisions, vehicle OEMs, and Tier 1 suppliers.

This role is onsite 5 days a week at our Santa Clara, CA office!

What you'll do

• Team Leadership & Program Management: Recruit, mentor, and manage a multidisciplinary systems and safety engineering team. Oversee daily team execution, task prioritization, resource allocation across engineering sprints, performance reviews, and team development.
• Safety Case Leadership: Author, evolve, and defend the end-to-end safety case framework (leveraging UL 4600, ISO 26262, and ISO 21448 / SOTIF) to support commercial deployment, public road operations, and regulatory submissions.
• AI & Machine Learning Safety Strategy: Define and implement safety and verification methodologies tailored for advanced AI and ML-based autonomy models (e.g., perception, prediction, planning) using ISO/PAS 8800. Establish quantitative metrics for model robustness, dataset coverage, and edge-case validation.
• Systems Safety Architecture & Requirements: Define system-level safety requirements, hazard mitigations, functional safety concepts, and fail-operational/degradation paths across hardware, compute, and software stacks.
• Comprehensive Risk Management: Oversee formal risk identification methodologies—including Hazard Analysis and Risk Assessment (HARA), FMEA, FTA, and System-Theoretic Process Analysis (STPA)—ensuring risk traceability matrices remain updated throughout product lifecycles.
• Safety Governance & Operational Oversight: Direct daily safety program operations, chair safety review boards, establish incident response protocols, define system release gate criteria, and continuously monitor operational safety performance metrics.
• Engineering & V&V Integration: Partner with hardware, software, and V&V teams to validate safety arguments through hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing, closed-course testing, and high-fidelity simulation.
• Regulatory & External Representation: Lead technical engagement with regulatory agencies (NHTSA, California DMV, DOT), standard committees, and third-party auditors.
• OEM & Tier 1 Supplier Collaboration: Serve as the primary technical authority interfacing with OEM partners and Tier 1 suppliers. Establish joint safety frameworks, define Development Interface Agreements (DIAs), and ensure external supplier components align with system-level functional safety requirements.
• Customer Safety Liaison & Engagement: Serve as the primary safety interface with enterprise customers and commercial partners. Communicate core safety concepts, present operational safety programs, align joint risk-mitigation protocols, and build client confidence in platform safety performance.

What we're looking for

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Systems Engineering, Robotics, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field.
• 10+ years of experience in systems safety engineering for safety-critical domains (autonomous vehicles, automotive, or aerospace).
• 4+ years of direct engineering management experience leading teams, managing budget/resources, and directing day-to-day engineering operations.
• Proven experience acting as a primary interface to customers or external stakeholders, translating complex safety concepts, risk frameworks, and safety programs into clear executive communications.
• Proven ability to operate, adapt, and drive technical outcomes in a fast-paced frontier technology environment.
• Demonstrated track record building, delivering, and defending an end-to-end safety case for deployed autonomous or robotic systems.
• Deep mastery of functional safety standards: ISO 26262, ISO 21448 (SOTIF), and UL 4600.
• Practical experience applying AI/ML safety frameworks (specifically ISO/PAS 8800) to probabilistic systems.
• Hands-on experience leading hazard analysis techniques (HARA, FMEA, FTA, STPA).
• Proven experience establishing technical safety interfaces with automotive OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers, including hands-on experience structuring DIAs.

Preferred Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Systems Engineering, Computer Science, Robotics, or Machine Learning.
• Experience managing joint-development automotive programs across multi-party supply chains (OEM, Tier 1, Tier 2) and strategic client fleets.
• Expertise assessing deep neural network (DNN) interpretability, dataset quality, and non-deterministic software verification in safety-critical deployments.
• Direct experience representing safety architectures to state/federal regulatory bodies or external certification entities.
• Proficiency with Goal Structuring Notation (GSN) and enterprise systems management tooling (e.g., Jama, Polarion, DOORS).

Salary Range - $180,000- $260,000

More about Gatik

Founded in 2017 by experts in autonomous vehicle technology, Gatik has rapidly expanded its presence to Mountain View, Dallas-Fort Worth, Arkansas, and Toronto. As the first and only company to achieve fully driverless middle-mile commercial deliveries, Gatik holds a unique and defensible position in the AV industry, with a clear 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 choosing the middle mile – with defined point-to-point delivery, we have simplified some of the more complex AV challenges, enabling us to achieve full autonomy ahead of competitors. Given extensive knowledge of Gatik’s well-defined, fixed route ODDs and hybrid architecture, we are able to hyper-optimize our models with exponentially less data, establish gate-keeping mechanisms to maintain explainability, and ensure continued safety of the system for unmanned operations.

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.

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As set forth in Gatik AI’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

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