Senior Software Engineer, C++

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

Job summary

Gatik, an autonomous freight company, seeks Senior/Staff Software Engineers with strong C++ fundamentals to build scalable, high-performance perception and autonomy software. You will partner with research and software teams to productionize, integrate and test features for our autonomous fleet.

This onsite role is based in Santa Clara, CA, and requires mentoring peers, optimizing pipelines and ensuring reliable, secure deployment across our fleet.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical/Computer Engineering or related field.
• 7+ years of experience in production software development.
• Expert in C++ with real-time, high-performance software experience.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, integrate and support real-time, mission-critical software for the autonomy stack.
• Build and evolve platform capabilities for perception and autonomy algorithms.
• Collaborate with research to productionize algorithms and prototypes.
• Architect and solve integration challenges across sensors and compute platforms.
• Optimize real-time pipelines for latency and memory usage.
• Mentor researchers and developers for efficient compute usage.
• Develop validation, benchmarking, debugging and performance tools.
• Coordinate with Infrastructure and DevOps for scalable delivery.
• Conduct code and design reviews to strengthen SDLC practices.

Skills

C++

RT systems

Multithreading

Memory management

Debugging

Production deployment

Software architecture

Performance optimization

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/ENG

Master's degree preferred

Tools

Conan

CMake

Bazel

ROS2

PyTorch

Job description

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

We are seeking passionate Senior/Staff Software Engineers who have strong fundamentals in software development practices and are experts in C++ in a production-oriented environment. The ideal candidate is a highly experienced C++ developer with a passion for building scalable, high-performance software platforms that enable perception and autonomy capabilities for the world's first safe, reliable, and efficient network of autonomous vehicles.

You will partner with research and software engineers to productionize, integrate, optimize, test, and validate perception and autonomy features for our autonomous fleet.

This role will be onsite at our Santa Clara, CA office.

What you'll do

• Design, implement, integrate, and support real-time, mission-critical software for Gatik's autonomy stack
• Build and evolve platform capabilities that enable perception and autonomy algorithms to run reliably and efficiently in production
• Work with research engineers to translate algorithms and prototypes into maintainable, testable, production-quality software
• Architect and implement solutions to complex integration challenges across sensors, perception components, compute platforms, and the broader autonomy stack
• Optimize real-time software pipelines for latency, compute, memory usage, and system performance
• Guide and mentor autonomy researchers and algorithm developers to ensure their components run efficiently with optimal compute and memory usage
• Develop tools and frameworks for validation, benchmarking, debugging, and performance analysis of autonomy software
• Collaborate with Infrastructure and DevOps teams for efficient, secure, and scalable software delivery to Gatik's autonomous fleet
• Conduct code and design reviews and help drive strong software architecture and SDLC practices

What we're looking for

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical/Computer Engineering, or a related field
• Master's or PhD preferred
• 7+ years of relevant industry experience in a production environment
• Expert software development skills in C++ and experience with build systems such as Conan, CMake, or Bazel
• Strong system integration and software architecture experience
• Experience building real-time, high-performance software on embedded or compute-constrained systems
• Experience building software platforms, frameworks, or infrastructure supporting perception, robotics, or other complex systems
• Strong understanding of performance optimization, multithreading, memory management, and debugging
• Experience with software development, testing, validation, and production deployment

Bonus Qualifications

• Experience with perception systems, sensor processing, sensor fusion, 3D reconstruction, or tracking
• Working knowledge of Planning and Prediction modules within an AV stack
• Experience with ROS2 and PyTorch
• Experience integrating and deploying AI/ML models
• Experience with hardware/software integration and embedded compute platforms
• Experience building benchmarking, simulation, or validation infrastructure

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

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.