Senior Systems & Safety Engineer – Drive-by-Wire

Gatik; Santa Clara (CA); On-site; USD 160,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Gatik is seeking a Senior Systems & Safety Engineer for Drive-by-Wire to lead safety design, hazard analysis, and functional safety integration on its autonomous trucks. You will work with vehicle OEMs, DbW suppliers, and internal controls engineers to guarantee fail-operational motion control and ASIL D safety guarantees.

This onsite role at our Santa Clara, CA office requires deep ISO 26262 knowledge, automotive Ethernet, and hands-on experience with FMEA, FTA, and HARA analyses to ensure

Qualifications

• B.S. or M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics, Electrical Engineering, or Automotive Engineering.
• 6+ years in vehicle chassis systems, drive-by-wire actuation, or automotive vehicle safety with ASIL D development experience.
• Domain mastery in vehicle dynamics and automotive communications (CAN, CAN-FD, FlexRay, Automotive Ethernet).

Responsibilities

• Define the functional safety architecture for redundant steering, braking, and propulsion control.
• Collaborate with OEMs and Tier-1 DbW providers to evaluate interfaces and safety manuals.
• Establish fault management strategies, including transitions, emergency stop, and MRMs.
• Perform HARA, FMEA, and FTA analyses on actuation channels and protocols.
• Author safety requirements for motion control interfaces and trace to firmware and safety monitors.
• Support on-vehicle validation campaigns to confirm fallbacks under high-speed and heavy payloads.

Skills

Vehicle dynamics modeling

CAN/CAN-FD/FlexRay/Automotive Ethernet

ISO 26262 ASIL D

MATLAB/Simulink

CANoe/CANalyzer

Education

B.S. or M.S. in Mechanical Engg / Mechatronics / Electrical / Automotive Engg

Tools

Vector CANoe

CANalyzer

MATLAB/Simulink

Signal analysis software

Job description

Who we are

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.

Gatik'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

The Drive-by-Wire (DbW) system is the critical execution boundary where software decisions meet physical vehicle dynamics. As the Senior Systems & Safety Engineer for Drive-by-Wire, you will be responsible for the safety design, hazard mitigation, and functional safety integration of steer-by-wire, brake-by-wire, throttle, shift-by-wire, and auxiliary chassis actuation on Gatik’s autonomous trucks. You will work closely with vehicle OEMs, DbW suppliers, and internal controls engineers to guarantee fail-operational motion control and ASIL D safety guarantees.

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

What you'll do

Key Responsibilities

• DbW Safety Architecture: Define the functional safety architecture for redundant steering, braking, and propulsion control systems integrated into Gatik’s vehicle platforms.
• OEM & Actuation Integration: Collaborate with commercial vehicle OEMs and Tier-1 DbW providers to evaluate DbW interfaces, safety manuals, and functional safety compliance (ISO 26262).
• Fault Reaction & Degraded Modes: Establish actuation fault management strategies, including fallback transition times, emergency stop execution, dynamic authority limits, and minimum risk maneuvers (MRM).
• System Analysis & Diagnostics: Perform detailed HARA, FMEA, and FTA analyses on physical actuation channels and interface protocols.
• Safety Requirements Traceability: Author top-level vehicle safety requirements for motion control interfaces and trace them to DbW controller firmware, CAN signals, and safety monitors.
• On-Vehicle Validation Support: Partner with testing teams to design physical fault-injection campaigns on test tracks to confirm actuation fallbacks under high-speed and heavy-payload conditions.

Minimum Qualifications

• Education: B.S. or M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics, Electrical Engineering, or Automotive Engineering.
• Experience: 6+ years in vehicle chassis systems, drive-by-wire actuation, or automotive vehicle safety, with extensive ASIL D development experience.
• Domain Mastery:
• Proficient in vehicle dynamic modeling, brake/steering topologies (e.g., dual-motor steering, primary/secondary electronic brake boosters).
• In-depth understanding of automotive communication protocols: CAN, CAN-FD, FlexRay, and Automotive Ethernet.
• Direct mastery of ISO 26262 ASIL D safety standards and FMVSS regulations.
• Tooling: Proficient with CAN analysis tools (Vector CANoe, CANalyzer), MATLAB/Simulink, and signal analysis software.

Preferred Qualifications

• Hands-on experience developing or integrating redundant DbW systems on commercial trucks.
• Experience with functional safety certification of chassis hardware/software according to ISO 26262.
• Expertise in vehicle stability control (ESC), ABS, and automated emergency braking (AEB) functional integration.

Salary Range - $160,000- $240,000

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.