Senior Systems & Safety Engineer – Drive-by-Wire

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. 

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

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.

Visit us at Gatik for more company information and Careers at Gatik for more open roles.

Notable News

• Forbes: Forget robotaxis. Upstart Gatik sees middle-mile deliveries as the path to profitable AVs
• Tech Brew: Gatik AI exec unpacks the regulations that could shape the AV industry
• Business Wire: Gatik Paves the Way for Safe Driverless Operations (‘Freight-Only’) at Scale with Industry-First Third-Party Safety Assessment Framework
• Auto Futures: Autonomous Trucking Group Gatik Secures Investment From NIPPON EXPRESS HOLDINGS
• Automotive News: Gatik foresees hundreds of self-driving trucks on road soon, and that's just the beginning
• Forbes: Isuzu And Gatik Go All In To Scale Up Driverless Freight Services
• Bloomberg: Autonomous Vehicle Startup Takes Off by Picking Off Easier Routes
• Reuters: Driverless vehicles on limited routes bump along despite US robotaxi scrutiny

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.

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