Senior Manager, Market Expansion & Operations Strategy

Who We Are

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, Fast Company's World's Most Innovative Companies 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 strategic, execution-focused Senior Manager, Market Expansion & Operations Strategy to lead how our autonomous trucking operations grow into new markets and mature over time. In this role, you will own the strategy for market expansion, market launch, and market maturity, and define how operations manages fleet operations and maintenance across every stage of a market’s lifecycle. You will partner closely with Commercial Operations (Business Development) to align expansion with customer demand, and work directly with the Operational Excellence team to build long-term, sustainable operating models. You will also work with senior leaders across Market Operations, Fleet Maintenance, Safety, Product, and Engineering to develop end-state strategies that account for differences between customers and regions. You will be instrumental in maintaining safety and quality while driving scalable, repeatable growth through problem solving, continuous improvement, and lean practices.

This role is hybrid 3 days per week in Phoenix, AZ or Dallas Fort-Worth, TX

What You'll Do

• Market lifecycle strategy: Assess each market’s operational maturity and build strategies and playbooks for expansion, launch, and growth based on that assessment, with a clear path from the current state to scalable, lean-based operations.
• Operations strategy: Define how operations manages fleet operations and maintenance together, and develop end-state operating strategies that account for customer and regional variance.
• Operational insight: Monitor trends, recurring challenges, and emerging risks across markets, and turn them into strategic priorities and proactive solutions.
• Commercial partnership: Partner with Commercial Operations (Business Development) to understand customer demand and requirements, assess operational feasibility, and align expansion plans with commercial commitments.
• Sustainable scale: Work directly with the Operational Excellence team so that expansion and maturity strategies rest on sustainable work, management, and improvement systems.
• Problem solving and lean: Lead structured problem solving and apply lean practices to improve cost, quality, and speed to maturity, feeding lessons learned back into playbooks and standards.
• Executive and cross-functional leadership: Partner with VP-level leaders and lead cross-functional programs across Market Operations, Fleet Maintenance, Safety, Product, and Engineering to deliver expansion goals.

What We're Looking For

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Operations Management, Business, Supply Chain, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• 12+ years of experience in operations, strategy, or expansion roles, including 6+ years in senior leadership.
• Experience leading market expansion and scaling fleet and maintenance operations across several regions.
• Experience developing end-state strategies that account for customer and regional differences.
• Experience partnering with commercial or business development teams and VP-level leaders.
• Expert skill in structured problem solving, continuous improvement, and lean practices.

Salary Range: $160,000-215,000

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.