Senior Manager, Market Expansion & Operations Strategy

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

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. Reporting to the [Manager Title], 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.

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 (https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanohnsman/2023/09/05/forget-robotaxis-upstart-gatik-sees-middle-mile-deliveries-as-the-path-to-profitable-avs/?sh=52b7a7866e61)

- Tech Brew:Gatik AI exec unpacks the regulations that could shape the AV industry (https://www.emergingtechbrew.com/stories/2024/09/06/gatik-ai-richard-steiner-regulations-av-industry)

- Business Wire:Gatik Paves the Way for Safe Driverless Operations (‘Freight-Only’) at Scale with Industry-First Third-Party Safety Assessment Framework (https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241008155613/en/Gatik-Paves-the-Way-for-Safe-Driverless-Operations-%E2%80%98Freight-Only%E2%80%99-at-Scale-with-Industry-First-Third-Party-Safety-Assessment-Framework)

- Auto Futures:Autonomous Trucking Group Gatik Secures Investment From NIPPON EXPRESS HOLDINGS (https://www.autofutures.tv/news-features/autonomous-trucking-group-gatik-secures-investment-from-nippon-express-holdings/s/e125e5df-220b-42b6-b2df-754f54d602a9)

- Automotive News:Gatik foresees hundreds of self-driving trucks on road soon, and that's just the beginning (https://www.autonews.com/mobility-report/gatik-prepares-launch-self-driving-trucks-scale)

- Forbes:Isuzu And Gatik Go All In To Scale Up Driverless Freight Services (https://www.forbes.com/sites/richardbishop1/2024/05/30/isuzu-and-gatik-go-all-in-to-scale-up-driverless-freight-services/)

- Bloomberg:Autonomous Vehicle Startup Takes Off by Picking Off Easier Routes (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2024-05-24/autonomous-vehicle-startup-takes-off-by-picking-off-easier-routes)

- Reuters:Driverless vehicles on limited routes bump along despite US robotaxi scrutiny (https://www.reuters.com/technology/driverless-vehicles-limited-routes-bump-along-despite-us-robotaxi-scrutiny-2023-12-13/)

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.