Senior Systems & Safety Engineer - AI​/ML

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.

Gatik is revolutionizing middle-mile logistics with fully driverless commercial box trucks and tractors operating on fixed B2B routes. As a Senior Systems & Safety Engineer for AI/ML, you will bridge the gap between cutting-edge deep learning algorithms (perception, prediction, planning) and rigorous safety engineering. You will define the functional safety and SOTIF strategies for learned components, establish out-of-distribution (OOD) detection criteria, design runtime AI safety monitors, and construct evidence-backed safety cases for machine learning models running on Level 4 autonomous commercial vehicles.

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

• SOTIF & ML Safety Architecture: Lead the implementation of ISO 21448 (SOTIF) and UL 4600 frameworks across Gatik's AI/ML pipelines.
• Safety Requirements for Learned Systems: Derive safety requirements and performance boundaries (e.g., false positive/negative limits, edge-case coverage metrics) for neural networks and deep learning models.
• Runtime Verification & AI Monitors: Design and validate deterministic AI safety guardrails, out-of-distribution (OOD) detectors, and runtime monitoring mechanisms that fall back to fail-safe actions upon model degradation or uncertainty.
• Dataset Safety & Bias Assessment: Establish criteria for training and validation dataset completeness, operational design domain (ODD) coverage, class imbalance, and synthetic vs. real data fidelity.
• Failure Modes & Effects Analysis: Conduct systematic HAZOP, STPA, and SOTIF risk analyses specifically targeting deep learning failure modes (e.g., adversarial examples, sensor degradation, lighting/weather edge cases).
• Safety Case Argumentation: Author structured safety case arguments (Goulburn/GSN or Goal Structuring Notation) demonstrating acceptable residual risk for AI components in driverless operations.

• Education: M.S. or Ph.D. in Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical Engineering, Machine Learning, or related field.
• Experience: 6+ years in systems/safety engineering or autonomous systems, with at least 3 years explicitly focused on AI/ML safety.
• Standards Expertise: Deep working knowledge of ISO 21448 (SOTIF), ISO/PAS 8800, UL 4600, and ISO 26262
• Technical
  
  Skills:
  
  
• AV Domain Knowledge: Strong understanding of sensor modalities (LiDAR, Radar, Cameras, IMUs) and their failure modes in adverse weather/environmental conditions.

• Track record of taking a machine-learning-based L4 autonomous vehicle system to driverless commercial deployment.
• Direct experience with data generation/curation tools, active learning, and automated edge-case extraction pipelines.

Salary Range - $160,000- $220,000

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…