Head, HR (Contract to Hire)

<h3><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">Who we are</span></h3> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">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.&nbsp;</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">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.&nbsp;</span></p> <h3><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;"><strong>About the role</strong></span></h3> <p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">We are seeking a Head of Human Resources to help scale and strengthen Gatik’s people operations during a critical stage of company growth. This is a high-ownership, hands-on leadership role within a fast-paced autonomous vehicle startup environment. The ideal candidate will be comfortable operating both strategically and tactically — building scalable people processes while also rolling up their sleeves to support day-to-day HR operations when needed.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">This role will partner closely with founders and leadership teams across engineering, operations, autonomy, robotics, AI/ML, and business functions to help drive organizational effectiveness, employee engagement, performance management, compliance, and culture. We are looking for someone practical, adaptable, solutions-oriented, and comfortable navigating ambiguity in a rapidly evolving environment.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">The ideal candidate has strong startup or scaling-company experience, excellent judgment and executive presence, and a proven ability to build HR infrastructure without slowing down the business.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">This role will be onsite 5 days a week at our Mountain View headquarters.</span></p> <div> <h3><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">What you'll do</span></h3> </div> <ul> <li style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">Partner closely with founders and leadership teams to help scale the organization and build strong people operations practices.</span></li> <li style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">Lead and support day-to-day HR operations, employee relations, organizational development, and people strategy initiatives.</span></li> <li style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">Build and improve scalable HR processes, policies, and programs while maintaining startup agility and speed.</span></li> <li style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">Support performance management processes, calibration discussions, manager coaching, and employee development initiatives.</span></li> <li style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">Partner with leadership teams on organizational planning, team structure, leveling, and compensation discussions.</span></li> <li style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">Handle employee relations matters, investigations, and conflict resolution with sound judgment and professionalism.</span></li> <li style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">Ensure compliance with California employment laws, HR best practices, and internal policies.</span></li> <li style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">Help improve onboarding programs, manager enablement initiatives, and employee experience processes.</span></li> <li style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">Support leadership teams during periods of rapid organizational growth, shifting priorities, and evolving business needs.</span></li> <li style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">Drive strong communication, accountability, and operational excellence across HR programs and initiatives.</span></li> <li style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">Partner cross-functionally with recruiting, operations, finance, legal, and leadership teams as the organization scales.</span></li> <li style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">Help foster and reinforce a high-performance, low-ego, ownership-driven culture.</span></li> </ul> <h3><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">What we're looking for</span></h3> <ul> <li style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">8+ years of progressive HR leadership experience, preferably within high-growth startup or scaling technology environments.</span></li> <li style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">Strong experience supporting technical organizations such as engineering, robotics, autonomy, AI/ML, hardware, or operations teams.</span></li> <li style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">Proven ability to operate both strategically and tactically in fast-moving, ambiguous environments.</span></li> <li style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">Strong knowledge of California employment law, compliance practices, investigations, and employee relations.</span></li> <li style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">Experience building or improving scalable people operations processes and programs.</span></li> <li style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">Excellent communication, executive presence, interpersonal, and leadership skills.</span></li> <li style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">Demonstrated ability to partner effectively with founders, executives, and cross-functional leadership teams.</span></li> <li style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">Comfortable working onsite and operating in a highly collaborative environment.</span></li> <li style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">Strong problem-solving skills, sound judgment, and ability to navigate sensitive situations professionally.</span></li> <li style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">Experience with performance reviews, compensation calibration, leveling frameworks, onboarding, and manager enablement programs is highly preferred.</span></li> <li style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">Startup mentality with strong ownership, urgency, adaptability, and willingness to roll up sleeves.</span></li> <li style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">Candidates with demonstrated impact and longevity in startup or scaling environments are strongly preferred over candidates coming solely from highly structured large-company environments.</span></li> <li style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">Prior experience helping scale organizations through periods of rapid growth is a plus.</span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">Salary Range: $180,000 – $260,000&nbsp;</span></p> <h3><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">More about Gatik</span></h3> <p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">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 <em>first and only</em> 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.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">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.&nbsp; 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.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">Visit us at <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://gatik.ai/">Gatik</a></span> for more company information and <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://gatik.ai/careers/">Careers at Gatik</a></span> for more open roles.</span></p> <h3><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">Notable News</span></h3> <ul> <li style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">Bloomberg: <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-01-27/autonomous-trucking-firm-gatik-inks-contracts-worth-600-million">Autonomous Trucking Firm Gatik Inks Contracts Worth $600 Million</a></span></span></li> <li style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">Forbes: <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanohnsman/2026/01/28/hundreds-of-gatik-robot-delivery-trucks-headed-for-us-roads/?utm_campaign=ForbesMainLI&amp;utm_source=ForbesMainLinkedIn&amp;utm_medium=social">Hundreds’ Of Gatik Robot Delivery Trucks Headed For U.S. Roads</a></span></span></li> <li style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">Forbes:<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/richardbishop1/2025/09/23/gatik-and-loblaw-announce-largest-commercial-deployment-of-av-trucks/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Gatik And Loblaw Announce Largest Commercial Deployment Of AV Trucks</span></a></span></li> <li style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">Forbes:&nbsp;<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="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">Forget robotaxis. Upstart Gatik sees middle-mile deliveries as the path to profitable AVs</a></span></span></li> <li style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">Tech Brew: <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.emergingtechbrew.com/stories/2024/09/06/gatik-ai-richard-steiner-regulations-av-industry">Gatik AI exec unpacks the regulations that could shape the AV industry</a></span></span></li> <li style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">Business Wire: <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="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">Gatik Paves the Way for Safe Driverless Operations (‘Freight-Only’) at Scale with Industry-First Third-Party Safety Assessment Framework</a></span></span></li> <li style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">Auto Futures: <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.autofutures.tv/news-features/autonomous-trucking-group-gatik-secures-investment-from-nippon-express-holdings/s/e125e5df-220b-42b6-b2df-754f54d602a9">Autonomous Trucking Group Gatik Secures Investment From NIPPON EXPRESS HOLDINGS</a></span></span></li> <li style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">Automotive News: <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.autonews.com/mobility-report/gatik-prepares-launch-self-driving-trucks-scale">Gatik foresees hundreds of self-driving trucks on road soon, and that's just the beginning</a></span></span></li> <li style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">Forbes: <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/richardbishop1/2024/05/30/isuzu-and-gatik-go-all-in-to-scale-up-driverless-freight-services/">Isuzu And Gatik Go All In To Scale Up Driverless Freight Services</a></span></span></li> <li style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">Bloomberg: <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2024-05-24/autonomous-vehicle-startup-takes-off-by-picking-off-easier-routes">Autonomous Vehicle Startup Takes Off by Picking Off Easier Routes</a></span></span></li> <li style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">Reuters: <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/driverless-vehicles-limited-routes-bump-along-despite-us-robotaxi-scrutiny-2023-12-13/">Driverless vehicles on limited routes bump along despite US robotaxi scrutiny</a></span></span></li> </ul> <h3><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">Taking care of our team</span></h3> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">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.</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">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.</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;</p>