Senior V&V Engineer - Closed Course & Proving Grounds

About the role

Before autonomous trucks operate on public roads without a driver, their performance must be physically validated in controlled, repeatable environments. The Senior V&V Engineer - Closed Course will lead the design, orchestration, and execution of rigorous physical test scenarios on proving grounds. You will push Gatik's commercial vehicles to their operational and physical limits using robotic targets, weather simulation setups, and controlled fault-injection techniques to validate system safety requirements.

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

Key Responsibilities

• Track Test Execution: Plan and execute closed-course test programs for new software features, hardware platforms, and safety-critical fallback maneuvers on commercial trucks. Own the process end to end.
• Robotic Equipment & Soft Targets: Setup and operate state-of-the-art proving ground equipment.
• Ensuring Testing Coverage: Ensure that V&V plans are developed and executed, providing triaging feedback to relevant stakeholders and tracking issues to conclusion.
• Data Collection & Log Analysis: Analyze high-precision vehicle dynamics data, IMU outputs, CAN logs, and autonomy telemetry using Python/MATLAB to evaluate dynamic performance.
• Test Site Safety Protocols: Enforce strict track safety procedures, risk assessments, and emergency intervention protocols for all track personnel and test drivers.

Minimum Qualifications

• Education: B.S. in Automotive Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics, or Systems Engineering.
• Experience: 5+ years executing vehicle-level closed-course testing on proving grounds for AVs, ADAS, or automotive OEMs.
• Practical Skills:
• Direct experience operating soft-target robotic platforms.
• Proficiency in automotive data acquisition tools (CANoe, CANape, Dewesoft, Wireshark).
• Strong Python scripting capabilities for log parsing and test metrics generation.
• Safety Rigor: Demonstrated adherence to proving ground safety regulations and risk mitigation practices.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience testing commercial trucks or heavy machinery.
• Knowledge of ISO 26262 track validation and UNECE / NCAP active safety test protocols.

Salary Range - $160,000- $260,000

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