Head, HR (Contract to Hire)

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.

About the role

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.

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.

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.

This role will be onsite 5 days a week at our Santa Clara, CA headquarters.

What you'll do

• Partner closely with founders and leadership teams to help scale the organization and build strong people operations practices.
• Lead and support day-to-day HR operations, employee relations, organizational development, and people strategy initiatives.
• Build and improve scalable HR processes, policies, and programs while maintaining startup agility and speed.
• Support performance management processes, calibration discussions, manager coaching, and employee development initiatives.
• Partner with leadership teams on organizational planning, team structure, leveling, and compensation discussions.
• Handle employee relations matters, investigations, and conflict resolution with sound judgment and professionalism.
• Ensure compliance with California employment laws, HR best practices, and internal policies.
• Help improve onboarding programs, manager enablement initiatives, and employee experience processes.
• Support leadership teams during periods of rapid organizational growth, shifting priorities, and evolving business needs.
• Drive strong communication, accountability, and operational excellence across HR programs and initiatives.
• Partner cross-functionally with recruiting, operations, finance, legal, and leadership teams as the organization scales.
• Help foster and reinforce a high-performance, low-ego, ownership-driven culture.

What we're looking for

• 8+ years of progressive HR leadership experience, preferably within high-growth startup or scaling technology environments.
• Strong experience supporting technical organizations such as engineering, robotics, autonomy, AI/ML, hardware, or operations teams.
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