Founder and principal advisor
JPC Autonomy and AI Advisory is led by John Cotter, an automotive and autonomy leader with 21+ years in vehicle programs and about 15 years focused on ADAS and autonomous driving.
John has built and led teams across the practical middle ground where advanced perception, controls, validation, commercial vehicle platforms, and real-world operations all have to work at the same time.
The advisory exists for teams that need more than strategy slides. It is built for founders, operators, and engineering leaders who need to turn hard technology into roadworthy systems, credible safety cases, customer trials, and scalable business outcomes.
Career signals
Founded and led Nikola's ADAS and Autonomous Driving organization, scaling it from zero into a multidisciplinary team spanning perception, controls, validation, and vehicle integration, with reach into Europe.
Led the team that developed vehicle controls for the first road-released FCEV semi truck in the United States, taking the program through customer trials.
Worked with Plus to get a road-approved L2+ semi truck running in roughly two months, coordinating the practical integration work needed to make autonomy useful on a real platform.
Worked across commercial vehicle platforms, sensor fusion, controls, fleet data, validation, embedded software, supplier integration, and the operating systems required to keep autonomy programs moving.
Why JPC exists
JPC helps AI, autonomy, robotics, ADAS, and software-defined mobility teams make better decisions when the product is technically complex, operationally constrained, and commercially urgent.
The work is grounded in the realities of vehicle programs: safety-critical systems, supplier dependencies, validation evidence, customer readiness, executive communication, and the uncomfortable gap between a promising prototype and something that can survive outside the lab.
