Safety Expert, Robotics & Drones

Aptiv is building a new Robotics business focused on Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) and Drones for warehouses, industrial, and adjacent markets. Safety is foundational to this effort. As a Robotics Safety Architect, you will be the technical authority for robotic system safety, owning the definition, realization, and validation of end0to0end safety concepts for autonomous robots operating alongside people and industrial equipment.

You will define how functional safety, autonomy, and system architecture come together, ensuring that Proofs of Concept evolve into certifiable, scalable, and reusable safety0compliant platforms deployable across multiple customers, applications, and form factors.

You will work cross0functionally with product management, system safety, hardware/SoC teams, software engineering, DevOps, and external partners to deliver safe-by-design robotic architectures across the entire product lifecycle.

Key Responsibilities:

Safety Architecture & System Design

• Own the end-to-end robotics safety architecture for AMR and drone platforms, spanning sensors, perception, localization, planning, control, actuation, human0machine interaction, and connectivity.
• Define and maintain the system-level safety concept, including functional safety architecture, safety goals, safe operating states, degraded modes, and fault response strategies.
• Architect safety mechanisms and patterns, including:
  • Safety monitors and supervisors
  • Redundant and diverse sensing and compute paths
  • Watchdogs and heartbeat mechanisms
  • Safe motion and emergency stop behaviors
  • Diagnostics, fault containment, and recovery
• Partition safety-critical and non-safety workloads across SoCs, MCUs, safety MCUs, and offboard services, with clear freedom-from-interference strategies.
• Define clear interfaces, safety contracts, and assumptions between perception, localization, planning, control, safety functions, fleet systems, and cloud components.
• Ensure that the software and system architecture meets all derived safety, performance, timing, moding, and availability requirements.

Safety & Compliance Leadership

• Lead software and system architecture alignment with applicable robotics and machinery safety standards, including (as applicable):
  • IEC 61508
  • ISO 13849
  • ISO 10218
  • ISO 3691-4
  • ISO 12100
• Collaborate with system safety engineers to:
  • Define hazard analyses and risk assessments (HARA)
  • Perform and review FMEAs, FTAs, and fault injection strategies
  • Develop and maintain structured safety cases and safety arguments
• Drive architectural decisions that enable certification, audits, and third-party assessments.
• Establish traceability from hazards -> safety goals -> technical safety requirements -> architecture -> implementation -> verification.

Technical Leadership & Governance

• Serve as the technical authority for robotics safety architecture decisions, including trade0offs between safety, performance, cost, and complexity.
• Lead architecture and safety design reviews across programs.
• Provide technical direction to teams developing perception, autonomy, control, and safety software.
• Mentor engineers on:
  • Safety0oriented design patterns
  • Defensive programming and diagnostics
  • Fault0tolerant robotics systems
  • ROSA02 usage in safety0constrained systems

Validation, Simulation & Safety Verification

• Define how simulation and digital twins (Gazebo, Isaac Sim, Webots, or custom platforms) support:
  • Hazard validation
  • Scenario0based safety testing
  • Regression testing of safety behaviors
• Shape testing and validation strategies including:
  • Fault injection and robustness testing
  • Safety regression and release qualification
• Collaborate with DevOps and tooling teams to ensure CI/CD pipelines support safety evidence generation.

Lifecycle Robustness & Operations

• Architect for robust operation in real0world industrial environments, including sensor degradation, network loss, environmental uncertainty, and human interaction.
• Define safe strategies for:
  • Over0the0air updates
  • Remote monitoring and diagnostics
  • Logging, telemetry, and observability
• Ensure post0deployment changes preserve or improve the safety posture of deployed fleets.

Customer & Partner Engagement

• Translate customer, regulatory, and partner safety expectations into system architecture and technical requirements.
• Support safety0critical PoCs, pilots, and demos with AMR, drone, and industrial automation partners.
• Contribute to long0term platform and ecosystem strategy:
  • ROSA02 distributions
  • Safety middleware and toolchains
  • Build0vs0buy decisions for safety0relevant components

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor0or Master0degree in Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical/Computer Engineering, or equivalent practical experience.
• 8+ years in robotics or embedded software, with 305+ years owning system or safety architecture.
• Hands0on experience deploying software on real robots (AMRs, AGVs, drones, industrial robots).
• Strong experience with ROSA02, including architecture0level use of nodes, DDS, executors, lifecycle management, and real0time considerations.
• Proven experience designing systems that include:
  • Multi0sensor perception and fusion (vision, lidar, radar)
  • Mapping and localization (SLAM, VIO, VO, fusion)
  • Motion planning, navigation, and control
  • Low0level motor control, actuator interfaces, and real0time loops
• Linux and embedded systems background, including containerization and networked middleware.
• Ability to produce clear, auditable architecture and safety documentation.
• Excellent cross0functional communication and technical leadership skills.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Direct experience delivering safety0certifiable robotics systems in industrial, logistics, or warehouse environments.
• Formal involvement in functional safety development processes (IEC 61508, ISO 13849, ISO 26262, or related).
• Experience with safety MCUs, lockstep processors, and hardware safety mechanisms.
• Familiarity with heterogeneous SoCs (NVIDIA, Qualcomm, TI, Renesas, etc.) and safety partitioning.
• Experience with scenario0based safety testing and fault injection.
• Knowledge of industrial communication protocols (CAN, Ethernet, TSN).
• Exposure to cybersecurity considerations in safety0critical robotics.
• Experience working in startup or incubation environments with high ambiguity and ownership.

Traits we seek:

• Curiously investigate everything 0 ability to solving problems analytically, creatively and collaboratively
• Lead with confidence 0 thought leaders who empower those around them
• Learn by doing 0 an entrepreneurial mindset that0s driven by hands-on experimentation
• Embrace resilience 0 seeing every challenge as a learning opportunity and invitation to grow