About the roleAs the Head of Systems and Safety Engineering, you will own the overarching safety architecture, risk management strategy, and system safety engineering life cycle for our autonomous vehicle (AV) platform. You will build and lead a high-performing engineering team while managing technical integration, customer safety alignment, and safety governance across clients, internal engineering divisions, vehicle OEMs, and Tier 1 suppliers.
This role is onsite 5 days a week at our Santa Clara, CA office!
What you'll do- Team Leadership & Program Management: Recruit, mentor, and manage a multidisciplinary systems and safety engineering team. Oversee daily team execution, task prioritization, resource allocation across engineering sprints, performance reviews, and team development.
- Safety Case Leadership: Author, evolve, and defend the end-to-end safety case framework (leveraging UL 4600, ISO 26262, and ISO 21448 / SOTIF) to support commercial deployment, public road operations, and regulatory submissions.
- AI & Machine Learning Safety Strategy: Define and implement safety and verification methodologies tailored for advanced AI and ML-based autonomy models (e.g., perception, prediction, planning) using ISO/PAS 8800. Establish quantitative metrics for model robustness, dataset coverage, and edge-case validation.
- Systems Safety Architecture & Requirements: Define system-level safety requirements, hazard mitigations, functional safety concepts, and fail-operational/degradation paths across hardware, compute, and software stacks.
- Comprehensive Risk Management: Oversee formal risk identification methodologies-including Hazard Analysis and Risk Assessment (HARA), FMEA, FTA, and System-Theoretic Process Analysis (STPA)-ensuring risk traceability matrices remain updated throughout product lifecycles.
- Safety Governance & Operational Oversight: Direct daily safety program operations, chair safety review boards, establish incident response protocols, define system release gate criteria, and continuously monitor operational safety performance metrics.
- Engineering & V&V Integration: Partner with hardware, software, and V&V teams to validate safety arguments through hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing, closed-course testing, and high-fidelity simulation.
- Regulatory & External Representation: Lead technical engagement with regulatory agencies (NHTSA, California DMV, DOT), standard committees, and third-party auditors.
- OEM & Tier 1 Supplier Collaboration: Serve as the primary technical authority interfacing with OEM partners and Tier 1 suppliers. Establish joint safety frameworks, define Development Interface Agreements (DIAs), and ensure external supplier components align with system-level functional safety requirements.
- Customer Safety Liaison & Engagement: Serve as the primary safety interface with enterprise customers and commercial partners. Communicate core safety concepts, present operational safety programs, align joint risk-mitigation protocols, and build client confidence in platform safety performance.
What we're looking for - Bachelor's or Master's degree in Systems Engineering, Robotics, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field.
- 10+ years of experience in systems safety engineering for safety-critical domains (autonomous vehicles, automotive, or aerospace).
- 4+ years of direct engineering management experience leading teams, managing budget/resources, and directing day-to-day engineering operations.
- Proven experience acting as a primary interface to customers or external stakeholders, translating complex safety concepts, risk frameworks, and safety programs into clear executive communications.
- Proven ability to operate, adapt, and drive technical outcomes in a fast-paced frontier technology environment.
- Demonstrated track record building, delivering, and defending an end-to-end safety case for deployed autonomous or robotic systems.
- Deep mastery of functional safety standards: ISO 26262, ISO 21448 (SOTIF), and UL 4600.
- Practical experience applying AI/ML safety frameworks (specifically ISO/PAS 8800) to probabilistic systems.
- Hands-on experience leading hazard analysis techniques (HARA, FMEA, FTA, STPA).
- Proven experience establishing technical safety interfaces with automotive OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers, including hands-on experience structuring DIAs.
Preferred Qualifications- Ph.D. in Systems Engineering, Computer Science, Robotics, or Machine Learning.
- Experience managing joint-development automotive programs across multi-party supply chains (OEM, Tier 1, Tier 2) and strategic client fleets.
- Expertise assessing deep neural network (DNN) interpretability, dataset quality, and non-deterministic software verification in safety-critical deployments.
- Direct experience representing safety architectures to state/federal regulatory bodies or external certification entities.
- Proficiency with Goal Structuring Notation (GSN) and enterprise systems management tooling (e.g., Jama, Polarion, DOORS).
Salary Range - $180,000- $260,000
