Functional Safety Engineer – Infotainment Systems

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies•Palo Alto, CA

10d

About The Position

This role is embedded in the Functional Safety Engineering team with a specific focus on the infotainment and connected vehicle domain, covering displays, HMI, telematics, and software-hardware interactions unique to these systems. The engineer ensures that failures within infotainment - whether from connectivity issues, display faults, or software bugs - don't cascade into safety-critical vehicle functions or create driver distraction hazards. The role involves safety analysis, requirements development, and hands-on validation using LabCar and HiL environments. It collaborates closely with HMI, Connectivity, and Platform teams, and sits at an interesting intersection with ADAS where driver assistance and infotainment features share interfaces.

Requirements

Degree in Electrical/Electronic Engineering, Computer Science, Mechatronics, or a closely related discipline.
2-3 years of experience within the automotive industry at an OEM or Tier 1 supplier, working within functional safety or systems engineering, ideally with exposure to Infotainment, telematics, or connected vehicle platforms.
Hands-on experience with electronic hardware fault diagnosis, including circuit debugging and CAN/LIN/Automotive Ethernet network analysis, with a practical understanding of electrical failure modes from system to component level.
Proven knowledge of ISO 26262 with strong interpersonal skills and the ability to present technical information clearly to senior management and external stakeholders.

Nice To Haves

Experience in ADAS systems is a strong advantage, particularly where Infotainment and driver assistance features share HMI or data interfaces, and where SOTIF considerations intersect with functional safety requirements.
Familiarity with AI and machine learning concepts as applied to automotive safety.

Responsibilities

Primarily responsible for ensuring functional safety in the design, development, and validation of Infotainment and connected vehicle features, with a strong focus on electrical and electronic system integrity and software-hardware interactions across the full vehicle development lifecycle.
Contribute to feature requirements and provide functional safety guidance on feature definition, including the identification of hazards arising from electrical malfunctions, display and HMI faults, and software/hardware interactions within Infotainment systems.
Perform vehicle-level HARA and generate safety goals; conduct safety analyses including DFMEA, FTA, and FMEDA; and develop safety requirements using the company's requirements management toolchain.
Develop safety mechanisms such as redundancy architectures, hardware diagnostics, system health monitors, and fail-safe designs, ensuring that Infotainment system failures do not propagate into safety-critical vehicle functions or driver distraction hazards.
Develop test cases to verify and validate safety mechanisms on LabCar and Vehicle test assets, incorporating HiL environments, and deliver thorough data analysis and reporting.
Represent the functional safety team across internal and external development activities, collaborating closely with Diagnostics, Platform, HMI, Connectivity, and Electrical Systems teams to achieve system safety objectives.