Functional Safety Engineer – Body & Thermal Systems

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies•Irvine, CA

11d

About The Position

This role sits within the Functional Safety Engineering team focused on the vehicle's body and thermal systems (climate control, lighting, and other electrically driven features). The FuSa engineer is responsible for ensuring these systems meet rigorous safety standards throughout the full development lifecycle, from early requirements through validation. They lead safety analyses (HARA, DFMEA, FTA, TSC) and design safety mechanisms like redundancy architectures and hardware diagnostics to prevent electrical or software faults from causing unsafe vehicle behavior. The role bridges multiple teams - including Controls, Diagnostics, and Electrical Systems - making it a central coordinating function for safety across the vehicle.

Requirements

Degree in Electrical/Electronic Engineering, Mechatronics, Robotics, 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.
Hands-on experience with electronic hardware fault diagnosis, including circuit debugging and CAN/LIN/Ethernet network analysis, with a practical understanding of electrical failure modes from system to component level.
Experience with robotics systems is a strong advantage, particularly in areas such as servo control, position sensing, or electromechanical actuator design.
Familiarity with AI and machine learning concepts as applied to automotive safety.
Proven knowledge of ISO 26262 with strong interpersonal skills and the ability to present technical information clearly to senior management and external stakeholders.

Responsibilities

Primarily responsible for ensuring functional safety in the design, development, and validation of Body and thermal features, with a strong focus on electrical and electronic system integrity 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 and software/hardware interactions.
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, applying hands-on knowledge of electronic circuits to validate safety-critical systems including sensor signal chains and actuator diagnostics.
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, Controls, and Electrical Systems teams to achieve system safety objectives.