Safety & Compliance Lead

Sanctuary AI•Vancouver, BC

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

Sanctuary is deploying advanced AI-powered robotic systems into customer environments across North America and, over time, internationally. As deployments scale, we are seeking a Safety & Compliance Lead to own machinery safety and regulatory conformity, including standards such as ISO 10218-2. Reporting to the Application Engineering Manager, you will work cross-functionally with mechanical, controls, software, and program management teams, and act as our primary point of contact for activities related to safety and compliance, as well as the technical interface with external validation bodies such as TÜV and customer EHS organizations. You will be the technical authority for safety sign-off on every system we deploy, whether built internally or delivered through external integration partners.

Requirements

Engineering degree (mechanical, electrical, mechatronics, or related), or equivalent industry experience in a machinery safety / functional safety role
5+ years of experience in machinery safety and regulatory compliance for industrial automation, robotics, or capital equipment — ideally at a machine builder, system integrator, or robotics OEM
Experience leading or supporting third-party certification engagements with TÜV, UL, CSA, or equivalent Notified Bodies
Working knowledge of regional regulatory frameworks for machinery placed in Canada (CSA Z434, provincial OHS), the US (OSHA 1910 Subpart O, ANSI/RIA R15.06, NFPA 79), and the EU/UK (Machinery Regulation, EN harmonized standards) is a bonus.
Bonus - experience or exposure producing CE technical files and Declarations of Conformity under the EU Machinery Directive (2006/42/EC) or the new Machinery Regulation (2023/1230)
Functional safety certification (TÜV FS Eng, CMSE, or equivalent) is considered a major asset
Must be able to travel and work primarily within Canada and the US, and potentially the UK/EU in the future, for customer site assessments and validation activities
Strong command of the machinery safety standards stack: ISO 12100 (risk assessment), ISO 13849-1/-2 and IEC 62061 (functional safety of control systems), ISO 10218-1/-2 including the 2025 revision (industrial robots and robot system integration), and IEC 60204-1 / NFPA 79 (electrical equipment of machinery).
Experience validating conventional safeguarded robot cells: perimeter guarding, interlocked access gates, light curtains, area scanners, muting where justified, and the associated safety circuit architecture (Cat 3 PLd or PLe as required).
Familiarity with the safety architectures of mainstream industrial robot platforms (UR, FANUC, and equivalents) — safe-rated functions, safety I/O, and how they integrate into cell-level safety circuits.
Ability to perform and review SISTEMA / PAScal calculations or equivalent for safety function PL/SIL determination.
Comfortable reviewing electrical schematics and safety circuit topologies (E-stop, light curtains, area scanners, safety relays, safety PLC logic) and validating them against the design intent.
Skilled at writing clear safety requirements engineering teams can build to, and clear validation protocols that can be executed and signed off.
Able to translate regulatory language into practical design decisions and to defend those decisions to auditors, customers, and Notified Bodies.
Organized documentation practice — technical files, risk assessment registers, validation records, and change control are an explicit deliverable, not an afterthought.
Pragmatic and risk-based — knows when a hazard genuinely needs a Cat 3 PLd circuit versus when a procedural control is the right answer.
Platform mindset — instinctively looks for what can be solved once at the standard cell/guarding/EOAT level and then scaled, rather than re-litigated every deployment.
Comfortable being the person who says "not yet" and equally comfortable finding the path to "yes".
Collaborative — safety lands when it's designed in early, which means working closely with mechanical, controls, and software from the start rather than auditing at the end.
Adaptable in a fast-paced environment where products and processes are still evolving.
Strong written communication; much of the role is producing documents that other people — auditors, customers, regulators — rely on.
Capable of working independently and owning a domain end-to-end with limited supervision.

Responsibilities

Define and maintain the safety requirements, design standards, and risk assessment methodology applied to all Sanctuary cells — both the standardized base/guarding/EOAT platform and customer-specific configurations.
Drive safety design back into the platform: identify where recurring risks should be solved once at the base/guarding/EOAT level rather than re-engineered per project.
Conduct and review risk assessments (ISO 12100) and functional safety calculations (e.g. ISO 13849 / IEC 62061) for cell designs prior to build.
Validate completed cells against safety requirements and sign off on safety readiness prior to customer handover, whether the cell was built in-house or by an external integration partner.
Own conformity assessment and market access: CE self-certification and technical files under the EU Machinery Regulation (2023/1230), UKCA, and equivalent processes for the US (OSHA / ANSI R15.06) and Canada (CSA Z434)
Lead engagement with third-party validation bodies (TÜV, UL, CSA, Notified Bodies) for type examinations, certifications, and audits where required
Support export and import compliance for machinery safety documentation, declarations of conformity, and customer-side regulatory submissions
Develop and maintain the internal safety documentation framework: risk assessment templates, safety requirement specifications, validation protocols, declarations of conformity, and the safety sections of user and maintenance manuals