Senior Safety Management & Assurance Lead - Autonomous Driving Senior Safety Management & Assurance Lead - Autonomous Driving Senior Safety Management & Assurance Lead - Autonomous Driving

Volkswagen AG•Austin, TX

About The Position

As ADMT, we develop and realize fully autonomous mobility and transportation services. Our mission is to make mobility-and transportation-as-a-service safe, accessible and most attractive for society. For that, we cover the entire ground from strategy and business development, software development and end-2-end integration, fleet operations to next-generation self-driving systems. Being the driver in Volkswagen Group initiative for mobility solutions, we’re an integral part of Volkswagen Group's future success.Brief Role DescriptionThe Safety Case Engineer is responsible for developing, maintaining, and defending the safety case for Level 4 autonomous driving systems, including Voluntary Safety Self-Assessment (VSSA). The role ensures that safety arguments are complete, consistent, and supported by credible evidence across development and operations. The Safety Case Engineer works closely with systems, software, validation, and operations teams to ensure safety claims accurately reflect system behavior and limitations. This role collaborates with the global development and supports safety acceptance decisions by the Director of Safety and plays a critical role in demonstrating safety to internal leadership, regulators, and external assessors.

Requirements

7+ years of experience developing, maintaining, or reviewing safety cases for safety-critical systems
Experience working with autonomous driving, ADAS, or other complex, software-intensive systems
Exposure to system safety analyses and safety assurance activities across the development lifecycle
Experience supporting regulatory assessments, audits, or safety approvals
Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Safety Management, Transportation, or a related field
Strong systems thinking and analytical skills
Clear and structured written and verbal communication skills
Ability to synthesize complex technical information into coherent safety arguments
Ability to work effectively across engineering, validation, operations, and management teams
Structured, detail-oriented, and evidence-driven working style
Confidence in challenging assumptions and identifying safety gaps
Experience with safety case development methodologies and notations (e.g., Goal Structuring Notation – GSN)
Strong understanding of Vehicle Safety Safety Assessment (VSSA) concepts and expectations
Knowledge of automotive and autonomous driving safety standards (e.g., ISO 26262, ISO 21448 / SOTIF, UL 4600)
Experience with hazard analysis and risk assessment methods (HARA, FMEA, FTA, scenario-based analysis)
Understanding of Level 4 autonomous driving architectures, ODDs, and operational concepts

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in Engineering, Safety Management, Transportation, or a related field
Formal training in functional safety, system safety, or safety assurance is a plus
Experience structuring safety evidence for software- and AI-based systems
Working knowledge of perception, prediction, planning, and control stacks
Familiarity with AI/ML failure modes (e.g., dataset bias, corner cases, overfitting, distribution shift)
Experience with simulation-based safety validation and scenario generation
Familiarity with SIL, HIL, and vehicle-in-the-loop testing approaches
Experience interacting with regulators, assessors, or certification bodies in ADS contexts
Participation in industry working groups, standards committees, or safety consortia

Responsibilities

Develop, structure, and maintain system-level safety cases for Level 4 autonomous driving systems embedded and alongside the global MOIA organization
Collaborate with global team for structure, content, and evolution of system safety cases, including claims, arguments, assumptions, and supporting evidence.
Author and maintain Vehicle Safety Safety Assessments (VSSA) in line with regulatory expectations
Define safety goals, claims, assumptions, and argument structures
Ensure safety cases remain current with system changes, feature updates, and ODD expansions
Identify, collect, and assess safety evidence across hardware, software, simulation, validation, and operations, and curate and justify the sufficiency, credibility, and consistency of that evidence to support system-level safety arguments across the lifecycle.
Ensure traceability between hazards, safety requirements, mitigations, and supporting evidence
Review safety analyses, test results, and operational data for inclusion in the safety case
Assess completeness, consistency, and credibility of safety evidence
Integrate safety case activities into the development lifecycle and release processes
Perform safety impact assessments for design changes, software updates, and new operational scenarios
Support go/no-go decisions by providing safety case readiness assessments
Ensure safety arguments remain valid throughout development, deployment, and operation
Work closely with systems engineering, validation, fleet operations, and safety teams
Provide guidance on safety case expectations and evidence needs to contributing teams
Review and challenge inputs to ensure technical rigor and safety integrity
Support internal reviews and management safety assessments
Support regulatory submissions, reviews, and audits related to safety cases and VSSA
Prepare safety case material for engagement with authorities and external assessors
Address questions, findings, and feedback from regulators or independent reviewers
Track evolving regulatory expectations for safety case and VSSA content