Sr. Safety Systems Engineer

DoorDash USA • Oakland, CA

69d • $159,800 - $235,000

About The Position

DoorDash Labs, established in 2018, serves as the innovation hub for DoorDash, focusing on developing automation and robotics solutions to enhance last-mile logistics. The team's mission is to create technologies that support and augment human networks, aiming to improve efficiency for Dashers, merchants, and consumers alike. We’re ruthlessly focused on business impact. We are a highly senior team composed of former pioneers from a variety of different robotics industries. As of 2025, DoorDash has completed 10B lifetime deliveries. We’re focused on how to do the next 10B even better. We are seeking a highly motivated Senior or Staff System Safety Engineer to join our team. In this role, you will play a critical part in the development and validation of safety-critical systems for our unmanned delivery platforms. You will lead efforts to define, analyze, and document safety across system and component levels, ensuring compliance with standards. The ideal candidate has a strong background in safety case development, functional decomposition, hazard assessment, and FMEA, with a proven ability to manage and communicate risk throughout a fast-paced, iterative development process.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s or advanced degree in Aerospace, Systems, Electrical, Mechanical, or a related engineering discipline.
• Experience developing safety cases and safety requirements for self-driving, aerospace, or other safety-critical systems.
• Proficiency in functional decomposition and system requirements definition, with familiarity in model-based or structured systems engineering tools.
• Hands-on experience conducting Functional Hazard Assessments (FHA) and contributing to FMEA/FTA processes for complex hardware and software systems.
• Ability to align organizational risk tolerance with quantitative risk assessments, translating technical analyses into program-level decisions.
• Strong analytical, communication, and organizational skills, with a collaborative mindset suited to a cross-functional development environment.

Responsibilities

• Develop and own the overarching system safety case for autonomous delivery operations, aligning it with operational concepts, regulatory expectations, and design intent.
• Derive and maintain system-level safety and functional requirements that support the safety case and ensure traceability through design and verification.
• Collaborate across disciplines (systems, software, mechanical, electrical, and operations) to identify, assess, and design for safety early in the development lifecycle.
• Perform detailed safety analyses such as Functional Hazard Assessments (FHA), Failure Modes and Effects Analyses (FMEA), and Fault Tree Analyses (FTA) to evaluate potential hazards and mitigation strategies.
• Support risk management and leadership alignment by quantifying risks, defining acceptable risk thresholds, and communicating safety impacts clearly and effectively.

Benefits

• 401(k) plan with employer matching
• 16 weeks of paid parental leave
• Wellness benefits
• Commuter benefits match
• Paid time off and paid sick leave in compliance with applicable laws
• Medical, dental, and vision benefits
• 11 paid holidays
• Disability and basic life insurance
• Family-forming assistance
• Mental health program

What This Job Offers

• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: Bachelor's degree