Staff Functional Safety Engineer

Humble Robotics•San Francisco, CA

About The Position

This role owns the functional/system safety engineering foundation end-to-end: hazard analysis, safety requirements, safety case/evidence, and the verification strategy across simulation and vehicle testing. You’ll work directly with autonomy, vehicle platform, embedded/compute, simulation, and test to ensure safety is designed in and proven with traceable evidence—without building a heavyweight process.

Requirements

8+ years building safety-critical systems (automotive, robotics, aerospace, industrial, medical), including 5+ years in functional safety and/or system safety.
Strong track record owning safety artifacts through major milestones: hazard analyses, safety requirements, verification strategies, and safety evidence.
Systems engineering strength: crisp, testable requirements; interface management; traceability; risk-based decision-making.
Technical breadth across AV-relevant domains (vehicle interfaces/actuation, embedded/compute, autonomy behaviors, operational constraints).
Comfort working hands-on with data and engineering tooling (e.g., Python/SQL) to create and interpret readiness signals.
Clear communicator who can lead cross-functional technical reviews and drive alignment.
Eligible to work in the United States

Nice To Haves

Direct L3/L4 autonomy experience (driverless pilot or commercial launch).
Practical experience applying ISO 26262, ISO 21448 (SOTIF), and/or UL 4600 to complex systems.
Experience with fault-tolerant/fail-operational strategies and minimal-risk maneuvers for automated driving.
Experience with HIL/SIL and simulation scenario coverage design tied to safety claims.
Experience working with partners, auditors, or regulators on safety evidence.

Responsibilities

Own the safety lifecycle for the AV program: safety plan, safety case structure, evidence strategy, and readiness gates.
Lead safety analyses across the stack (e.g., HARA, FMEA, FTA and other system-level hazard analysis approaches as appropriate) and maintain the hazard log.
Define safety goals, safety concepts (functional/technical or system safety equivalents), and safety requirements for HW/SW/ops with clear verification methods.
Drive safety-critical architecture and design decisions: fault handling, monitoring/diagnostics, degraded modes, minimal-risk behaviors, and interface assumptions.
Build the verification strategy linking hazards and safety goals to simulation coverage, SIL/HIL where applicable, and on-road/track testing.
Ensure traceability from requirements to tests to results, and produce clear safety evidence packages for internal reviews and external partners.
Establish lightweight operating mechanisms: safety reviews, change impact assessment, safety issue triage, and release/readiness decision documentation.
Guide teams on practical application of relevant standards and best practices (e.g., ISO 26262 where applicable, ISO 21448/SOTIF, UL 4600).