Staff Safety Engineer

Third Wave Automation•Union City, CA

12d•Hybrid

About The Position

Third Wave Automation is a rapidly growing startup that has demonstrated its core technology components, proven its market fit, and just closed its Series C funding. If you are excited about cutting edge machine learning, robotics that affects the real world, and want to join a company where your skills can have a huge impact, you’ll fit right in. Third Wave Automation is applying modern machine learning to materials handling—delivering site-specific forklift navigation and infrastructure-free pallet handling that continuously adapts to changing floor configuration and warehouse demand. The Mission: Architecting Safety for Physical AI At Third Wave Automation, we don’t just deploy technology; we transform how the world’s largest OEMs and logistics providers operate. Moving 3,000lb autonomous reach trucks with centimeter precision means that safety isn't just a regulatory hurdle—it is the bedrock of our product, our customer trust, and our entire business model. We are looking for a Staff Safety Engineer to act as our primary technical authority on system safety and compliance. We do not want a "box-checker" or someone whose favorite phrase is "because the standard says so." We are looking for an innovator—a deeply technical engineer who understands why a standard exists and can propose novel, compliant architectures that accommodate the bleeding edge of Physical AI. Reporting directly to the CEO, you will have full autonomy. You will inherit a strong foundation, but you will have the absolute authority to refine, correct, or completely rebuild our frameworks if there is a better way.

Requirements

10+ Years of Deep Expertise: A decade or more of hands-on experience in safety engineering within robotics, autonomous systems, automotive, or heavy industrial automation.
Regulatory Mastery: Deep, working knowledge of OSHA regulations and core autonomy standards, specifically IEC 61508 , ISO 13849 (Parts 1 & 2) , and ISO/SAE 21434 (Cybersecurity).
The "First-Principles" Mindset: The technical depth to challenge engineering assumptions and propose innovative safety solutions rather than relying on outdated boilerplate compliance.
AI Fluency: Comfortable leveraging LLMs and modern software tools to 10x your efficiency in research, technical writing, and workflow automation without compromising engineering rigor.
Diplomacy & Gravitas: Proven experience participating in industry standards committees and the professional polish to influence C-suite executives, OEMs, and regulatory bodies.
A "Builder's" Autonomy: The ability to operate in a high-growth startup environment where you are trusted to define the roadmap, not just execute someone else’s plan.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree or higher in Robotics, Electrical Engineering, Systems Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field.
Deep experience navigating functional safety audits and successfully achieving safety certifications for complex hardware/software systems.
Outstanding interpersonal communication skills, with the ability to translate complex safety standards into clear, actionable engineering requirements.
Outstanding interpersonal communication skills, with the ability to translate complex safety standards into clear, actionable engineering requirements.

Responsibilities

Partner directly with Product and Engineering leaders to weave safety into the DNA of our robotics platform.
Represent TWA on national and international standards committees.
Leverage generative AI and advanced tooling to parse dense regulatory updates, draft technical documentation, and streamline hazard analysis.
Own and drive the end-to-end certification processes for complex autonomous systems across hardware, software, and cybersecurity.
Act as the definitive safety authority for our Tier-1 OEM partners and customers.
Oversee our internal Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) programs, ensuring our field engineers, deployment teams, and lab staff have the right training, protocols, and protection to do their best work.
Conduct a deep-dive audit of our existing safety architecture, EHS programs, and compliance documentation.
Establish strong partnerships with Product, Engineering, and Field Operations leaders to embed safety requirements smoothly into our development and deployment cycles.
Take immediate ownership of ongoing certification processes (e.g., IEC 61508, ISO 13849, ISO 21434) and map out the strategy for future regulatory compliance.
Begin representing Third Wave Automation in relevant industry committees, advocating for standards that align with the realities of modern embodied AI.
Review and upgrade our internal Environmental, Health, and Safety training to ensure every TWA employee operates with the highest level of protection.