Staff System Engineer – ADAS/AD Safety

Lucid Motors•Newark, CA

3d•$164,600 - $241,450•Onsite

About The Position

We are currently seeking Staff System Engineer – ADAS/AD Safety to join our ADAS/AD team. We are looking for a system safety engineer who will lead the functional safety (ISO 26262) and SOTIF foundation for our ADAS features, while also owning the safety case framework for our higher-level automated driving functions. This role establishes the core safety processes, artifacts, and safety case architecture that the company will scale as our products evolve. This is a hands-on technical role with significant influence on process, tooling, and culture. You will be the internal reference for safety case thinking and modern safety standards (ISO 26262, SOTIF, UL 4600, etc.).

Requirements

Bachelors in System Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science
8+ years of related experience in system safety, functional safety, or safety assurance for autonomous systems, ADAS, robotics, or similar safety-critical domains.
Demonstrated experience with at least one full safety lifecycle (concept through SOP/launch) for a complex system.
Hands-on experience with safety case development or maintenance, including structuring claims, arguments, and evidence
Solid working knowledge of ISO 26262, ISO 21448 (SOTIF) and UL 4600
Practical experience with safety analysis methods (e.g., HARA, FMEA, FTA, STPA) and their integration into a traceable safety argument.
Strong written communication skills; able to author clear safety concepts, analyses, and safety case documentation targeted at both engineers and leadership.
Strong systems thinking: comfortable reasoning from high-level societal/operational risk down to implementation details.
High ownership bias: willing to create structure where none exists and drive alignment across teams.
Ability to influence without authority and bring engineers, PMs, and leaders along on safety decisions.
Clear, concise communication; able to explain complex safety trade-offs to both technical and non-technical audiences.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in system engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science experience
6 years related experience or a PhD with 3 years experience
Experience with automated driving or advanced ADAS (multi-sensor stacks: camera, radar, lidar, ultrasonic, GNSS/IMU, HD maps).
Demonstrated ownership of a UL 4600-aligned safety case or similar safety case for autonomy.
Working knowledge of ISO-8800
Familiarity with AI/ML safety topics (data pipeline safety, performance monitoring, ODD/OSD concepts, SOTIF for perception/behavior).
Experience working in or with fast-moving startups or new product lines, balancing rigor with pragmatism.
Exposure to regulatory interactions, external audits, or certification bodies on safety topics.

Responsibilities

Collaborate with the Function Safety team to jointly review and align on HARA, Safety Goals (SG), for ADAS and AD features.
Own the derivation and authoring of Technical Safety Concepts and Technical Safety Requirements, ensuring proper allocation to sensors, ECUs, software modules, actuators, vehicle networks, and operational assets.
Integrate SOTIF thinking into the safety case: performance limitations, triggering conditions, misuse and edge-case scenarios, especially for perception and AI/ML components.
Define and own the end-to-end safety case framework for ADAS/AD stack (structure, claims, argumentation style, and evidence model).
Identify top-level safety objectives and transform them into safety case claims, sub-claims, and required evidence (e.g., using GSN or equivalent notations).
Act as the technical focal point for safety case topics in design reviews, release gates, and change control boards.
Contribute to building a Safety Management System (SMS) and safety governance structures over time (e.g., safety board, safety metrics).