Staff Systems Engineer- Autonomous Vehicle Safety

GM•Sunnyvale, CA

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

The SAFE-ADS (Safety Assurance for Effective Autonomous Driving Software) department, within GM's Global Product Safety, System, and Certification (GPSSC) organization, is the central authority for automated driving system (ADS) safety. GM's vision is zero crashes, zero emissions, and zero congestion, with AV safety being crucial to achieving this. This role focuses on leading the development, maintenance, and continuous improvement of comprehensive safety cases for autonomous vehicle capabilities. The Technical Lead will shape safety arguments, define claims and sufficiency criteria with domain experts, integrate evidence across disciplines, and ensure alignment with product evolution, regulatory expectations, and industry best practices. This position owns the strategy for building a safety case that adheres to industry standards and best practices, working collaboratively with autonomy, AI/ML, platform, systems engineering, functional safety, cybersecurity, product safety, legal, regulatory, and leadership teams. The individual will architect safety case development, assessment, and improvement processes, enhance traceability, elevate evidence quality, support internal and external assessments, and communicate safety strategies, risks, and decisions to both technical and executive audiences.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in engineering, Mathematics, Computer Science, Robotics, Safety Management, or related technical field.
7+ years of relevant experience in autonomous driving, ADAS, systems engineering, safety, program leadership, or other complex software-intensive safety-critical environments.
Demonstrated experience developing, supporting, or assessing safety cases, assurance cases, or equivalent structured safety arguments.
Deep knowledge of functional safety and safety assurance concepts, including ISO 26262 (FuSa), ISO 21448 (SOTIF), ISO 8800 (AI) and UL 4600.
Strong ability to decompose high-level safety goals into clear, implementable requirements and evidence needs for hardware and software teams.
Experience leading large, cross-functional technical efforts with enterprise-level scope and multiple stakeholders.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to translate complex technical concepts for non-technical audiences.
Ability to synthesize ambiguous or distributed technical data into clear safety arguments, decisions, and recommendations.
Passion for autonomous vehicle technology and advancing safe deployment of ADS capabilities.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree (MS, PhD) in Engineering, Mathematics, Computer Science, Robotics, Safety Management, or a related field.
Prior experience in an autonomous vehicle or advanced mobility regulatory, certification, or safety assurance role.
Advanced understanding of AI/ML safety validation techniques, statistical or probabilistic safety arguments, and evidence sufficiency evaluation.
Familiarity with Goal Structuring Notation (GSN) or similar structured argumentation frameworks.
Experience with requirements management, traceability, and evidence management practices in safety-critical development lifecycles.
Experience working in fast-paced, high-growth engineering organizations with frequent software releases and evolving system scope.
Experience engaging with external assessors, regulators, standards bodies, or industry consortia.

Responsibilities

Lead the development, governance, maintenance, and continuous improvement of a comprehensive safety case for the Automated Driving System (ADS).
Define safety case strategies based on industry best practices, standards, and internal safety objectives.
Partner with cross-functional stakeholders to develop and refine safety case claims, sufficiency criteria, and supporting evidence across domains.
Author and maintain safety case materials to support product submissions, formal audits, internal reviews, and external assessments.
Present safety case approaches, methodologies, risks, and progress to internal and external stakeholders, including executives, partners, and regulators.
Work with regulatory agencies, external consultants, and internal teams to ensure safety-critical applications are appropriately supported by evidence and validation strategies.
Improve compliance and evidence-tracking processes so that safety evidence, claim status, and regulatory requirements are systematically recorded and kept current.
Identify high-value opportunities to improve traceability and automate portions of safety evidence collection across the engineering lifecycle.
Surface safety gaps, evidence weaknesses, and emerging risks, and drive timely escalation and resolution through the appropriate forums.
Integrate technical evidence from autonomy, AI/ML, platform, functional safety, cybersecurity, systems engineering, validation, and product safety into coherent, defensible safety arguments.
Perform impact analyses when system scope, ODD, platform, or release changes affect the safety case, and determine what claims, criteria, or evidence must be updated.
Drive alignment between safety case claims and relevant standards, guidance, and best practices, including UL 4600, ISO 26262, ISO 21448, AVSC guidance, and ISO/PAS 8800.