Sr. /Staff System Safety Engineer, Autonomy

DiDi Labs•San Jose, CA

6d•$148,594 - $296,400

About The Position

DiDi Autonomous Driving is seeking an experienced, mission-driven Senior/Staff System Safety Engineer, Autonomy to lead the safety strategy and deployment readiness of fully autonomous driving systems. The role defines and implements safety frameworks, release policies, and system-level engineering processes to support safe, scalable unmanned operations. The engineer will provide technical leadership in system safety, ensuring vehicles meet rigorous safety standards as the company advances toward large-scale commercial deployment.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree or higher in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Systems Engineering, or a closely related technical field.
3–5 years of industry experience in systems engineering, safety engineering, autonomous systems, or a directly related field.
Strong systems thinking and ability to decompose complex safety challenges and drive practical, scalable solutions.
Demonstrated ability to collaborate across teams, influence stakeholders, and take ownership of safety outcomes.
Experience working in a fast-paced environment with multiple parallel projects and ambiguous requirements.

Nice To Haves

Professional experience in safety-critical autonomous vehicle deployment or large-scale robotic systems operations.
Background in functional safety, including ISO 26262 or SOTIF, or safety assurance of unmanned systems.
Hands-on experience with safety validation tools, simulation-based V&V, or operational safety monitoring platforms.
Proven track record of defining release policies or safety readiness criteria for real-world autonomous systems.

Responsibilities

Own the safety evaluation and release strategy for unmanned autonomous driving operations, defining criteria for system release, degradation, and fallback under varying operating conditions.
Design, implement, and champion a safety-related systems engineering framework, including safety requirements, system architecture, and Verification & Validation (V&V) plans.
Assess unmanned operational workflows, emergency protocols, and supporting tools and platforms to ensure safety and operational completeness.
Develop and institutionalize safety evaluation methodologies and metrics frameworks, translating safety goals into quantifiable, verifiable, continuously tracked indicators.
Lead safety-related incident reviews and analyses during unmanned operations, driving improvements in system design, test coverage, and operational procedures.
Collaborate with Software, Product, Operations, and Safety teams to support leadership decisions on unmanned deployment, city expansion, and operational scaling.