Staff Systems Safety Engineer
Apptronik · Sunnyvale · $280,000–$310,000 (stated in the posting)
Apptronik is a human-centered robotics company developing AI-powered robots to support humanity in every facet of life. Our flagship humanoid robot, Apollo, is built to collaborate thoughtfully with people, starting with critical industries such as manufacturing and logistics, with future applications in healthcare, the home, and beyond.
We operate at the cutting edge of Applied AI, applying our expertise across the full robotics stack to solve some of society's most important problems. You will join a team dedicated to bringing Apollo to market at scale, tackling the complex challenges like safety, commercialization, and mass production to change the world for the better.
JOB SUMMARY
Be the technical authority for the safety of our humanoid robots, from concept through customer deployment. You will author the system safety architecture and safety case and provide technical leadership to the engineers who own hazard analysis, safety functions, and customer deployment safety, so that the safety case holds up with customers and assessors. You will draw on deep functional safety and robot safety expertise, technical leadership, and sound risk-based judgment.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES or KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES
- Provide technical leadership to the systems safety engineers, from hazard analysis and safety requirements through site risk assessment and commissioning, be accountable for the technical quality of their work, and support first customer deployments on site
- Set technical direction across the safety team, review its work, and mentor engineers through coaching, technical guidance, and input on hiring, and keep the team’s day-to-day technical priorities aligned to long-term goals
- Author the system-level safety architecture (including AI) and functional safety concept, driving architecture-level safety decisions across current and next-generation platforms, balancing performance, technical risk, and compliance
- Serve as technical authority for safety trade-offs, residual risk recommendations, component and architectural decisions, and conflicts between safety and product goals
- Author and maintain the safety case, ensuring evidence from software, hardware, AI, user safety, and deployment is complete, consistent, and traceable, including the SOTIF argument for hazards that arise without a fault
- Perform system-level safety analyses that span the domain roles, such as system fault trees and common-cause failure analysis, lead in-depth design reviews of safety-critical subsystems, and take hands-on ownership of deliverables where the team has gaps
- Define the safety lifecycle, including the AI safety lifecycle under ISO/IEC TS 22440 and the SOTIF process under ISO 21448, and safety engineering methods, and the technical criteria for design reviews, safety gates, and SOTIF residual risk acceptance
SKILLS AND REQUIREMENTS
- Proven hands-on leadership of functional or system safety for complex robotic, machinery, or autonomous products from concept through deployment, including authoring safety architectures and safety cases
- Deep expertise in hazard analysis and risk assessment, the hierarchy of controls, safety function definition, and the safety lifecycle under IEC 61508, IEC 62061, ISO 13849, and ISO 12100
- Experience with robot and machinery safety standards, such as ISO 10218, ANSI/A3 R15.06, ANSI/A3 R15.08, and ISO 25785-1, and with the safety of robot deployments at customer sites
- Experience providing technical leadership and mentoring to safety engineers across hardware, software, and system topics
- Experience building a safety case and working with notified bodies, NRTLs, or third-party assessors
- Familiarity with safety of AI/ML-enabled systems, such as ISO/IEC TS 22440 and SOTIF (ISO 21448), and with requirements tools such as JAMA
- Strong executive communication, strategic thinking, and the judgment to make and defend risk-based decisions
EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE
- Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Systems Engineering, Robotics, Computer Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent experience); Master’s preferred
- 12+ years of relevant experience, including 7+ years in functional or system safety, with substantial responsibility for the safety of complex robotic or electromechanical products and prior technical leadership of a safety team
- Certified functional safety expert or professional (e.g., TÜV, exida) preferred
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:
- Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer
- Must be able to lift 15 pounds at times
- Vision to read printed materials and a computer screen
- Hearing and speech to communicate
Salary range for CA: $280,000 - $310,000
*This is a direct hire. Please, no outside Agency solicitations.
Apptronik provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.
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