Principal Safety Systems Engineer

About the role

You will define and own the end-to-end safety and compliance strategy for a team building warehouse robotic systems from the ground up. You will set the technical direction for safety architectures and drive critical decisions with significant independence in an early-stage environment. You will represent Robust AI's safety commitments to customers, regulators, and leadership, translating complex requirements into actionable engineering plans. You will work hand-in-hand with engineering teams to influence design choices at the architecture level and ensure safety is built in, not bolted on. You will manage relationships with outside certification bodies and testing organizations, guiding them through our systems and rationale. You will own the safety roadmap, including standards adoption, hazard analysis, and verification strategy from concept to deployment. You will lead testing efforts, drive safety cases and documentation, and pivot quickly as priorities shift in this fast-growing startup. This role is tailored for someone who has done this before, operates comfortably with autonomy, and can navigate ambiguity while keeping systems robust and safe.

Key facts

What you'll do

Drive the end-to-end safety and compliance roadmap for warehouse robotic systems, owning strategy, execution, and stakeholder communication.

Set technical direction for safety-critical architectures, ensuring alignment with industry standards and regulatory expectations.

Independently make safety decisions and trade-offs, balancing risk, performance, and program constraints in an early-stage setting.

Collaborate closely with engineering teams to embed safety into the design of robotic hardware, software, and integration processes.

Represent Robust AI with certification bodies, testing organizations, and regulatory stakeholders, articulating our safety rationale and evidence.

Own hazard analysis and risk assessment activities, translating findings into actionable design requirements and verification plans.

Define and drive verification and validation testing strategies, overseeing execution and resolving safety-related issues.

Manage relationships with outside labs and certification partners, guiding them through system documentation and test campaigns.

Influence architecture-level design decisions to ensure safety mechanisms, fail-safes, and monitoring are effective and scalable.

Maintain and evolve safety documentation, including safety cases, argumentation, and traceability from requirements to verification.

Champion best practices for functional safety and industrial hygiene within the team, fostering a culture of rigorous and proactive safety.

Adapt quickly to shifting priorities in a fast-paced startup while maintaining rigorous safety processes and clear documentation.

Partner with operations and field teams to investigate incidents, support root cause analysis, and implement corrective actions.

Support the development of internal tools and dashboards for safety metrics, monitoring, and compliance reporting.

Act as the internal and external expert on safety matters, providing clear guidance and training to cross-functional stakeholders.

Requirements

Candidates must have a Bachelor's degree in a relevant technical field or equivalent practical experience.

You must have extensive experience with functional safety processes, ideally in accordance with ISO 13849 or IEC 61508 for industrial systems.

You should bring deep knowledge of safety lifecycle methodologies, including hazard analysis, risk assessment, and verification planning.

You must have a strong background in safety-critical system design for robotic or automated machinery.

Experience with certification and regulatory processes for warehouse or industrial automation systems is required.

You must be comfortable working with both technical and non-technical stakeholders, translating safety requirements into clear guidance.

You should have a proven track record of owning safety documentation, safety cases, and compliance evidence for complex systems.

You must be able to operate autonomously in an early-stage environment, making sound safety decisions with limited direct oversight.

Nice to have

Experience with warehouse robotics, mobile manipulation, or automated material handling is preferred.

Knowledge of cybersecurity and data protection standards relevant to industrial systems is a plus.

Familiarity with emerging standards for AI-driven and autonomous systems in industrial settings is desirable.

Experience with simulation and digital twin tools for safety analysis is a bonus.

Practical notes

This is a full-time position based in San Carlos, California.

The role may involve travel to customer sites, testing labs, or certification provider offices as needed.

Employment eligibility to work in the United States is required, and no sponsorship is available for this role.

Candidates must be able to start within a reasonable timeframe as dictated by business needs.