Principal Automated Driving Safety Engineer

Motional is developing an autonomous robo-taxi service and intends to align its fleet of autonomous vehicles to ISO 26262:2018, ISO 21448, and other emerging ADS safety standards to enable safe driverless operation on public roads. The Automated Driving Safety Engineer will work across multiple sites as a strong contributor in the application of the global safety standards and requirements governing the processes, activities and work products required for Motional’s autonomous operations.
This role will be responsible for ensuring that a cross-functional team at Motional including system engineers, system architects, hardware and software engineers and validation and verification engineers understand and follow the processes and generate the work products as required to build an ADS Safety Case.

Lead system analysis efforts (e.g. HARA, FMEA, FTA, DFA, STPA) and generation of structured safety requirements, including ASIL targets, decomposition strategies, and Sensing/AV AI/ML safety mitigations. Manage the generation and compilation of system-level safety documentation and confirmation measures.

Manage the component and subsystem certification processes as dictated by the ISO 26262:2018 standard.

Work with a 3rd party assessor throughout the robotaxi development process to align generation of work products towards a successful assessment.
The role requires a broad system safety view that incorporates diverse aspects (hardware, software, human, environment) of complex systems to achieve safety.
The Motional global headquarters are located at 100 Northern Avenue in Boston, MA. Nestled in the bustling Seaport district with sweeping views of Boston Harbor and downtown Boston, the offices are located close to major transit lines and a quick walk to various restaurants and popular attractions.
*This role can be fully remote or hybrid at one of the Motional offices.*
What You'll Be Doing
Project and technical leadership to ensure Motional is following industry safety standards and its own internal safety processes
Drive the concept level and system level requirements development and evaluate and constructively suggest implementation and validation solutions
Collaborate with system engineers, system architects and software engineers to drive implementation of system safety for Motional’s autonomous driving system according to the applicable standards and processes
Provide technical leadership for developing and driving Safety Concepts and realization across the ADS system at Motional
Lead the development of a Safety process, Safety culture, and mature Safety methodology to ensure successful autonomous innovation
Interface with quality management (QMS), cybersecurity, and operational safety (SMS)
Engage with external manufacturers and suppliers to ensure compliance across all parts of the vehicle system
Describe concepts and interact with safety assessors to facilitate the assessment activities
What We're Looking For
Bachelor’s Degree or higher in Computer Science, Systems Engineering, Safety Engineering, or related engineering field
7+ years directly responsible for applying ISO 26262 standard or other system safety standards in an automotive or similar application
Demonstrated experience in certifying or developing automotive software (autonomous or conventional)
Experience with the concepts behind ISO 21448 / SOTIF
Demonstrated practical experience with methods such as HARA, HazOp, FHA, DFMEA, SFMEA, FMEDA, FTA, STPA, reliability estimation, and root cause analysis
Experience delivering a system safety project and/or safety critical software from concept to full validation
Defining and documenting safety lifecycle processes for complex safety critical systems, including safety plans, safety requirements, specifications, assessments, etc.
Excellent communication skills
Enthusiasm and a desire to work in a very fast-paced environment where innovation and rapid change is the norm
Bonus Points (not required)
Experience writing safety requirements (INCOSE), test plans, validation plans
Experience writing software safety requirements (INCOSE), software test plans, software coding guidelines (MISRA), and other software lifecycle documents
Experience in development and/or the safety of Machine Learning/AI functions in the context of vehicle sensing, perception, and guidance
Demonstrated background in the full lifecycle of safety certification processes which may include but is not limited to ISO 26262:2018, ISO 21448, UL 4600, ARP-4761/DO-178C, IEC 61508, IEC 62304, MIL-STD-882/AOP-52, EN 50128
Demonstrated safety experience in vehicle subsystems (e.g. steering, braking), safety critical electronics development, or sensor development
Experience working in safety critical industries/types of systems: automotive, aviation, space, security, manufacturing, rail, automotive, oil & gas
Ability to read and understand complex code in C, C++, Python
Demonstrated experience developing and validating software in real-time environments such as QNX, ThreadX, AutoSAR
Experience with safety case argumentation, including GSN
Experience with autonomous vehicles or ADAS
Experience with MBSE approaches, including SysML, MagicDraw
Experience with safety analysis software such as Ansys Medini, FaultTee+, CAFTA, APIS IQ
Certified Safety Professional, Certified Safety Expert, or other system safety credentials
Experience leading a team of engineers in a product or project development environment
Strong mentoring and team building skills
Experience in applying safety thinking to a complex system in a rapidly changing product or technology
Why You Should Join Us
Lead Safety Engineering for a company that prioritizes safety
First AV organization to pass a 3rd party assessment
Help build the safe autonomous driving future
Safety Requirements:
Because interfacing with the public and/or other employees in a confined setting is an essential function of the job, Motional currently requires those performing this role to be fully vaccinated. Anyone hired into this role should be vaccinated by their start date. Motional is an equal opportunity employer, and will provide reasonable accommodation to those unable to be vaccinated where it is not an undue hardship to the Company to do so as provided under federal, state, and local law.
If you don’t meet 100% of the qualifications outlined above - that’s okay! We encourage you to apply if you think this is a role that would make you excited to come into work every day and that you can deliver the results we need.
The salary range for this role is an estimate based on a wide range of compensation factors including but not limited to specific skills, experience and expertise, role location, certifications, licenses, and business needs. The estimated compensation range listed in this job posting reflects base salary only. This role may include additional forms of compensation such as a bonus or company equity. The recruiter assigned to this role can share more information about the specific compensation and benefit details associated with this role during the hiring process.
Candidates for certain positions are eligible to participate in Motional’s benefits program. Motional’s benefits include but are not limited to medical, dental, vision, 401k with a company match, health saving accounts, life insurance, pet insurance, and more.
Salary Range $156,400—$221,700 USD

Motional is a driverless technology company making autonomous vehicles a safe, reliable, and accessible reality. We’re driven by something more.
Our journey is always people first.
We aren't just developing driverless cars; we're creating safer roadways, more equitable transportation options, and making our communities better places to live, work, and connect. Our team is made up of engineers, researchers, innovators, dreamers and doers, who are creating a technology with the potential to transform the way we move.
Higher purpose, greater impact.
We’re creating first-of-its-kind technology that will transform transportation. To do so successfully, we must design for everyone in our cities and on our roads. We believe in building a great place to work through a progressive, global culture that is diverse, inclusive, and ensures people feel valued at every level of the organization. Diversity helps us to see the world differently; it’s not only good for our business, it’s the right thing to do.
Scale up, not starting up.
Our team is behind some of the industry's largest leaps forward, including the first fully-autonomous cross-country drive in the U.S, the launch of the world's first robotaxi pilot, and operation of the world's longest-standing public robotaxi fleet. We’re driven to scale; we’re moving towards commercialization of our technology, and we need team members who are ready to embrace change and challenges.
Formed as a joint venture between Hyundai Motor Group and Aptiv, Motional is fundamentally changing how people move through their lives. Headquartered in Boston, Motional has operations in the U.S and Asia. For more information, visit

www.Motional.com and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
Motional AD Inc. is an EOE. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. To comply with Federal Law, we participate in E-Verify. All newly-hired employees are queried through this electronic system established by the DHS and the SSA to verify their identity and employment eligibility.

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