System Safety and Assurance Lead

Electro Optic Systems; City of Hume; On-site; AUD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Electro Optic Systems seeks a senior Safety and Assurance Lead to drive product safety programs across multiple projects in Australia. You will own safety plans, hazard analyses, and safety cases, while coordinating with customers, regulators and internal stakeholders. A strong background in defence safety standards and risk management is essential.

You will mentor engineers, improve governance, and ensure evidence-based risk reduction throughout the lifecycle, from design to disposal.

Qualifications

• Tertiary qualification in engineering discipline (safety, systems, mechanical, electrical or software).
• Substantial experience in system safety or engineering assurance for complex, mission-critical or safety-critical systems.
• Experience leading safety programs, assurance activities or multidisciplinary technical teams and influencing senior stakeholders.
• Practical experience developing safety plans, hazard analyses, hazard logs, safety requirements, safety cases and assurance reports.
• Strong understanding of systems engineering, verification and validation, configuration management, quality management and lifecycle governance.
• Knowledge of defence safety and regulatory frameworks and interpreting customer assurance requirements.
• Experience conducting or supporting technical audits, independent reviews and risk acceptance processes.
• Ability to communicate complex safety arguments clearly to technical and non-technical decision-makers.

Responsibilities

• Lead product safety and engineering assurance capability, governance, methods, templates and competency development.
• Develop, own and maintain safety management plans, assurance plans, safety cases and safety assurance reports for assigned products and programs.
• Provide independent technical challenge and assurance that safety risks are understood, reduced so far as reasonably practicable, and supported by evidence.
• Lead and mentor safety and assurance practitioners, and build safety capability across multidisciplinary engineering teams.
• Act as the senior focal point for customer, regulator, certifier and internal stakeholder engagement on product safety and assurance matters.
• Establish, implement and continuously improve product safety and assurance frameworks aligned with Defence, customer, regulatory and industry requirements.
• Plan and lead hazard identification and safety analysis activities (PHA, FHA, SHA, etc.).
• Own and maintain hazard logs, safety requirements and assurance evidence with end-to-end traceability.
• Develop and maintain safety cases and structured assurance arguments.

Skills

System safety

Engineering assurance

Safety planning

Hazard analysis

Independent reviews

Stakeholder engagement

Regulatory knowledge

Risk communication

Education

Engineering degree

Tools

FMEA/FMECA

Job description

We continually strive to help our workforce achieve their professional and personal goals, engaging them in challenging and inspiring projects.

Primary Duties

• Lead the EOS product safety and engineering assurance capability, including governance, methods, tools, templates and competency development.
• Develop, own and maintain safety management plans, assurance plans, safety cases and safety assurance reports for assigned products and programs.
• Provide independent technical challenge and assurance that safety risks are understood, reduced so far as reasonably practicable, and supported by objective evidence before acceptance.
• Lead and mentor safety and assurance practitioners, and build safety capability across multidisciplinary engineering teams.
• Act as the senior focal point for customer, regulator, certifier and internal stakeholder engagement on product safety and assurance matters.

Key Responsibilities

• Establish, implement and continuously improve product safety and assurance frameworks aligned with applicable Defence, customer, regulatory and industry requirements.
• Plan and lead hazard identification and safety analysis activities, including PHA, FHA, SHA, SSHA, IHA, FMEA/FMECA, FTA and common-cause analysis, as appropriate to the system and lifecycle phase.
• Own and maintain hazard logs, safety requirements and assurance evidence, ensuring end-to-end traceability from hazard identification through mitigation, verification and formal closure.
• Develop and maintain safety cases and structured assurance arguments that clearly demonstrate the basis for safe design, integration, manufacture, operation, maintenance and disposal.
• Assess system, hardware, software, human-factor and interface hazards, including failure propagation and safety impacts arising from engineering or configuration changes.
• Define proportionate assurance activities and acceptance criteria; review plans, analyses, test evidence, concessions, waivers and technical data for completeness and adequacy.
• Participate in architecture, design, test-readiness, qualification, acceptance and change-control reviews to identify safety concerns early and drive timely resolution.
• Coordinate independent reviews, audits and assurance assessments, track findings to closure, and report material risks, gaps and decisions to senior leadership.
• Support incident and near-miss investigations where product or engineering safety is involved, identify systemic causes and ensure lessons are incorporated into designs and processes.
• Provide clear risk and assurance reporting to governance forums, including recommendations, residual-risk statements and escalation of issues beyond delegated authority.
• Collaborate with customers, suppliers and subcontractors to define safety deliverables, assurance expectations, data requirements and evidence acceptance arrangements.
• Ensure safety and assurance records are controlled within EOS information, quality and configuration-management systems.
• Coach engineers and leaders in safety thinking, just culture, risk-based decision-making and the preparation of high-quality assurance evidence.

Experience, Qualifications and Capabilities

• Tertiary qualification in systems, safety, mechanical, electrical, electronics, software or another relevant engineering discipline.
• Substantial experience in system safety, product safety or engineering assurance for complex, mission-critical or safety-critical systems, preferably within Defence.
• Demonstrated experience leading safety programs, assurance activities or multidisciplinary technical teams and influencing senior stakeholders.
• Practical experience developing safety plans, hazard analyses, hazard logs, safety requirements, safety cases and assurance reports.
• Strong understanding of systems engineering, verification and validation, configuration management, quality management and lifecycle governance.
• Knowledge of relevant Defence safety and regulatory frameworks and recognised risk, quality and safety standards. Experience interpreting contract and customer assurance requirements is desirable.
• Experience conducting or supporting technical audits, independent reviews, incident investigations and risk acceptance processes.
• Ability to communicate complex safety arguments and residual risks clearly to technical and non-technical decision-makers.
• Professional engineering registration, Chartered status, or eligibility to attain these, is desirable.
• Eligibility to obtain and maintain the required Australian Government security clearance.

Success Measures

• Safety risks and assurance obligations are visible, current and supported by objective evidence.
• Safety deliverables are accepted on schedule with findings and actions closed in a timely manner.
• Design and change decisions demonstrate clear consideration of hazards, mitigations and residual risk.
• Engineering teams consistently apply agreed safety and assurance practices across the lifecycle.
• Leaders and risk acceptors receive concise, decision-ready advice with clear recommendations and escalation.

Decision Rights and Interfaces

• Recommend acceptance, conditional acceptance or rejection of safety and assurance evidence within delegated authority.
• Escalate unacceptable, inadequately controlled or insufficiently evidenced safety risks to the appropriate technical and business authority.
• Chair or support safety working groups and assurance reviews, and commission independent specialist review where justified.
• Key interfaces include Directors, Heads and Chief Engineers, Systems Engineering, Design Engineering, Software, Test and Evaluation, Production, Quality, Programs, Supply Chain, customers, regulators and external assurance providers.