Safety Test Engineer - Robot Arms

Neura Robotics; Gemeindeverwaltungsverband Metzingen, Riederich; On-site; EUR 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Neura Robotics is seeking a Safety Verification & Validation Engineer to plan, design, and execute tests for robotic safety functions, including emergency stop and safe torque off. You will validate performance in practice and ensure traceability for audits.

The role requires hands-on hardware/software testing, experience with safety standards (ISO 10218, IEC 61508), scripting (Python/Java), and collaboration across safety, firmware, and application teams in an agile setup.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in a relevant engineering or computer science field.
• 5+ years testing, validation, or verification of safety-critical robotic systems.
• Solid knowledge of robot arm kinematics, safety limits, and collaborative operation.
• Experience with functional safety standards (ISO 10218, IEC 61508) and risk assessments.
• Hands-on testing with safety hardware and tools (safety PLCs, I/O, oscilloscopes).
• Proficiency in Python or Java; familiarity with test automation tools and Git.
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines and agile cross-functional teams.
• Excellent communication; fluency in English; German a plus.

Responsibilities

• Plan, design, and execute test cases for robot safety functions.
• Validate safety performance including stopping time, speed limits, and zones.
• Test safety I/O, safety PLCs, and fieldbus safety protocols.
• Perform fault-injection and negative testing to ensure safe states.
• Mentor colleagues and coordinate safety testing across teams.
• Log defects and drive root-cause investigations.

Skills

Test methodology

Python

Java

CI/CD

Agile teams

Safety standards

Education

Bachelor's or Master’s degree in Mechatronics, Robotics, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science

Tools

Safety PLCs/controllers

Oscilloscopes / data loggers

Git

Cucumber/BDD

Selenium

Job description

Safety verification & validation

• Plan, design, and execute test cases for robot safety functions (e.g., emergency stop, protective stop, safe torque off, safety-rated speed and position limits, safety zones, and collaborative operation modes).

• Validate safety performance in practice: stopping time and distance, speed and separation monitoring, power and force limiting, and contact force and pressure measurements.

• Test safety-related interfaces, including safety I/O, safety PLC and controller communication, and fieldbus safety protocols.

• Perform fault-injection and negative testing (sensor failures, communication loss, power interruptions, invalid configurations) to confirm the system reaches a safe state.

• Apply mechatronics knowledge (mechanical, electrical, control) to anticipate failure modes and design tests that catch real integration issues early.

Compliance & documentation

• Support compliance with relevant standards, such as ISO 10218-1/-2, ISO/TS 15066, ISO 13849, IEC 61508 / IEC 62061, and IEC 60204-1.

• Ensure full traceability from safety requirements and risk assessment results to test cases, results, and findings.

• Create and maintain test plans, test reports, and verification evidence for the safety case and for audits with certification bodies (e.g., TÜV).

• Contribute to risk assessments, FMEA, and hazard analyses from the testing perspective.

Release validation & automation

• Run safety regression validation across software and firmware releases and hardware variants.

• Build and maintain automated and semi-automated test setups (test benches, measurement equipment, scripts) integrated into CI/CD pipelines where possible.

• Analyze failures, drive root-cause investigations, and communicate safety-relevant findings clearly to stakeholders.

• Log, track, and follow up on defects to closure.

Collaboration & leadership

• Act as the contact point between functional safety, firmware, robotics, and application engineers.

• Mentor junior engineers and contribute to sprint planning, estimation, and retrospectives in agile teams.

• Drive improvements in safety test methods, coverage, and tooling.

What we are looking for

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Mechatronics, Robotics, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field.

• 5+ years of experience in testing, validation, or verification of safety-critical mechatronic or robotic systems; industrial automation or collaborative robot experience preferred.

• Solid knowledge of robot arm fundamentals: kinematics, joint vs. Cartesian motion, reference frames, safety limits, and collaborative operation principles.

• Working knowledge of functional safety concepts and standards (Performance Level, SIL, safety architectures, safe states).

• Hands-on experience with safety-related hardware and testing: safety PLCs or controllers, safety I/O, force/pressure measurement devices, and oscilloscopes or data loggers.

• Experience writing structured test specifications, reports, and traceability documentation.

• Scripting or programming skills (Python and/or Java); familiarity with test automation (e.g., Cucumber/BDD, Selenium) and Git is a plus.

• Experience with CI/CD (e.g., GitLab) and agile, cross-functional teams.

• Ability to coordinate tasks across teams and mentor others.

• Fluency in English is required; German is a plus.

Nice to have

• Experience supporting CE marking or third-party safety certification.

• Knowledge of cybersecurity aspects of safety systems.

• Experience with ROS or other robotics middleware.