Autonomous Systems Safety Lead

AtkinsRéalis UK Limited; West of England; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Professional development

Employee rewards

Flexible holiday allowances

Job summary

AtkinsRéalis UK Limited is seeking a Senior/Principal Autonomous Systems Safety Engineer to deliver safety-critical solutions for autonomous and AI-enabled systems within defence. You will lead safety assurance activities across complex software-intensive platforms, applying industry standards and arguing for robust safety cases.

You will mentor junior engineers, engage with customers and regulators, and shape next‑gen safety approaches while contributing to capability growth and technical

Qualifications

• Proven experience delivering safety engineering or safety assurance in UK Defence or safety-critical industries.
• Experience developing and maintaining Safety Cases, Safety Assessments, Hazard Logs and assurance arguments.
• Strong understanding of hazard identification, risk assessment and safety requirements methods.
• Knowledge of systems engineering principles across the lifecycle.
• Experience with safety-critical, autonomous, AI-enabled or software-intensive systems.

Responsibilities

• Lead development and delivery of Safety Cases, Safety Assessments and assurance arguments for autonomous and AI-enabled systems.
• Manage Hazard Logs and support hazard identification, risk assessment and risk management activities.
• Derive, allocate and verify safety requirements across the lifecycle of complex systems.
• Apply defence safety standards and assurance frameworks such as Def Stan 00-056 and 00-055.
• Provide strategic and technical leadership as a Subject Matter Expert for autonomous systems safety.
• Engage with Defence customers, regulators and industry groups to support certification.
• Provide safety engineering guidance to systems, software, hardware and integration teams.
• Produce clear, robust technical reports and client deliverables.
• Support business development and mentoring of junior safety engineers.

Skills

Autonomous safety

Safety engineering

Defence sector

Stakeholder management

Education

Engineering degree

Tools

Def Stan 00-056

Job description

AtkinsRéalis UK Limited is seeking a Senior/Principal Autonomous Systems Safety Engineer to deliver safety-critical solutions for autonomous and AI-enabled systems within defence. You will lead safety assurance activities across complex software-intensive platforms, applying industry standards and arguing for robust safety cases.

You will mentor junior engineers, engage with customers and regulators, and shape next‑gen safety approaches while contributing to capability growth and technical