Principal Safety Engineer

Bolt; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock option package

Hybrid work model

Job summary

Bolt is seeking a Principal Safety Engineer for its Autonomous Driving team in Europe. You will own the end-to-end safety case from hazard analysis to regulatory approval, ensuring safety across the ADS stack and guiding architecture and processes.

You will collaborate with engineering, product, and regulatory stakeholders to define what “safe enough” means and demonstrate it rigorously. Hybrid work with in-office days is offered.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience in safety-critical domains (10–12+ years).
• Proven track record delivering safety cases and regulatory support.
• Strong expertise in functional safety (ISO 26262), SOTIF (ISO 21448), and automotive cybersecurity (ISO/SAE 21434).

Responsibilities

• Own the system-level safety case for the ADS including ISO 26262, SOTIF, and 21434.
• Lead hazard analysis, ODD definition, and safety architecture across products.
• Define and drive verification and validation strategies for deployments.
• Establish and govern safety processes, reviews, KPIs, and fleet release approvals.
• Ensure regulatory compliance and support type approval readiness.

Skills

Safety engineering

ISO 26262

SOTIF ISO21448

Cybersecurity

Hazard analysis

System architecture

Regulatory compliance

Tools

DOORS

Polarion

CodeBeamer

Job description

We are looking for a Principal Safety Engineer to join our Autonomous Driving team in Europe. You will play a critical role in ensuring the safety integrity of our Level 4 automated driving systems, working across the full stack – from system architecture to regulatory approval – to bring safe autonomous mobility to real-world deployment.

About Us

With over 200 million customers in 50+ countries, Bolt is one of the fastest-growing tech companies in Europe and Africa. We believe in creating an inclusive environment where everyone is welcome, regardless of race, colour, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, age, or disability. Our ultimate goal is to make cities for people, not cars, and we need your help to achieve this mission!

About the Role

As a Principal Safety Engineer, you will be the technical authority for safety across our Autonomous Product. You will own the end-to-end safety case – from hazard identification and system design through to regulatory approval – ensuring our systems meet the highest standards of functional safety, SOTIF, and cybersecurity. You will shape how safety is embedded across the organisation, influencing system architecture, engineering practices, and decision-making at every level. You will work closely with engineering, product, and regulatory stakeholders to define what "safe enough" means – and ensure it is rigorously achieved and demonstrated.

Main tasks and responsibilities

• Own and maintain the system-level safety case for the ADS, covering ISO 26262, ISO 21448 (SOTIF), ISO/SAE 21434 and more.
• Lead hazard analysis (HARA), ODD definition, and safety architecture across different products.
• Define and drive verification and validation strategies for different deployments.
• Establish and govern safety processes, including safety reviews, KPIs, and release approvals to fleet.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory frameworks (e.g. UN WP.29, EU AV legislation) and support type approval readiness.
• Collaborate across teams to embed safety principles into system design, development, and deployment.

Experience with ML safety, explainability, or perception system robustness is nice to have.

About you

• Extensive experience (10-12+ years) in automotive, robotics, or aerospace systems engineering, including leadership in safety-critical domains.
• Strong expertise in functional safety (ISO 26262), SOTIF (ISO 21448), and automotive cybersecurity (ISO/SAE 21434).
• Proven track record delivering safety cases and supporting certification or type approval for complex systems.
• Deep understanding of autonomous driving system architecture (perception, sensor fusion, planning, control).
• Proven record or familiarity with Safety conformity of end to end based Autonomous drive, e.g. ISO/PAS 8800.
• Familiarity with tools such as DOORS, Polarion, Codebeamer, or similar requirements and safety tooling.

Experience is great, but what we really look for is drive, intelligence, and integrity. So even if you don’t tick every box, please consider applying if you feel you’re the kind of person described above!

Why you’ll love it here

• Play a direct role in shaping the future of mobility.
• Impact millions of customers and partners in 600+ cities across 50+ countries.
• Work in fast-moving autonomous teams with some of the smartest people in the world.
• Accelerate your professional growth with unique career opportunities.
• Receive a rewarding salary and stock option package that lets you focus on doing your best work.
• Enjoy the flexibility of working in a hybrid mode with a minimum of 2 days in the office each week to foster strong connections and teamwork.
• Take care of your physical and mental health with our wellness perks.
• Some perks may differ depending on your location and role.