Functional Safety Engineer – Infotainment Systems

System Safety; Palo Alto, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies seek an embedded functional safety engineer focused on infotainment and connected vehicle domains. You will ensure safety across electrical/software interfaces, perform hazards analyses, and develop safety requirements for LabCar/HiL validation.

Experience with ADAS interfaces, HMI data sharing, and ISO 26262 is highly valued. Collaboration across multiple teams and strong analytical skills are essential for success.

Qualifications

• Degree in Electrical/Electronic Engineering, Computer Science, Mechatronics, or a closely related discipline.
• 2-3 years in automotive industry at OEM or Tier 1, functional safety or systems engineering.
• Experience with Infotainment, telematics, or connected vehicle platforms is a plus.
• Knowledge of ISO 26262 and safety case development; strong communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Ensure functional safety in infotainment and connected vehicle features across development lifecycle.
• Contribute to feature requirements and hazard analysis from electrical faults and software/hardware interfaces.
• Perform HARA, DFMEA, FTA, FMEDA and derive safety requirements using the toolchain.
• Develop safety mechanisms including redundancy and diagnostics to prevent safety-critical propagation.
• Create test cases for LabCar and vehicle assets using HiL environments and analyze results.
• Represent the safety team across Diagnostics, Platform, HMI, Connectivity and Electrical Systems teams.

Skills

Functional safety

ISO 26262

ADAS experience

Hardware fault diagnosis

CAN/LIN/Automotive Ethernet analysis

AI/ML concepts

Interpersonal skills

Education

Electrical/Electronic Engineering or related

Tools

LabCar

HiL testing

CAN/LIN/Automotive Ethernet analysis tools

Job description

About Us

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies is a joint venture between two industry leaders with a clear vision for automotive’s next chapter. From operating systems to zonal controllers to cloud and connectivity solutions, we’re addressing the challenges of electric vehicles through technology that will set the standards for software-defined vehicles around the world.

The road to the future is uncharted. By combining our expertise across connectivity, AI, security and more, we’ll map a new way forward. Working together, we’ll create a future that’s more connected, more intelligent, more sustainable for everyone.

Role Summary

This role is embedded in the Functional Safety Engineering team with a specific focus on the infotainment and connected vehicle domain, covering displays, HMI, telematics, and software-hardware interactions unique to these systems. The engineer ensures that failures within infotainment - whether from connectivity issues, display faults, or software bugs - don't cascade into safety-critical vehicle functions or create driver distraction hazards. The role involves safety analysis, requirements development, and hands‑on validation using LabCar and HiL environments. It collaborates closely with HMI, Connectivity, and Platform teams, and sits at an interesting intersection with ADAS where driver assistance and infotainment features share interfaces.

Responsibilities

• Primarily responsible for ensuring functional safety in the design, development, and validation of Infotainment and connected vehicle features, with a strong focus on electrical and electronic system integrity and software-hardware interactions across the full vehicle development lifecycle.

• Contribute to feature requirements and provide functional safety guidance on feature definition, including the identification of hazards arising from electrical malfunctions, display and HMI faults, and software/hardware interactions within Infotainment systems.

• Perform vehicle-level HARA and generate safety goals; conduct safety analyses including DFMEA, FTA, and FMEDA; and develop safety requirements using the company's requirements management toolchain.

• Develop safety mechanisms such as redundancy architectures, hardware diagnostics, system health monitors, and fail-safe designs, ensuring that Infotainment system failures do not propagate into safety-critical vehicle functions or driver distraction hazards.

• Develop test cases to verify and validate safety mechanisms on LabCar and Vehicle test assets, incorporating HiL environments, and deliver thorough data analysis and reporting.

• Represent the functional safety team across internal and external development activities, collaborating closely with Diagnostics, Platform, HMI, Connectivity, and Electrical Systems teams to achieve system safety objectives.

Qualifications

• Degree in Electrical/Electronic Engineering, Computer Science, Mechatronics, or a closely related discipline.

• 2-3 years of experience within the automotive industry at an OEM or Tier 1 supplier, working within functional safety or systems engineering, ideally with exposure to Infotainment, telematics, or connected vehicle platforms.

• Experience in ADAS systems is a strong advantage, particularly where Infotainment and driver assistance features share HMI or data interfaces, and where SOTIF considerations intersect with functional safety requirements.

• Hands‑on experience with electronic hardware fault diagnosis, including circuit debugging and CAN/LIN/Automotive Ethernet network analysis, with a practical understanding of electrical failure modes from system to component level.

• Familiarity with AI and machine learning concepts as applied to automotive safety.

• Proven knowledge of ISO 26262 with strong interpersonal skills and the ability to present technical information clearly to senior management and external stakeholders.

Total Rewards

We build the exceptional - and we believe the people doing that work should be rewarded accordingly. In addition to a competitive base salary, full-time positions may be is eligible to participate in our annual company performance bonus program.

Payments are discretionary and not guaranteed; actual amounts depend on company results and the terms of the plan in effect, and require active employment at the time of payout. This role is also eligible for equity in the form of Restricted Stock Units (RSUs), subject to board approval and the terms of our equity incentive plans, including applicable vesting requirements.

In addition to our compensation programs, we invest in our people with a comprehensive benefits package designed to support the health, wellbeing, and financial future for full-time employees - including health coverage, retirement savings, time off, and family planning programs. Offerings vary by country. Learn more about our global benefit programs.

Equal Opportunity

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information or characteristics, physical or mental disability, marital/domestic partner status, age, military/veteran status, medical condition, or any other characteristic protected by law. We are also committed to ensuring compliance with all applicable fair employment practice laws regarding citizenship and immigration status.

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies is committed to ensuring that our hiring process is accessible for persons with disabilities. If you have a disability or limitation, such as those covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act, that requires accommodations to assist you in the search and application process, please email us at [e-mail].

Candidate Data Privacy

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies may collect, use and disclose your personal information or personal data (within the meaning of the applicable data protection laws) when you apply for employment and/or participate in our recruitment processes (“Candidate Personal Data”). This data includes contact, demographic, communications, educational, professional, employment, social media/website, network/device, recruiting system usage/interaction, security and preference information. Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies may use your Candidate Personal Data for the purposes of (i) tracking interactions with our recruiting system; (ii) carrying out, analyzing and improving our application and recruitment process, including assessing you and your application and conducting employment, background and reference checks; (iii) establishing an employment relationship or entering into an employment contract with you; (iv) complying with our legal, regulatory and corporate governance obligations; (v) record keeping; (vi) ensuring network and information security and preventing fraud; and (vii) as otherwise required or permitted by applicable law.

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies may share your Candidate Personal Data with (i) internal personnel who have a need to know such information in order to perform their duties, including individuals on our People Team, Finance, Legal, and the team(s) with the position(s) for which you are applying; (ii) Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies affiliates; and (iii) Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies’ service providers, including providers of background checks, staffing services, and cloud services.

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies may transfer or store internationally your Candidate Personal Data, including to or in the United States, Canada, and the European Union and in the cloud, and this data may be subject to the laws and accessible to the courts, law enforcement and national security authorities of such jurisdictions.

If you provide a mobile telephone number as part of your application or during the recruitment process, Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies may use that number to contact you via SMS text message for recruitment-related purposes, including scheduling, logistics, and status updates. Message and data rates may apply. You may opt out of SMS communications at any time by replying STOP to any text message you receive from us. Consent to receive SMS messages is not a condition of applying for or being considered for employment.

Please see our Candidate Data Privacy Notice (English) and Candidate Data Privacy Notice (Serbian) for more information.

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