Functional Safety Engineer - Senior Specialist

Eaton; Galesburg (MI); On-site; USD 149,000 - 182,000; Full time

Job summary

Eaton is seeking a Senior Specialist Functional Safety Engineer in the United States to lead ISO-26262 safety activities for product development. You will coordinate safety tasks with customers and suppliers, and drive a comprehensive safety plan with engineering and program management.

The role requires a bachelor’s degree in engineering and about seven years in functional safety, including hazard analysis, FMEA, Safety Case, and DOORs Next Generation.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or related field required.
• 7+ years engineering experience in a functional safety role.
• Experience with ISO-26262 and automotive safety cases.

Responsibilities

• Manage and deliver functional safety per ISO-26262 for new products.
• Plan, execute and verify safety activities with customers and suppliers.
• Define and manage a detailed functional safety plan with engineering and PM.
• Assess risks and define functional safety goals for the product.
• Cascade safety requirements to hardware and software subsystems.
• Sign-off work packages at each development stage.
• Plan and conduct functional safety audits and assessments.
• Mentor Eaton’s Mobility Group on safety processes.

Skills

Functional safety

Vehicle development

Auditing

Requirements management

Hazard analysis

FMEA/FMEDA/FTA

ISO-26262

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or related field

Tools

DOORS Next Generation

Job description

Requisition ID75646-Posted10/19/2026

Eaton’s division is currently seeking a Functional Safety Engineer - Senior Specialist.

The expected annual salary range for this role is $149,000 - $182,000 a year.

Please note the salary information shown above is a general guideline only. Salaries are based upon candidate skills, experience, and qualifications, as well as market and business considerations.

What you’ll do:

Job Description:

Responsible for managing and delivering functional safety of Eaton’s products per ISO-26262 standard by scoping, planning, executing, and verifying product safety for new product development. Negotiate scope and responsibilities for safety activities with customers and suppliers. Set and manage a detailed product functional safety plan with product engineering and program management. Assess risks of product hazards using hazards analysis and defining functional safety goals for the product. Define, assess, and select design concepts that will meet functional safety goals. Cascade functional safety requirements to hardware and software subsystems. Assess verification and validation plans and results. Provide sign-off for work packages at each stage of development to either approve continuation of development or redirect the project to correct issues prior to continuation. Plan and execute functional safety audits and assessments. Provide the final statement and sign-off for whether the project has met all functional safety goals. Assess planned design changes and reported field issues as part of a technical safety committee. Responsible for driving continuous improvement activities associated to safety processes and train and mentor for Eaton’s Mobility Group.

40 hours/week, 9:00am-5:00pm.

Qualifications:

Requires a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Electronic Engineering, or a directly related field plus seven (7) years of experience in an engineering role. Experience must include:

Five (5) years of experience in each of the following (experience may be gained concurrently):

• Functional safety engineering role.
• Vehicle product development, either passenger car or commercial, including product launch.

Three (3) years of experience in each of the following (experience may be gained concurrently):

• As an auditor or assessor, or in a role with program sign-off authority.
• Development Interface Agreements (DIA) with customers and suppliers.
• Requirements definition, management, and decomposition using DOORs Next Generation or equivalent tool.
• Hazard analysis and risk assessment (HARA).
• Failure Modes and Effects analysis (FMEA), Failure Modes Effects and Diagnostic Analysis (FMEDA), and Fault Tree Analysis (FTA).
• Developing a Safety Case per ISO-26262 with supporting arguments against product functional safety goals.

All positions may require participation in video and in-person interviews as part of the hiring process. All candidates will be evaluated based on job-related competencies, and all candidates’ privacy rights and data security will be protected in accordance with applicable laws.

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Eaton believes in second chance employment. Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction history will be considered regardless of their arrest or conviction history, consistent with the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, the California Fair Chance Act and other local laws.

You do not need to disclose your conviction history or participate in a background check until a conditional job offer is made to you. After making a conditional offer and running a background check, if Eaton is concerned about conviction that is directly related to the job, you will be given the chance to explain the circumstances surrounding the conviction, provide mitigating evidence, or challenge the accuracy of the background report.

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We know that good benefit programs are important to employees and their families. Eaton provides various Health and Welfare benefits as well as Retirement benefits, and several programs that provide for paid and unpaid time away from work. Click here for more detail: Eaton Benefits Overview. Please note that specific programs and options available to an employee may depend on eligibility factors such as geographic location, date of hire, and the applicability of collective bargaining agreements.