Functional Safety Manager

Torc Robotics; Ann Arbor (MI); Hybrid; USD 153,000 - 184,000; Full time

Job summary

Torc Robotics in Ann Arbor, MI, is seeking a Functional Safety Manager to drive safety-critical program execution across autonomy platforms. You will coordinate safety lifecycle activities, maintain traceability, and align safety with project milestones.

This role requires 6+ years in safety-critical domains and degrees in CS/Robotics/EE (BS/MS/PhD). US pay range applies, with responsibilities spanning hazards analysis, safety cases, and verification strategies to ensure safe, scalable

Qualifications

• Experience with safety lifecycle artifacts including hazard analysis and risk assessment.
• Ability to align engineering execution with safety assurance objectives and milestones.
• Experience applying ISO 26262, SOTIF and related safety standards is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead planning and execution of safety-critical initiatives across the autonomous vehicle lifecycle.
• Establish traceability between hazards, safety requirements, system requirements, verification activities, and validation evidence.
• Coordinate cross-functional safety activities including hazard analysis, safety assessments, and safety case development.
• Drive integrated verification and validation planning across simulation, test environments, and field operations.
• Manage program risks, technical dependencies, and change impacts across systems and teams.
• Monitor safety and program metrics, identifying issues impacting safety objectives or delivery.
• Facilitate executive reviews and governance forums with clear visibility into program health and risk.

Skills

Safety management

Hazard analysis

ISO 26262

V&V planning

Program leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/Robotics/EE

Master's degree in CS/Robotics/EE

PhD in CS/Robotics/EE

Tools

FMEA/FMEDA

Safety Case tools

Job description

This role is responsible for driving the execution framework that enables the safe, scalable deployment of autonomous capabilities across multiple platforms and operational domains. As autonomy systems increase in complexity, this position ensures that safety, systems engineering, validation, and operational readiness activities are planned, integrated, and executed with the rigor required for safety-critical systems.

Working across engineering, functional safety, systems engineering, autonomy, hardware, software, and operations, the Functional Safety Manager provides the structure, governance, and visibility needed to deliver safety-critical capabilities from concept through deployment. The role ensures requirements traceability, verification and validation readiness, risk management, and alignment of safety objectives with program milestones, supporting both product delivery and safety assurance objectives.

What You’ll Do:

• Lead planning and execution of safety-critical initiatives across the autonomous vehicle lifecycle, ensuring alignment between product roadmaps, safety goals, and deployment milestones.
• Establish and maintain traceability between hazards, safety requirements, system requirements, verification activities, validation evidence, and release decisions.
• Coordinate cross-functional safety activities including hazard analysis, safety assessments, safety case development, and operational readiness reviews.
• Drive integrated verification and validation planning across simulation, test environments, closed-course testing, and field operations to support evidence-based deployment decisions.
• Manage program risks, technical dependencies, and change impacts across systems, software, hardware, perception, localization, controls, and operational teams.
• Monitor safety and program metrics, proactively identifying issues that could impact system performance, safety objectives, regulatory compliance, or delivery commitments.
• Facilitate executive reviews and technical governance forums, providing clear visibility into program health, residual risk, and safety readiness.

What you need to succeed

• Experience leading programs involving autonomous systems, ADAS, robotics, aerospace, industrial automation, or other safety-critical platforms.
• Demonstrated experience applying ISO 26262 across the safety lifecycle, including hazard analysis and risk assessment (HARA), safety goals, functional and technical safety concepts, and ASIL decomposition. Working knowledge of ISO 21448 (SOTIF) and other related standards such as IEC 61508, UL 4600, or ISO/PAS 8800 is a plus.
• Familiarity with safety lifecycle artifacts including Item Definitions, HARA, FMEA/FMEDA, Safety Requirements, Safety Plans, Safety Cases, and Verification & Validation strategies.
• Demonstrated ability to align engineering execution with safety assurance objectives while maintaining program delivery commitments.
• Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical Engineering or related technical field plus demonstrated competencies and technical proficiencies typically acquired through 6+ years of experience OR;Master’s Degree in Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical Engineering or related technical field plus demonstrated competencies and technical proficiencies typically acquired through 3+ years of experience OR;PhD in Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical Engineering or related technical field plus demonstrated competencies and technical proficiencies typically acquired through 1+ years of experience.

Hiring Range for Job Opening

US Pay Range

$153,200 - $183,800 USD

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey.Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiringprocess or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in aconfidential file.

As set forth in Torc Robotics’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection.As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measurethe effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categoriesis as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.