Lead Functional Safety Engineer, Autonomous Robotics

System Safety; Mission Viejo (CA); Hybrid; USD 70,000 - 300,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Full benefits

Equity

Generous time off

Job summary

Field AI is hiring a Lead Functional Safety Engineer to own safety systems for autonomous wheeled robots. You will design supervised safety architectures, configure PLCs, and ensure safe handoffs between humans and autonomy.

This role emphasizes hands-on hardware work, field testing, and future team leadership. Based in Mission Viejo, CA, the position is onsite and requires strong collaboration with electrical and software teams.

Qualifications

• BS or MS in Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics, Computer Engineering, or a related field with significant relevant industry experience.
• Deep, hands-on expertise in configuring, programming, and debugging Safety PLCs.
• Proven experience selecting and integrating hardware safety components such as remote E-Stops, safety relays, and safety lidars.
• Strong ownership mindset with the ability to operate as a self-directed individual contributor and technical authority.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with electrical engineers (for wiring/integration) and software engineers (for system handoffs).

Responsibilities

• 1) Architect the functional safety systems for COTS UGV platforms navigating unstructured construction environments.
• 2) Design and implement supervised safety systems, including remote E-Stops and safe-to-approach indicator lighting.
• 3) Design and implement non-line-of-sight safety architectures, defining safe limited speed, collision avoidance, and automatic braking.
• 4) Select, integrate, and configure Safety PLCs, safety lidars, and related hardware components.
• 5) Directly write, implement, and test ladder logic and safety configurations on the PLCs.
• 6) Design and implement safe transitions of control between human operator and autonomy stack.
• 7) Ensure safety states are clearly communicated to on-site personnel via indicators and lighting.
• 8) Collaborate with core software team to interface hardware safety loops with autonomy software.
• 9) Deploy, verify, and validate safety systems on physically robots in real-world sites.
• 10) Troubleshoot, debug, and optimize system configurations for reliability in the field.
• 11) Act as safety expert, guiding technical strategy and establishing scalable testing procedures.
• 12) Hire/mentor future safety engineers as the team grows.

Skills

Functional safety architecture

Hardware integration

Electrical wiring awareness

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

BS in Electrical Engineering

MS in Electrical Engineering

Tools

Safety PLCs

Safety relays

Ladder logic

Job description

Field AI is hiring a Lead Functional Safety Engineer to own safety systems for autonomous wheeled robots. You will design supervised safety architectures, configure PLCs, and ensure safe handoffs between humans and autonomy.

This role emphasizes hands-on hardware work, field testing, and future team leadership. Based in Mission Viejo, CA, the position is onsite and requires strong collaboration with electrical and software teams.