Principal Safety Lead - Autonomous Vehicles Safety Strategy

NGV Talent; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 200,000 - 250,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare

Pre-tax commuter benefits

FSA

Disability & life insurance

401(k)

Generous PTO

Lunches provided

Job summary

NGV Talent is seeking a Principal Safety Lead in Austin, TX to direct system safety for autonomous vehicle platforms. You will define safety strategies, mentor safety engineers, and ensure compliance with ISO 26262 and ISO 21448, building a world-class safety culture through hazard analysis and cross-team collaboration.

The role requires 5+ years in safety-critical systems, strong leadership, and proven experience delivering Safety Cases across the product lifecycle.

Qualifications

• Significant 5+ years in safety-critical systems (auto, aerospace, robotics, AV).
• Proven leadership building and mentoring technical teams.
• Strong ISO 26262 and ISO 21448(SOTIF) expertise.
• Experience delivering a Safety Case for complex systems.
• Familiar with HARA, FMEA, FTA, and HAZOP.
• Bachelor's or Master's in Engineering/CS or related field.
• Excellent cross-functional communication and collaboration.
• Creative problem solving in fast-paced environments.

Responsibilities

• Develop and own the system safety strategy for autonomous vehicles.
• Lead and mentor safety engineers to foster a safety culture.
• Direct hazard analyses, FMEA, FTA, and Safety Case development.
• Ensure compliance with ISO 26262 and ISO 21448/SOTIF.
• Define safety requirements across the product lifecycle.
• Track and report SPIs to improve system safety.
• Collaborate with Planning, Perception, Control and Hardware teams.
• Oversee safety verification and validation, including simulation and real-world testing.
• Lead incident response, investigation and analysis.
• Act as primary contact for regulatory bodies and auditors.

Skills

Functional safety

ISO 26262

SOTIF/ISO 21448

Hazard analysis (HARA)

FMEA

FTA

Safety Case

Leadership

Team mentoring

Regulatory liaison

DOORS

SysML

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering/CS or related field

Master's degree (preferred)

Tools

DOORS

SysML

Job description

NGV Talent is seeking a Principal Safety Lead in Austin, TX to direct system safety for autonomous vehicle platforms. You will define safety strategies, mentor safety engineers, and ensure compliance with ISO 26262 and ISO 21448, building a world-class safety culture through hazard analysis and cross-team collaboration.

The role requires 5+ years in safety-critical systems, strong leadership, and proven experience delivering Safety Cases across the product lifecycle.