Safety Engineer, Collision Risk

Waabi; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 126,225 - 163,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation and equity awards

Medical, vision, and dental coverage

Unlimited vacation

Flexible hours and work-from-home support

Daily drinks, snacks and catered meals

Regular team building activities

Job summary

Waabi is looking for an experienced safety or systems engineer to develop and implement critical safety framework methods for our autonomous trucking technology. You will work with advanced simulation and real-world data to ensure the safety readiness of our solutions.

The ideal candidate should have a strong engineering background, preferably with a Master's or PhD, and experience in the automotive industry. A collaborative team spirit and excellent communication skills are essential.

This position in San Francisco offers competitive compensation, unlimited vacation, and a commitment to diversity and inclusivity.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of experience in automotive, robotics or related industry.
• Experience developing a safety case for autonomous vehicles.
• Experience using simulation and real-world testing for readiness decisions.
• Excellent communication of complex concepts and data.

Responsibilities

• Define requirements for automated assessment workflows.
• Develop and monitor quantitative metrics for safety performance.
• Optimize test coverage in a high-fidelity simulator.
• Identify safety gaps and ensure traceability of requirements.

Skills

Scripting skills in Python

Data analysis skills

Collaboration across functional boundaries

Mathematics fundamentals

Knowledge of safety methods and standards

Education

Undergraduate degree in engineering

Master’s or PhD in engineering

Tools

SQL

Job description

Waabi, founded by AI visionary Raquel Urtasun, is the leader in Physical AI. With a world‑class team, we’re unlocking the next era of autonomous transportation with technology that powers commercial autonomous trucks and robotaxis. We’re backed by and partner with world leaders in AI, automotive, logistics, and deep tech.

With offices in Toronto, SanFrancisco, Dallas, and Pittsburgh, we’re growing quickly and looking for diverse, innovative, and collaborative candidates who want to impact the world in a positive way. To learn more visit www.waabi.ai.

At the heart of our mission is an unwavering commitment to safety. We are seeking an experienced safety or systems engineer to spearhead the development and implementation of critical safety framework methods that underpin our driverless autonomy readiness decisions. This is a unique opportunity to shape how Waabi quantitatively ensures and validates the safety of our autonomous trucking solution, working with a highly realistic simulator, real‑world data, and cutting‑edge generative AI techniques. You will play a pivotal role in creating evidence for safe operation and leading efforts in a rapidly evolving and groundbreaking field.

You will…

• Scale safety framework methods by defining requirements for automated assessment workflows and partnering with the autonomy and algorithms teams to implement and debug the evaluation infrastructure.
• Develop and monitor quantitative metrics to evaluate system performance against established safety targets.
• Optimize test coverage within Waabi’s high‑fidelity simulator to validate driving behaviors across safety‑critical scenarios.
• Define and iterate on human performance benchmarks to support robust comparative safety assessments.
• Identify safety gaps and ensure traceability between requirements, validation artifacts, and safety case claims.
• Maintain structured documentation of safety artifacts and readiness decisions to ensure rigorous transparency and traceability.

Qualifications:

• Undergraduate degree required; Master’s or PhD within an engineering discipline preferred.
• 3+ years of automotive, robotics or related industry experience.
• Experience contributing to the development of a safety case for autonomous vehicles.
• Experience with using simulation and real‑world testing to make readiness decisions.
• Knowledge of relevant safety methods and standards such as STPA, SOTIF (ISO21448), ISO/SAEPAS22736, and UL4600.
• Strong fundamentals in mathematics, engineering and physics.
• Excellent scripting and data analysis skills with tools such as Python and SQL.
• Ability to communicate complex concepts or data in a simple‑yet‑accurate manner.
• Collaborative team player who works effectively across functional boundaries.
• Passionate about self‑driving technologies, solving hard problems, and creating innovative solutions.

Bonus/nice to have:

• Experience in launching a driverless product.
• Experience in data science and machine learning.
• Experience implementing software systems components.
• Advanced skills in data mining, mathematics, and statistical analysis.

Perks/Benefits:

• Competitive compensation and equity awards.
• Health and wellness benefits that include medical, vision, and dental coverage.
• Unlimited vacation.
• Flexible hours and work‑from‑home support.
• Daily drinks, snacks and catered meals (when in office).
• Regularly scheduled team building activities and social events.
• As we grow, this list continues to evolve.

The US yearly salary range for this role is $126,225 – $163,000 USD, and the Canadian salary range is $154,000 – $188,500 CAD, in addition to competitive perks and benefits. Waabi’s salary ranges are determined based on several factors in accordance with the company’s compensation practices. The salary base range is reflective of the minimum and maximum target for new hire salaries for the position across all locations. For additional compensation, employees in this role may receive discretionary equity incentive awards and discretionary annual performance bonuses.

Waabi is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating a supportive, inclusive, and accessible workplace for all employees. We seek applicants of all backgrounds and identities across race, color, ethnicity, national origin or ancestry, age, citizenship, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, military or veteran status, marital status, pregnancy or parental status, caregiver status, disability, or any other characteristic protected by law. We make workplace accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities as required by applicable law. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process please let our recruiting team know.