Senior Functional Safety Engineer – Propulsion & Chassis

Rivian VW Group; Irvine (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Rivian VW Group Technologies in Irvine, CA seeks a Staff Functional Safety Engineer to own the functional safety strategy for propulsion, dynamics and chassis across multiple vehicle programs. Define safety architectures, lead critical analyses, mentor engineers, and coordinate with Tier 1 suppliers and external assessors to ensure ISO 26262 rigor.

This role requires hands-on leadership and cross-domain alignment to deliver safety cases through Start of Production, with exposure to AI-assisted

Qualifications

• Degree in Electrical/Electronic, Mechatronics, or similar engineering discipline.
• 10+ years in automotive safety engineering with IC-level safety concepts.
• Deep ISO 26262 expertise (Parts 3, 4, 6, 9) at OEM or Tier 1.
• Proven experience with vehicle dynamics, propulsion and chassis systems.
• Leadership without direct authority; cross-functional influence.

Responsibilities

• Own the functional safety architecture across multiple vehicle programs.
• Lead high-complexity safety analyses: HARA, FTA, FMEA, DFA.
• Set and defend budgets and safe-state definitions; adjudicate when availability conflicts with fault-reaction.
• Define the domain's requirements strategy and traceability model.
• Own the safety validation strategy: fault insertion campaigns, HIL and vehicle-level testing.
• Review supplier safety cases, DIAs, and analysis deliverables with Tier 1 and external assessors.
• Drive cross-domain safety alignment with propulsion, ADAS, E/E architecture, and software teams.
• Mentor senior engineers; calibrate analysis quality and grow the domain bench strength.
• Establish team methodology: templates, checklists, tooling, and AI-assisted workflows.

Skills

ISO 26262 expert

Systems safety

Vehicle dynamics

Mentoring

Supplier/audit experience

CAN/LIN/Ethernet tools

Education

Electrical/Electronic, Mechatronics degree

Tools

HIL tooling

Requirements tool

FMEA/FTA software

Job description

Rivian VW Group Technologies in Irvine, CA seeks a Staff Functional Safety Engineer to own the functional safety strategy for propulsion, dynamics and chassis across multiple vehicle programs. Define safety architectures, lead critical analyses, mentor engineers, and coordinate with Tier 1 suppliers and external assessors to ensure ISO 26262 rigor.

This role requires hands-on leadership and cross-domain alignment to deliver safety cases through Start of Production, with exposure to AI-assisted