Senior Functional Safety Engineer - Robotics

Algorized; Campbell (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Benefits: health/dental/vision + 401(k

Job summary

Algorized in Campbell, CA seeks a Senior Functional Safety Engineer to architect safety envelopes around people-sensing systems for robots and lead them through PLd/SIL2 certification. You will own the safety case across hardware, software, and customer applications with hands-on embedded work as needed.

The role blends systems and software engineering, requires deep safety expertise, and involves occasional travel to customer sites for commissioning and audits.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in safety-critical systems or embedded software.
• MSc in CS, EE, or related field or equivalent experience.
• Direct experience taking a product through a certification body (Notified Body, TÜV, UL, exida).
• Strong architectural sense for failure modes and safe-state behavior.
• Experience with IEC 61508, ISO 13849, or ISO 21448 (SOTIF).
• Proficiency in C/C++ and Python; embedded/edge environments (ARM, Linux, RTOS).
• Hands-on interfacing software with hardware (I/O, fieldbuses).
• Willingness for on-site travel for commissioning/audits.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end safety certification: gap analysis, choose/certify body, technical file, tests, certificate.
• Audit vendor hardware safety manuals to ensure scope supports the system certification.
• Architect safety envelope for people-sensing software and its integration with customer machines.
• Build and maintain the safety management system and software safety lifecycle.
• Produce quantitative safety case (FMEDA, DC analysis, V&V plans) and safety manual for integrators.
• Define safety goals, concepts, and cases (PLd/SIL2, SOTIF) with cross-functional teams.
• Support commissioning and maintenance of safety systems, including customer-site travel.

Skills

Safety-critical systems

Embedded software

Functional safety

IEC 61508

C/C++

Python

Hardware I/O

System safety case

Education

MSc in Computer Science or Electrical/Electronics Engineering

Job description

Join Us in Building the Nervous System for Physical AI

Algorized is a VC-funded Silicon Valley deep-tech company with Swiss roots. We build edge-AI models that give robots real-time awareness of people using existing wireless sensors, enabling safer human-machine collaboration.

This is an on-site position based in Campbell, CA, USA, or Etoy, Switzerland. Fully remote arrangements are not available.

We're looking for a Senior Functional Safety Engineer to architect the safety envelope around our people-sensing systems — for stationary and mobile robots across industrial applications — and lead them through PLd/SIL2 certification.

This role sits at the intersection of systems and software engineering: you need the cross-discipline view to own a safety case spanning hardware, software, and the customer's application, plus enough hands-on embedded software depth to implement and validate safety-critical code yourself. We're equally open to a systems engineer with strong embedded software chops or a software engineer with systems-level safety case experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead the end-to-end safety certification process: gap analysis → certification body selection & management → technical file → type testing → certificate
• Audit vendor hardware safety manuals to confirm certified scope supports Algorized's system safety certification
• Architect the safety envelope for people-sensing software — supervision, plausibility checks, diagnostics, safe-state logic that stays alive independent of the AI subsystem — and its integration path to the customer's machine via safe I/O and fieldbus protocols
• Build and maintain our functional safety management system and software safety lifecycle (coding standards, traceability, tool qualification)
• Produce the quantitative safety case (FMEDA, diagnostic coverage, failure-rate analysis) and full documentation set (requirements specs, architecture docs, V&V plans), including the downstream safety manual for integrator customers
• Define safety goals, concepts, and cases — covering functional failure (PLd/SIL2) and functional insufficiency (SOTIF) — in collaboration with the algorithms, software, and product teams
• Support integration, commissioning, and maintenance of safety systems, including customer-site travel

Qualifications

Minimum Requirements

• 5+ years safety-critical systems or embedded software experience, incl. 2-3 years functional safety
• MSc in Computer Science, Electrical/Electronics Engineering, or related field — or equivalent practical experience
• Direct experience taking a product through an independent certification body (Notified Body, TÜV, UL, exida, or equivalent) from technical file to certificate — owned, not just supported; comfortable representing Algorized to auditors and leadership
• A safety-first architectural instinct — you design for failure, reason in worst-case rather than average behavior, and know how to hold a system in a safe state when something breaks
• Experience with functional safety standards such as IEC 61508, ISO 13849, ISO 21448 (SOTIF), or similar frameworks
• Strong C/C++ and Python, with familiarity with embedded/edge environments (ARM, Linux, RTOS)
• Hands-on experience interfacing software with hardware — I/O, controllers, or fieldbuses — from any safety-critical domain (robotics, industrial automation, aerospace, medical devices, etc.)
• Comfortable with occasional on-site travel for commissioning and audits

Preferred Requirements

• Direct IEC 61496 (ESPE) experience — light curtains, laser scanners, vision, or radar, any Part
• CFSE/CFSP certification (TÜV, exida, or equivalent)
• Experience managing a certification body relationship directly, not just supplying documentation to someone else running it
• Practical experience with industrial safety fieldbus protocols and safe I/O integration with robot/PLC controllers
• Experience producing safety documentation (FMEA, DC analysis, V&V test plans)
• Working knowledge of MISRA-C, safety-rated MCUs, edge-AI SoCs/GPU platforms, or deeper embedded RTOS experience

Algorized is an early-stage startup, which means your equity matters. Every offer pairs a competitive salary with real ownership, plus medical, dental, and vision coverage, a 401(k), and unlimited PTO.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.