Senior Functional Safety Engineer - Robotics

Algorized; Campbell (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Algorized, a VC-funded Silicon Valley deep-tech company, seeks a Senior Functional Safety Engineer to architect the safety envelope around people-sensing systems for robots, guiding PLd/SIL2 certification across industrial applications. The role blends systems and software engineering, requiring a hands-on embedded depth to implement safety-critical code and a cross-disciplinary safety case.

The ideal candidate will lead the safety case development, coordinate with algorithms, software, and

Qualifications

• 5+ years in safety-critical systems or embedded software.
• 2–3 years in functional safety.
• MSc in Computer Science, Electrical/Electronics Engineering, or equivalent practical experience.
• Direct experience taking a product through an independent certification body (Notified Body, TÜV, UL, exida, or equivalent).
• Safety-first architectural instinct — design for failure and safe-state management.
• Experience with IEC 61508, ISO 13849, ISO 21448 (SOTIF) or similar.
• Strong C/C++ and Python; familiarity with ARM, Linux, RTOS.
• Hands-on interfacing software with hardware across safety-critical domains.
• Willing to travel on-site for commissioning and audits.

Responsibilities

• Audit vendor hardware safety manuals to confirm scope supports certification.
• Architect the safety envelope for people-sensing software and integration to customers’ machines.
• Build and maintain the functional safety management system and software safety lifecycle.
• Produce the quantitative safety case and full documentation set for integrators.
• Define safety goals, concepts, and cases for PLd/SIL2 and SOTIF.
• Support integration, commissioning, and maintenance of safety systems, including travel.

Skills

C/C++

Python

Embedded software

Systems thinking

Safety case development

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

MSc in Computer Science / Electrical Engineering

Job description

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

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.

Key Responsibilities

• 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

MinimumRequirements

• 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, across 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