Staff Functional Safety Engineer - EV Systems

Ford; Palo Alto (CA); Hybrid; USD 146,520 - 276,600; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical coverage

Paid time off

Tuition assistance

Job summary

Ford's Electric Vehicles, Digital and Design (EVDD) team is seeking a Staff Functional Safety Engineer to lead safety for complex E/E systems in autonomous and advanced projects. You will drive the full safety lifecycle from concept to production, ensuring ISO 26262 compliance and driving a culture of safety across cross-functional teams.

You will define safety architecture, guide design decisions, and develop robust safety cases while mentoring peers and ensuring program readiness through

Qualifications

• 4+ years of functional safety engineering experience in safety-critical systems.
• - Deep expertise with ISO 26262:2018 and familiarity with ISO 21448 (SOTIF).
• - Experience leading safety analyses (HARA, FMEA, FTA, DFA, STPA) for autonomous or complex E/E systems.
• - Embedded control system development, embedded software, and V&V processes.
• - Proven leadership and project management in cross-functional environments.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end functional safety analyses (HARA, FMEA, FTA) across autonomous systems.
• Define and manage functional safety requirements and safety concepts.
• Develop and assess safety cases for ASIL A–D products from concept to production.
• Collaborate with system and hardware engineers on safety requirements and ECU-level decompositions.
• Derive and verify safety concepts and hardware metrics (PMHF, SPFM, LFM) per ISO 26262.
• Oversee safety readiness metrics and program health across the lifecycle.
• Serve as safety expert in design reviews and cross-functional discussions to meet safety goals.
• Mentor peers and promote a robust safety culture across the organization.

Skills

Functional safety

ISO 26262

Embedded systems

Leadership

V&V processes

Data science

Education

Bachelor's degree or higher in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Physical Sciences

Job description

Ford's Electric Vehicles, Digital and Design (EVDD) team is seeking a Staff Functional Safety Engineer to lead safety for complex E/E systems in autonomous and advanced projects. You will drive the full safety lifecycle from concept to production, ensuring ISO 26262 compliance and driving a culture of safety across cross-functional teams.

You will define safety architecture, guide design decisions, and develop robust safety cases while mentoring peers and ensuring program readiness through