Brief Role Description

The Safety Management System Senior Engineer for Autonomous Driving is responsible for establishing, operating, and continuously improving the organization’s Safety Management System for autonomous vehicle systems in compliance with applicable regulations and industry standards and alongside the global MOIA organization. The role ensures that safety risks related to automated driving functions are systematically identified, assessed, mitigated, and monitored throughout the system lifecycle. The SMS Senior Engineer works closely with system, software, hardware, validation, and operations teams to integrate safety into design, development, testing, and deployment. This position also supports regulatory engagement, safety assurance activities, and the demonstration of safety readiness for autonomous vehicle operation. This position focuses on system-level safety governance, assurance and SMS related safety case elements, and does not own day-to-day operational incident response activities or overall safety case activities.

Possible Tasks within this Role

Safety Management System Development & Governance (40%)

• Develop, implement, and maintain the Safety Management System for autonomous driving programs
• Ensure SMS alignment with automotive and autonomous driving safety standards and guidance (e.g., ISO 26262, ISO 21448 / SOTIF, ISO 24089, UL 4600, UNECE ADS guidance)
• Define SMS processes covering safety policy, roles and responsibilities, escalation, and decision-making
• Define governance, processes, and acceptance criteria for safety case development, review, and approval within the Safety Management System.
• Maintain SMS documentation, safety plans, and safety cases at program and system level

Safety Culture & Cross-Functional Collaboration (25%)

• Promote a strong safety culture within autonomous driving development and operations teams
• Provide guidance and training on SMS processes, safety risk management, and reporting
• Collaborate closely with systems engineering, software, AI/ML, validation, quality, and operations teams
• Support management decision-making with clear safety risk assessments and recommendations

Safety Assurance & Lifecycle Integration (15%)

• Integrate safety assurance activities across the V-model and system lifecycle
• Define safety acceptance criteria and evidence expectations for development milestones
• Monitor safety performance through leading and lagging safety indicators
• Define and govern system-level safety risk assessment methodologies, acceptance criteria, and evidence expectations across the system lifecycle.
• Support safety incident processes, particularly post-incident analyses, disengagement, and anomaly analysis and ensure that operational learnings are incorporated into system safety requirements and safety cases.
• Ensure that system safety cases and VSSA are developed, reviewed, and maintained in alignment with Safety Management System requirements. Review alignment with SMS expectations to support safety governance forums and executive safety acceptance decisions
• Review systemic corrective and preventive actions (CAPAs) arising from operational incidents, audits, and assessments to ensure effectiveness and incorporation into system-level safety requirements and safety cases.

Change Management, Release & Operational Safety (10%)

• Support safety impact assessments for system changes, software updates, and feature releases
• Ensure safety considerations are addressed for continuous integration, continuous deployment, and OTA updates
• Contribute to operational safety processes including monitoring, incident response, and field feedback
• Support definition and execution of safety readiness reviews prior to testing or deployment

Regulatory, Audit & External Interface (10%)

• Support regulatory submissions, safety assessments, and audits related to autonomous driving systems
• Contribute to safety cases and documentation supporting approvals, permits, or exemptions
• Act as an interface with regulators, certification bodies, and external assessors on safety matters
• Track evolving global ADS regulations and translate them into internal SMS requirements

Qualification requirements

Years of Relevant Experience:

• 7+ years of experience in safety engineering or safety management for automotive or autonomous systems
• Hands-on experience working in safety-critical, software-intensive system development environments
• Proven cross-functional and global collaboration experience.

Education:

Skills:

• Analytical, systems-thinking mindset with strong attention to detail
• Clear and confident communicator across technical and non-technical audiences
• Ability to work effectively in cross-functional and fast-paced development environments
• Proactive, pragmatic, and committed to continuous safety improvement

Specialized Skills:

Work Flexibility:

• Travel is estimated to be 20-25%, as needed within U.S. and overseas, mainly Germany