Head of Safety, Robot Operations

About the Role

As the Head of Safety, Robot Operations, you will lead the safety vision for one of the world's most advanced autonomous delivery operations. You will continue to build on a world-class safety culture across our fleet, depots, and field operations—ensuring that safety is embedded into every process from robot deployment to service management, both in depots and on-road operations. This strategic leadership role is responsible for operating mechanisms, governance, audits, standards, and continuous improvement systems that enable safe, scalable, and compliant autonomous robot operations. You will partner closely with Operations, Engineering, Product, Hardware, Reliability, and Legal to proactively identify risks, prevent incidents, and continuously raise the safety bar as we scale.

Responsibilities

• Culture: Sharpen the strong safety-first culture where every operator is empowered and accountable for safe operations.
• Strategic Roadmap: Define and execute the long-term safety strategy for Dot Operations. Develop safety management systems, policies, standards, SOPs, and governance mechanisms. Partner with Engineering and Product teams to identify operational safety risks and influence safer robot, hardware, and software designs. Engage with regulators and represent DoorDash externally.
• Day-to-Day Execution: Lead incident investigations, root cause analyses, corrective actions, and lessons-learned programs to eliminate repeat events. Develop leading safety metrics, dashboards, KPIs, and own executive reporting mechanisms. Lead emergency response, crisis management, and business continuity preparedness.
• Compliance: Strengthen comprehensive audit programs to evaluate operational safety, process compliance, and facility readiness. Own operational risk assessments for new products, launches, depots, and markets. Develop and execute simulated SEV0 incident exercises to validate response playbooks, decision-making, communication protocols, escalation paths, and recovery mechanisms.
• Team: Build and mentor a high-performing safety organization capable of supporting rapid global scale. Strengthen training and certification programs for operators, technicians, and frontline leaders. Drive continuous improvement initiatives that improve both safety performance and operational efficiency.

Requirements

• 12+ years of experience leading safety programs within technology-driven operations like logistics, robotics, automotive, autonomous systems, aviation, warehouse, or other high-reliability environments.
• Proven experience building enterprise-scale safety management systems from the ground up.
• Strong understanding of operational risk management, hazard identification, incident investigation, and preventive controls.
• Experience leading safety audits, compliance reviews, and operational governance programs.
• Demonstrated ability to influence senior executives and cross-functional engineering and operations organizations.
• Strong analytical mindset with experience using data to identify trends, predict risk, and improve safety outcomes.
• Excellent communication and leadership skills with the ability to build trust across all organizational levels.
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Safety, Industrial Engineering, Operations, or a related technical discipline.
• Thrive in a high-speed, ambiguous, technology-driven environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in autonomous vehicles, robotics, industrial automation, or advanced mobility.
• Professional certifications such as CSP, CIH, CHST, Six Sigma, or equivalent.
• Experience implementing ISO-based safety management systems (e.g., ISO 45001) or comparable operational excellence frameworks.
• Experience scaling safety programs across multiple sites or international operations.
• Familiarity with human factors engineering, safety-by-design principles, and high-reliability organization (HRO) practices.
• Master's degree in Engineering, Safety, Operations, or Business.

Pay

The national base pay range for this position within the United States, including Illinois and Colorado, is $155,800—$229,100 USD. In addition to base salary, the compensation for this role includes opportunities for equity grants. Base salary is localized according to an employee’s work location. Ranges are market-dependent and may be modified in the future.

Benefits

• Comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, and vision benefits.
• 401(k) plan with employer matching.
• 16 weeks of paid parental leave.
• Wellness benefits and commuter benefits match.
• Paid time off and paid sick leave in compliance with applicable laws (e.g., Colorado Healthy Families and Workplaces Act).
• 11 paid holidays.
• Disability and basic life insurance.
• Family-forming assistance and a mental health program.

Paid Time Off Details:

• For salaried roles: flexible paid time off/vacation, plus 80 hours of paid sick time per year.
• For hourly roles: vacation accrued at about 1 hour for every 25.97 hours worked (e.g., about 6.7 hours/month if working 40 hours/week; about 3.4 hours/month if working 20 hours/week), and paid sick time accrued at 1 hour for every 30 hours worked (e.g., about 5.8 hours/month if working 40 hours/week; about 2.9 hours/month if working 20 hours/week).