Principal Autonomous Systems Safety Engineer

We’re Blue River, a team of innovators driven to create intelligent machinery that solves monumental problems for our customers. We empower farmers, construction crews, and foresters to implement safer and more sustainable solutions, driving increased profitability with less reliance on scarce labor. With our partners at John Deere, we bring innovative computer vision, machine learning, robotics, and product management solutions to scale production, maximizing their potential impact. Our people are at the heart of what we do through cross-disciplinary collaboration, mission-driven daring, and a focus on defining the new frontier of mobile robotics.

Blue River Technology is based in Santa Clara, CA. This position can be remote in the US. Visa sponsorship is available.

About the role

Our team has been working to provide operator-free automation for John Deere vehicles since 2018. As a Principal Systems Safety Engineer, you will lead the creation of safety frameworks for our new end-to-end (E2E) robotics initiative, ensuring trust in our autonomous systems through rigorous validation and verification. You will evaluate scenarios, lead safety reviews, and establish safety requirements while working with engineering teams to deploy and scale autonomy. The schedule is ambitious, and the agricultural season waits for no one. You will collaborate with multi-functional teams including systems, embedded software, test and QA, mechatronics, computer vision, and machine learning engineers.

Responsibilities

• Provide a clear execution path for engineering teams by deriving technical safety requirements using your preferred tools.
• Envision and implement robust frameworks for the validation and verification (V&V) of end-to-end (E2E) robotics solutions.
• Apply mental agility to navigate complex, evolving technical challenges and drive cross-functional problem solving.
• Conduct risk assessments to inform safety reviews and support feature concept development.
• Work with the data infrastructure team to strategically identify data and tools needed to monitor and quantify real-world fleet performance.

Requirements

• 8+ years of relevant engineering work experience that includes risk assessment/management and product/functional safety.
• 3+ years of experience developing safety-critical electronic and embedded systems.
• Experience conducting risk assessments for autonomous ground vehicles and conducting safety reviews (HARA, STPA, FMEA, etc).
• Demonstrated ability to architect comprehensive V&V frameworks for end-to-end robotics applications.
• Exceptional mental agility, with a track record of thriving in ambiguous, fast-paced environments.
• Ability to clearly communicate verbally and in writing with legal and regulatory awareness.
• Ability to quickly work in a start-up environment, help team members outside of your lane, and manage multiple ongoing projects.
• Knowledge of ISO-18497, ISO-26262, ISO/PAS 21448, or similar (DO-178, ARP-4754, IEC 62304, etc).
• Strong Systems Engineering fundamentals.
• BS in Electromechanical/Electrical/Electronics Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related technical fields.

Preferred Skills

• Proven experience in the safety and verification of complex Machine Learning (ML) systems and autonomous robotics.
• Hands-on experience in embedded system development, software development, and/or verification and validation of such systems.
• Safety analysis for L3-L5 autonomous vehicles.
• Experience with embedded Linux, ROS2, and/or AWS.
• Deep understanding of vehicle architectures and system design.

Pay

The reasonably expected pay range for this position is between $174,000 – $305,000/year, depending on experience, qualifications, education, location, and skills. This position is also eligible for an annual performance bonus and a competitive benefit package.

Benefits

We’re passionate about creating an inclusive workplace that promotes and values diversity. We support each employee in living a full life, enabling a thriving career, and accomplishing a meaningful, challenging mission while collaborating with incredible people. We offer programs including recruiting, mentorship, career development, and learning & development to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion.