Senior Staff Safety Assurance Engineer - Robot Safety

About the role

We’re building humanoid robots that work in home - doing the chores, handling the tasks, and giving people their time back. Simple, but it’s not. To do this right, we have to solve robotics, AI, manufacturing - at the same time, at scale, in a form factor that has to be safe enough to live with your family. If you’re inspired by this, you’ll thrive here. We’ve been at this since 2014 and we’re at the point where the hard problems are behind us and the hard work is in front of us. NEO is our flagship - a home robot designed to move, learn, and operate in the real world alongside real people. We’re not demoing it - we’re shipping it. We’re excited to meet you, if this excites you. If you’ve spent your career working on problems that matter and want to see them actually reach the world - this is that moment. We’re scaling, we’re hiring with intention, and we need people who want to build something that will genuinely change how humans spend their time - safely creating abundance for all.

About The Team

The Autonomy & Safety Engineering team is responsible for ensuring 1X robots operate safely, reliably, and predictably in real-world human environments. We develop the systems, methodologies, and operational frameworks that validate the safety of humanoid robots across autonomy, controls, perception, hardware, and deployment operations. The Safety Assurance function plays a critical role in defining how safety is measured, documented, validated, and operationalized as 1X scales embodied AI systems into homes and real-world environments.

Your Charter

Lead the development and execution of safety assurance methodologies, validation frameworks, and operational safety processes for 1X humanoid robots. This role is responsible for ensuring that robot behaviors, autonomy systems, and operational deployments meet rigorous safety standards while enabling rapid product iteration and large-scale deployment of embodied AI systems.

Key Outcomes

• Establish scalable safety assurance frameworks across autonomy, controls, perception, hardware, and operational robotics systems
• Define and operationalize hazard analysis, risk assessment, validation, and safety case methodologies across robot development lifecycles
• Persist cross-functionally with Engineering, Product, Operations, and Safety teams to ensure safety requirements are integrated into system architecture and deployment readiness
• Improve operational safety readiness through structured incident analysis, validation testing, and continuous risk mitigation processes
• Develop scalable documentation, governance, and auditability processes supporting internal safety reviews and future regulatory readiness

Key Competencies

• Deep expertise in safety assurance, systems safety engineering, robotics safety, or other safety-critical engineering domains
• Strong systems-level thinking with the ability to evaluate complex interactions across software, hardware, autonomy, and operational environments
• Strong technical communication skills with the ability to align engineering, operations, and leadership stakeholders around safety objectives
• Able to operate independently and drive large cross-functional initiatives in fast-paced startup environments

Minimum Requirements

• 10+ years of experience in safety assurance, robotics safety, autonomous systems, systems engineering, aerospace, automotive, industrial automation, or related safety-critical domains
• Experience developing and implementing safety processes, risk frameworks, or operational safety validation methodologies
• Strong understanding of systems engineering principles across hardware/software integrated environments
• Experience working with safety standards such as ISO 13849, IEC 61508, ISO 26262, DO-178C, or equivalent frameworks
• Bachelor’s degree in Robotics, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Systems Engineering, or related technical field

Preferred Skills

• Experience working with humanoid robots, autonomous vehicles, industrial robotics, aerospace systems, or embodied AI systems
• Familiarity with autonomy stacks, perception systems, controls engineering, or robotics simulation environments
• Experience supporting safety reviews, regulatory readiness, or operational deployment governance
• Background in reliability engineering, operational risk management, or incident investigation methodologies
• Advanced degree (MS or PhD) in Robotics, Systems Engineering, Safety Engineering, AI, or related field