Role summary
You will act as the architect of the safety case: defining the top-level claims, argumentation structure, evidence strategy and assurance approach that connect product intent, system behaviour, AI performance, engineering controls, validation and operational deployment into a coherent safety argument. You will provide independent challenge and advice, while enabling Engineering and Product teams to own and deliver the safety evidence required for their systems.
Responsibilities
- Own the safety case strategy and architecture for the organization's robotaxi and OEM ADAS products.
- Define top-level safety claims, argumentation, evidence structures, and traceability from safety requirements through validation and deployment decisions.
- Develop safety arguments appropriate for AI-enabled autonomous driving, incorporating functional safety, , AI safety, cybersecurity, validation, operational safety, and post-deployment monitoring.
- Evolve reusable safety case approaches as the organization's products, vehicle platforms, and evidence base mature.
- Partner with Product, Systems Engineering, AI/ML, Validation, Vehicle Engineering, Software, Hardware, and Operational Safety to define safety requirements and evidence expectations.
- Identify gaps, assumptions, and weaknesses in the safety argument early and drive resolution with accountable teams.
- Ensure product requirements, architecture, validation plans, and release criteria remain aligned with the safety case.
- Support technical and programme leaders in making proportionate, evidence-based safety decisions.
- Provide independent technical challenge of safety cases and supporting evidence.
- Assess whether safety arguments are coherent, complete, evidence-backed, and sufficient to support release or deployment.
- Highlight material gaps, uncertainties, dependencies, residual risks, and safety red lines.
- Provide clear recommendations to safety governance forums and senior leadership.
- Build a common understanding of safety case principles across the organization.
- Coach engineering and product leaders on structured safety argumentation, evidence quality, and traceability.
- Represent the safety case perspective in internal governance, customer, and technical discussions.
- Contribute to the organization's broader safety strategy and assurance capability.
Requirements
- Deep experience developing or owning safety cases for complex safety-critical systems, ideally in autonomous vehicles, ADAS, robotics, aerospace, defence, or another software-intensive domain.
- Strong systems engineering background spanning requirements, architecture, verification, validation, and safety assurance.
- Proven ability to translate complex technical evidence into structured safety claims and arguments.
- Strong understanding of autonomous driving and AI/ML safety, including model performance, data, uncertainty, and limitations of conventional verification approaches.
- Experience partnering with AI/ML, engineering, systems, and product teams on safety-critical products.
- Strong knowledge of relevant standards, including , , ISO/PAS 8800, and ISO 3450x.
- Excellent technical communication and stakeholder management skills.
Nice to have
- Safety case experience with L2+/L3 ADAS or L4 ADS products.
- Experience with GSN or equivalent structured assurance methods.
- Safety evidence experience for end-to-end or foundation-model-based autonomous driving.
- Experience working with OEMs, regulators, assessors, or independent safety reviewers.
- Familiarity with operational and post-deployment safety monitoring.
What we’re looking for
- You are an architect and systems thinker who can move comfortably between top-level safety strategy and detailed technical evidence.
- You are pragmatic and able to distinguish between what is essential to the safety argument and what is merely desirable.
- You are intellectually rigorous, curious and comfortable challenging assumptions, including established industry practice where it does not adequately address AI-enabled autonomous driving.
- You can work independently of Engineering and Product without becoming detached from them: your role is to provide credible challenge, direction and oversight while helping teams succeed.
- You are comfortable operating with uncertainty and can make clear recommendations based on the strength of the available evidence.
- You are open to challenge and willing to change your position when better evidence emerges.
- You can clearly articulate where you believe a safety red line exists, why it matters, and what evidence or mitigation would be required to move it.
Success in this role
- A clear and credible safety case architecture exists for the organization's first robotaxi and OEM ADAS products.
- Engineering and Product teams understand the safety claims they support and the evidence they are responsible for delivering.
- Safety gaps and weak assumptions are identified early enough to influence product decisions rather than being discovered at the end of a programme.
- The organization develops a safety argument for AI-enabled autonomous driving that is technically rigorous, scalable and capable of standing up to scrutiny from customers, regulators and independent assessors.
- Senior safety and product governance has an independent, evidence-based view of whether the safety case is sufficiently strong to support release and deployment decisions.