Senior Systems Engineer, Fail Operational Safety Strategy

Zoox is on an ambitious journey to develop a full-stack autonomous mobility solution for cities and safely deploy such a robotaxi solution. The System Design and Mission Assurance (SDMA) team plays a foundational role in the company's success, responsible for constructing the safety case and fail-operational design for our autonomous driving robots before public road deployment. You will be part of an organization with strong leadership and a transparent, respectful culture that enables you to reach your full potential.

In this role, you will focus on pioneering safety strategies for novel environments. Specifically, you will:

• Define and own the fail operational safety strategy and roadmap for expanding into new operating environments and Operational Design Domains (ODDs). Ensure all new ODD elements have tailored solutions that meet safety and reliability requirements.
• Design and maintain fault response strategies that keep the vehicle safe and operational during malfunctions, including decision-making logic that selects the appropriate action based on the nature and severity of the fault in the context of the entire ODD.
• Build a framework for assessing the effectiveness of fault handling and recovery in new ODDs, defining key metrics for system resilience and safety while using data analysis and automation to drive continuous improvement.
• Partner closely with software, hardware engineering teams, and operations to ensure a holistic approach to system safety and fault tolerance, translating complex technical concepts for diverse audiences.
• Leverage the latest AI and LLM tools to accelerate the analysis work and automate processes to reduce repetitive manual work.

Qualifications

• B.S. or higher degree in Systems Engineering, Robotics, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related field, with 8+ years of relevant experience.
• Strong systems engineering background with experience in requirements management and system architecture development.
• Deep understanding of fault detection, isolation, and recovery techniques, including redundancy, failover, and graceful degradation strategies.
• Strong analytical skills in quantitative analysis and modeling, performance metrics definition, and system-level trade-off analysis.
• Excellent technical communication and documentation abilities, with demonstrated success working with cross-functional teams in complex technical environments.

Bonus Qualifications

• Advanced degree (M.S. or Ph.D.) in a relevant field.
• Experience with autonomous vehicle development or similar complex robotics systems.
• Familiarity with requirements management tools (e.g., Polarion, DOORS) and experience with system safety analysis and requirements validation.
• Experience with data analysis tools (Databricks, BigQuery, Looker, Grafana)
• Familiarity with ISO 26262, ISO 21448, and other industry safety standards.

About Zoox
Zoox is developing the first ground-up, fully autonomous vehicle fleet and the supporting ecosystem required to bring this technology to market. Sitting at the intersection of robotics, machine learning, and design, Zoox aims to provide the next generation of mobility-as-a-service in urban environments. We’re looking for top talent that shares our passion and wants to be part of a fast-moving and highly execution-oriented team.

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Accommodations
If you need an accommodation to participate in the application or interview process please reach out to accommodations@zoox.com or your assigned recruiter.

A Final Note:

You do not need to match every listed expectation to apply for this position. Here at Zoox, we know that diverse perspectives foster the innovation we need to be successful, and we are committed to building a team that encompasses a variety of backgrounds, experiences, and skills.