Senior System Safety Engineer - Perception

Rhoda Ai

Mountain View, US

Who this role is best for

Aimed at experienced engineers in robotics or automotive perception who can define and enforce safety requirements end-to-end.

Best fit for

Experienced engineers with a background in safety-critical perception systems for robotics or automotive applications
— “perception path, end to end: from the sensors and their data links, through detection and decision logic, to the robot's response”
Candidates who have worked on safety-related systems with proven SOTIF and functional safety work products
— “Proven record of developing SOTIF work products for a safety-related robotic or automotive system”
Individuals with expertise in defining and analyzing error budgets for sensor-to-actuator systems
— “Set the safety limits for the sensor-to-actuator error budget, check that the allocation stays inside them”

Things to consider

Requires defining and auditing safety requirements for perception systems, which demands precision and traceability
— “derive by engineering analysis system safety requirements for detection performance, classification accuracy, KPIs”
Candidates must be prepared to engage in rigorous verification and validation processes with NRTLs
— “drive reviews and approvals with an NRTL”

How to stand out

Highlight experience with deterministic computer vision algorithms and safety-compliant software implementation
— “Expertise in deterministic, auditable, explainable computer vision algorithms used for perception”
Emphasize background in defining and mitigating edge cases and malfunctions in safety-critical systems
— “identifying and effectively mitigating malfunctions, degradation in performance, and edge cases”
Showcase work with sensor hardware qualification and failure rate analysis in safety contexts
— “Define safety requirements for safety-related sensors (diagnostics, fault detection, failure rates)”
Demonstrate ability to create calibration processes and analyze field data trends
— “Experience creating calibration fixtures, defining calibration processes and driving failure and trend analysis of field data”
Demonstrate experience with allocating and managing error budgets in safety-critical systems
— “Experience deriving and allocating error budgets, experience in developing analysis backed by data to inform trade studies”

Pace · Fast PacedCollaboration · HighAutonomy · MediumDecision Impact · Team

Derived from job-description analysis by Serendipath's career intelligence engine.

What success looks like

Developed safety requirements and evidence for robot perception systems
Implemented safety measures for sensor hardware

Typical background

PhD or Master's in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or related fieldExperience in safety-critical systems

Skills & requirements

Required

System Safety EngineeringComputer VisionSafety-critical SoftwareSensor HardwareSotif

Preferred

RoboticsAI

Stack & domain

Computer Vision AlgorithmsDeterministic AlgorithmsAuditable AlgorithmsExplainable AlgorithmsSafety RequirementsSotifCalibrationError BudgetsSoftware SafetySafety-rated Compute HardwareSafety ArchitecturesIEC 61508ISO 26262Misra CSafety-critical Embedded SoftwareReal-time Operating SystemsC/c++ DevelopmentLidarsCamerasTime-of-flight SensorsRadarsUltrasonicsRoboticsAIHardware DevelopmentManufacturingSafety Engineering

About the role

Original posting from Rhoda Ai via Ashby

At Rhoda AI, we’re building the next generation of generalist intelligent robots. We own the full robotics stack from high-performance hardware and robot systems to the infrastructure and state-of-the-art foundation world models that control our robots. Our robots are designed to be generalists capable of operating in complex, real-world environments and handling long-tail edge cases, made possible by our cutting edge research and end-to-end system design. We've raised over $450M and are investing aggressively in model research, infrastructure, hardware development, and manufacturing scale-up to make generalist robotics a reality.
You'll own the safety requirements and safety evidence for the robot's perception path, end to end: from the sensors and their data links, through detection and decision logic, to the robot's response. You'll make sure the path is deterministic, auditable and explainable, and that it meets its safety targets.
What You’ll Do
Algorithms: Own the end-to-end safety targets and performance of perception algorithms used in robot’s collision avoidance system, develop evidence that design meets them
Requirements: Derive by engineering analysis system safety requirements for detection performance, classification accuracy, KPIs, identifying and effectively mitigating malfunctions, degradation in performance, and edge cases
SOTIF: Develop detection and mitigation strategies within SOTIF framework and own SOTIF performance from developing requirements to analyzing VnV test data
Calibration: Set safety requirements for calibration accuracy, drift detection and recalibration triggers, and analyze data for trends and drifts
Error budgets: Set the safety limits for the sensor-to-actuator error budget, check that the allocation stays inside them, contribute to trade studies and influence hardware/software designs
Software safety: Create safety concept and the safety requirements for its implementation, working closely with Software Engineering team, achieving safety-compliant software implementation
Sensor hardware: Define safety requirements for safety-related sensors (diagnostics, fault detection, failure rates), review supplier safety manuals and be a critical partner in sensor selection, and specify the qualification evidence needed and drive verification.
Safety work products: Generate work products towards Robot Safety Case, drive reviews and approvals with an NRTL
What We’re Looking For
Algorithms: Expertise in deterministic, auditable, explainable computer vision algorithms used for perception
Requirements: Experience in analytically and empirically deriving engineering requirements with numerical pass/fail constraints to physical performance expressed in distance, time, speed, etc.
SOTIF: Proven record of developing SOTIF work products for a safety-related robotic or automotive system
Calibration: Experience creating calibration fixtures, defining calibration processes and driving failure and trend analysis of field data
Error budgets: Experience deriving and allocating error budgets, experience in developing analysis backed by data to inform trade studies to achieve compliance with error budgets
Software safety: Strong background in safety-critical embedded software, real-time operating systems, computer vision algorithms, and safety-compliant C/C++ development
Sensor hardware: Experience with Lidars, Cameras, Time-of-Flight sensors, Radars, Ultrasonics, other sensing technologies and related sensor pipeline hardware and state of art methodologies used in safety-related context
Preferred
MS or PhD in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering or Robotics with focus on Computer Vision and Embedded Systems
Experience creating work products for Functional Safety and SOTIF and successfully passing an audit by an NRTL
Experience with safety-rated compute hardware with strong vision processing capabilities
Experience designing safety architectures and documenting requirements within the context of IEC 61508 or ISO 26262
Experience with embedded software system developed with compliance to MISRA C, ISO 26262-6 or IEC 61508-3
Perception Sensors Functional Safety background from automotive industry

Source: Rhoda Ai careers (Ashby)