FieldAI · 2 weeks ago
Director of Safety Engineering, Robotics & Autonomous Systems
Irvine, CA
Full-time
Onsite
Director/Executive
$70K/yr - $300K/yr
10+ years expFieldAI builds autonomous robotic systems designed for complex, unstructured, and safety-critical environments. They are seeking a Director of Robotics Product Safety to define and lead the safety strategy and execution for their robotic systems, ensuring they are safe and trusted in the field.
Enterprise SoftwareRobotic Process Automation (RPA)Robotics
Hiring Manager
Stephanie Ruiz
Responsibilities
Define and own Field AI’s product safety vision, strategy, and roadmap
Establish company-wide safety principles, policies, and governance for robotic systems
Act as the executive point of contact for product safety decisions and risk acceptance
Balance innovation speed with rigorous, risk-based safety practices
Provide technical leadership on system-level safety for autonomous robotic platforms
Guide safety approaches for:
Autonomous navigation, perception, and planning
Human–robot interaction in field environments
Fault tolerance, degraded modes, and fail-safe behaviors
Oversee safety treatment of AI/ML-driven components, including uncertainty and edge cases
Review and approve safety architectures, concepts, and safety cases
Partner with leaders across:
Autonomy, perception, software, hardware, and systems engineering
Field operations, deployment, and customer programs
Influence product architecture and roadmap decisions through a safety lens
Provide clear, actionable guidance to executives on safety risks, tradeoffs, and mitigations
Own Field AI’s approach to safety standards, regulatory alignment, and compliance
Guide interpretation and application of relevant standards (e.g., ISO 12100, IEC 61508, ISO 13849, ISO 10218)
Lead engagements with customers, partners, regulators, and third-party assessors
Ensure safety arguments are credible, defensible, and scalable across products
Build, lead, and mentor a high-impact product safety team
Define roles, responsibilities, and career growth paths for safety engineers
Establish scalable safety processes that integrate naturally with engineering workflows
Champion a strong safety culture without slowing execution
Provide executive oversight for:
Field deployment risk assessments Incident response, investigations, and corrective actions
Define thresholds for risk acceptance and deployment readiness
Ensure lessons learned from the field are systematically fed back into product design
Qualification
Required
Bachelor's degree in Robotics, Systems Engineering, Mechanical, Electrical, or Computer Engineering, or equivalent experience
10+ years of experience in robotics, autonomous systems, product safety, or functional safety
Proven experience leading system-level safety for complex electromechanical and software-driven products
Track record of influencing architecture and product decisions at a senior level
Deep understanding of real-world robotics deployment risks
Strategic thinker with strong technical judgment
Able to make and defend difficult safety decisions under uncertainty
Credible with both executives and hands-on engineers
Pragmatic, risk-based, and outcome-focused
Passionate about deploying safe autonomy in the real world
Preferred
Master's degree or PhD in a relevant field
Experience with autonomous mobile robots, outdoor robotics, or defense-adjacent systems
Functional Safety certification (e.g., TÜV Functional Safety Engineer)
Experience interfacing with regulators, customers, and safety assessors
Background in AI/ML-enabled systems and autonomy safety
Company
FieldAI
FieldAI is pioneering the development of a field-proven, hardware agnostic brain technology that enables many different types of robots to operate autonomously in hazardous, offroad, and potentially harsh industrial settings – all without GPS, maps, or any pre-programmed routes.
11-50 employees
H1B Sponsorship
FieldAI has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (9)
Funding
Current Stage
Early StageTotal Funding
$405M2025-08-20Series Unknown· $91M
2025-08-20Series A· $314M
Leadership Team
Ali Agha
Founder and CEO
Recent News
Crunchbase News
2025-12-19
2025-10-16
Company data provided by crunchbase