Senior System Safety Engineer, Autonomy Compute
New Today
Nuro is a self-driving technology company on a mission to make autonomy accessible to all. Founded in 2016, Nuro is building the world's most scalable driver, combining cutting-edge AI with automotive-grade hardware. Nuro licenses its core technology, the Nuro Driver™, to support a wide range of applications, from robotaxis and commercial fleets to personally owned vehicles. With technology proven over years of self-driving deployments, Nuro gives the automakers and mobility platforms a clear path to AVs at commercial scale-empowering a safer, richer, and more connected future.
About the Role
At Nuro, we are building autonomous vehicle technology to deliver the benefits of robotics to everyday life. Our mission is to create a safer, more efficient, and more accessible future. At the heart of this mission is the Nuro Driver's central compute system-the brain of our vehicle. Ensuring the safety of this complex system is one of the most critical and challenging endeavors in the industry today.
In this role, you will be a key technical owner for our next-generation, high-performance AV compute. You will apply a systems-thinking approach to solve complex problems at the intersection of architecture, performance, and functional safety. You will be at the center of evaluating and integrating state-of-the-art hardware and software from industry-leading partners, making critical technical recommendations that will shape the future of our platform. This is a unique opportunity for an engineer who thrives on high-impact, cross-functional challenges to ensure our vehicle's brain is not only safe, but also powerful and reliable.
About the Work
- Drive the system-level architecture and requirements for the central AV compute platform, ensuring a holistic balance between performance, reliability, and functional safety.
- Collaborate with cross-functional hardware and software teams to drive safety-by-design principles into the next generation of our compute platform, influencing critical decisions on SoC/MCU selection, interconnects, power distribution and fault management strategies.
- Lead, perform and review safety analyses including Hazard Analysis and Risk Assessment (HARA), Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA), Fault Tree Analysis (FTA), and Dependent Failure Analysis (DFA) at system level on AV compute.
- Collaborate closely with the Software and Embedded Software (eSWE) team to influence the compute software architecture and development plan, ensuring alignment with system safety and performance goals.
- Serve as the primary technical safety interface for our Tier 1 compute suppliers. Drive deep technical discussions, critically review supplier safety analyses and work products (FMEDA, Safety Manuals, etc) and ensure their deliverables meet our safety targets.
- Define and quantify test coverage for the AV compute platform to be executed in HIL and real-world testing environments to ensure system performance and safety against requirements.
- Develop Python-based tools and testing pipelines to automate the analysis of HIL results, identifying performance regressions and validating system behavior against safety requirements.
- Author and maintain key system-level documentation, including the Item Definition, system requirements and technical safety concepts for AV compute.
- Support and maintain sections of the overall Autonomy Safety Case pertaining to compute utilizing structures like GSN and focusing on residual risk assessment and clear argumentation.
About You
- Experience defining and analyzing complex compute architectures, including high-performance SoCs (e.g., NVIDIA, Qualcomm), safety MCUs, and associated software stacks (OS, RTOS, drivers).
- Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with a demonstrated ability to drive technical decisions across cross-functional teams (e.g., SW, HW, Test).
- Proven hands-on experience in systems engineering for complex hardware/software systems.
- Demonstrated experience working on safety-critical systems and applying safety standards like ISO 26262 or ISO 21448 (including activities like HARA, FMEA, FTA, safety concept development).
- Experience with requirements definition, management (e.g., Jama ), architecture design, integration, and validation.
- Ability to read code in C++ and write code in Python for analysis, tooling, and test automation.
- Strong communication skills - both verbal and written.
Bonus Points
- Direct experience with the NVIDIA DRIVE platform (Thor, Orin) and the DriveOS software stack.
- Experience with AUTOSAR (Classic/Adaptive) architecture and safety-rated software stacks.
- Experience with HIL testing for ADAS/AD systems.
- Experience working directly with vendors on component selection and integration.
At Nuro, your base pay is one part of your total compensation package. For this position, the reasonably expected base pay range is between $167,200 and $250,800 for the level at which this job has been scoped. Your base pay will depend on several factors, including your experience, qualifications, education, location, and skills. In the event that you are considered for a different level, a higher or lower pay range would apply. This position is also eligible for an annual performance bonus, equity, and a competitive benefits package.
At Nuro, we celebrate differences and are committed to a diverse workplace that fosters inclusion and psychological safety for all employees. Nuro is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and expressly prohibits any form of workplace discrimination based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, genetic information, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected characteristics.
- Location:
- Mountain View