Autonomous Systems Engineer Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

About the Role

As a Staff Systems Engineer at Agility Robotics, you'll be the technical leader defining and delivering system-level architecture for our humanoid robot platform, with focus in functional safety requirements integration. Working within a high-impact Systems Engineering team, you'll take ownership of complex safety-critical requirements, cross-functional interfaces, and system-level integration-bringing clarity and structure to incredibly complex safety-critical systems.

This role is ideal for a hands-on technical leader with functional safety expertise who thrives in ambiguity, takes initiative without waiting for permission, and has a passion for building real safety-critical systems fast. You'll help shape how Systems Engineering and Functional Safety integration is applied in a fast-moving startup, balancing the rigor of safety standards with the agility and pragmatism needed to ship products.

Key Responsibilities

Robotics Development 

• Requirements Management: Define system and subsystem architectures spanning all domains (mechanical, electrical, firmware, and software) with embedded functional safety, and drive trade studies to balance safety, performance, cost, and execution speed.
• V&V Definition : Define, own, and decompose detailed, verifiable requirements in Jama that can be delivered to Integration and Testing teams for Verification and Validation.
• Interface Definition: Lead development and maintenance of Interface Control Documents (ICDs), managing implementation-specific details for hardware and software interfaces, including message structures, pinouts, and bolt patterns.
• Operational Definitions: Define the sequence of operations between major elements and users using narrative Concept of Operations (ConOps), swimlane diagrams, and/or logical flow charts.
• Test Support: Align system requirements with test plans to ensure coverage across the entire safety system. Drive system-level verification of safety requirements through integration testing and track design differences between test setups and the intended design to determine technical risk.

Operational Support and Technical Leadership 

• Safety Tracking & Monitoring: Regularly check and confirm that the safety system's performance meets all specified requirements under live operating conditions.
• Change and Modification Management: Ensure that any modification to the system's hardware or software that impacts safety must be strictly validated to maintain safety integrity and prevent the introduction of new risks.
• Failure Analysis and Investigation: Actively participate in safety assessments and root cause investigations, collaborating with non-safe software and hardware development teams to prevent systemic faults.
• Operational Sustainment: Work closely with Commercial and Product teams to ensure that critical safety mechanisms and processes are maintained at customer sites, including emergency stop and human detection.
• Cross-Functional Alignment and Leadership: Facilitate cross-functional decisions when safety requirements conflict with performance, cost, or schedule constraints, and identify technical and safety risks to influence system decisions.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of Systems Engineering experience in safety-critical domains: robotics, aerospace, automotive, medical devices, or similar multidisciplinary hardware/software systems
• 3+ years working on system safety or functional safety projects and use of functional safety standards such as ISO 13849, IEC 61508, ISO 26262, IEC 62061, or similar
• Demonstrated experience leading system-level integration, architecture, and requirement management efforts
• Previous experience in high-growth, fast-paced environments where self-direction and bias for action are essential
• Experience with safety-critical robotics or autonomous systems strongly preferred

Technical Skills & Safety Expertise

• Understanding of safety lifecycle processes, hazard analysis (HARA, HAZOP, FTA, FMEA), safety integrity levels, and safety architecture principles
• Expert-level skills in authoring safety requirements, managing traceability, and defining cross-functional safety interfaces
• Strong familiarity with the V-model approach to safety-critical systems engineering, including how to adapt it for rapid development environments
• Proficiency in using safety analysis tools (e.g., ANSYS medini analyze, PTC Windchill FTA, ItemIS) and requirements management platforms (Jama, DOORS, Polarion).
• Ability to collaborate closely with Test Engineering to develop and execute system-level safety verification and validation strategies.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree (MS/PhD) in Systems Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field
• Experience with collaborative or mobile robotics in industrial environments
• Background in AI/ML safety considerations for autonomous systems
• Experience mentoring junior engineers in safety-critical system development
• Knowledge of regulatory compliance processes for robotics in manufacturing environments

This a hybrid position based out of one of our Fremont, CA offices.

The final salary offered to a successful candidate will be dependent on several factors that may include but are not limited to: job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Agility Robotics is a multi-state employer and this salary range may not reflect positions who work in other locations. These ranges may be modified in the future.