A system safety engineer helps to develop, refine, and update safety protocols and software that controls a large system and ensures that even if aspects of the system fail, it does not put the entire system at jeopardy. For example, if a subsystem on a spaceship fails, your duties as a system safety engineer are to determine how to make sure that it does not affect other systems or endanger the critical life support systems. Systems safety engineering is essential in a wide range of fields, from civil engineering and aeronautics to software and hardware engineering and power plant systems.