Real Jobs. Real Change. See What's Next.
A living directory of real jobs that didn't exist 5 years ago. Curated for leaders, builders, and the curious.
Principal Autonomous Vehicle Safety SOTIF Engineer
Ensures the Safety of the Intended Function (SOTIF) for autonomous driving systems by analyzing AI-driven vehicle behavior and establishing safety performance indicators across various driving scenarios
Key Responsibilities:
- Lead functional safety analysis using ISO 21448 (SOTIF) standards for autonomous driving systems and ADAS features
- Utilize analysis techniques including HARA, FMEA, and STPA to identify functional insufficiencies in sensing and decision algorithms
- Define safety goals and requirements for ADAS-SOTIF events while driving system architecture to mitigate identified risks
- Conduct Operational Design Domain (ODD) decomposition to identify road, weather, and external disturbances affecting vehicle safety
- Create scenario-based test suites and validation protocols to demonstrate autonomous system robustness within defined ODDs
- Collaborate with software, hardware, and systems engineers to build comprehensive SOTIF safety cases for L4 autonomous features
- Manage safety requirements traceability across design, implementation, validation, and service teams
Skills & Tools:
- ISO 21448 (SOTIF) and ISO 26262 (functional safety) standards expertise
- Safety analysis methodologies (FTA, FMEA, STPA, HARA)
- Autonomous vehicle systems knowledge (L0-L4 driving features like LKA, AEB, ACC, LCC)
- Automotive component expertise (RADAR, Camera, Driver Monitor systems)
- Object sensing/detection and path prediction technologies
- Map and localization systems for autonomous vehicles
- Vehicle dynamics and simulation platforms
- UL 4600 and IEEE 2846 emerging safety standards
- Cross-functional collaboration with engineering teams
- System engineering and automotive certification experience
Where This Role Has Appeared:
- Motional AD Inc (Autonomous Vehicles, Remote/US, $156k-$221k, July 2025)
Variants & Related Titles:
- Autonomous Vehicle Safety Engineer
- SOTIF Analysis Engineer
- AV Functional Safety Engineer
- Self-Driving Safety Systems Engineer
- Autonomous Systems Safety Architect
Why This Role Is New:
Principal AV Safety SOTIF Engineer emerged in 2020-2022 as Level 4 autonomous vehicles approached commercial deployment and traditional automotive safety standards proved inadequate for AI-powered systems. The role addresses the unique challenge that autonomous vehicles can operate exactly as designed but still cause accidents due to edge cases or environmental factors that weren't anticipated in their training, requiring new safety frameworks beyond conventional automotive engineering.
Trend Insight:
As autonomous vehicles move from testing to commercial deployment, specialized safety roles are becoming critical for regulatory approval and public acceptance, bridging traditional automotive safety with AI system validation in an industry where safety failures have life-or-death consequences.
Seen this role elsewhere? Submit an example or share your story.