Senior/Staff Systems Engineer, Powertrain System Safety and Fail Operational
zoox
Foster City, CA · Foster City · United States
Posted Jan 29, 2026
- Full-time
- Hybrid
- System Design and Mission Assurance
zoox
Foster City, CA · Foster City · United States
Posted Jan 29, 2026
Zoox is on an ambitious journey to develop a full-stack autonomous mobility solution for cities and safely deploy such a robotaxi solution. The System Design and Mission Assurance (SDMA) team plays a foundational role in the company's success, responsible for constructing the safety case and fail-operational design for our autonomous driving robots before public road deployment. As a Systems Engineer at Zoox, you will be working with cross functional teams including product, feature, operations, vehicle engineering, software, autonomy, and legal to design, develop, and deploy systems that enable and support safe autonomous driving. You are responsible for ensuring these systems are developed within a safety engineering process that results in end-to-end traceability and achievement of both system safety targets and product requirements. In this role, you will: Lead powertrain safety and fail-operational design and analysis covering high-voltage battery systems, charging, propulsion, and on-vehicle load management Architect vehicle-level safety concepts, focusing on fault tolerance, and fail-operational behaviors necessary for supporting autonomy and ensuring mission assurance on the vehicle’s powertrain functions Develop vehicle level safety concepts covering fault detection, and vehicle level reaction for ensuring the powertrain systems can achieve mission objectives under presence of faults Own the delivery of key work-products including hazard analysis risk assessment (HARA), fault tree analysis (FTA), functional safety concept, vehicle level safety requirements, safety clearance artifacts, and quantitative residual risk assessments Drive consensus across product, feature, operations, vehicle engineering, software, autonomy and legal teams to implement and release safety requirements Qualifications B.S. or higher degree in Automotive, Aerospace, Robotics, Computer Science, Electrical, Mechanical, or Systems Engineering Proven track record with electrified powertrains (battery management systems, motor drives/inverters, high to low voltage Direct Current to Direct Current (DC/DC) converters, vehicle torque management, etc) Hands-on experience in developing for safety-critical applications in autonomous vehicles, automotive, or aerospace spanning both fail-safe and fail-operational regimes 4+ years of work experience conducted hazard analysis risk assessment, authoring requirements and their decomposition, managing requirements and requirements traceability through development Experience performing first-principles based analysis, simulation(Matlab, Python, etc), etc to drive trade-offs between various architectural choices, diagnostics or reactions Hands-on experience creating work-products for functional safety standards ISO 26262, ISO 13849, IEC 61508, DO-178C, DO-254, or equivalent Experience with requirements management tools such as Jama, Doors, Polarion, etc. Collaborative team player with strong written and in-person communication skills, capable of influencing and driving consensus, and presenting complex data to varied audiences including senior executives Bonus Qualifications Knowledge of embedded development (firmware, and electrical) Experience designing real-time control systems About Zoox Zoox is developing the first ground-up, fully autonomous vehicle fleet and the supporting ecosystem required to bring this technology to market. Sitting at the intersection of robotics, machine learning, and design, Zoox aims to provide the next generation of mobility-as-a-service in urban environments. We’re looking for top talent that shares our passion and wants to be part of a fast-moving and highly execution-oriented team. Follow us on LinkedIn Accommodations If you need an accommodation to participate in the application or interview process please reach out to accommodations@zoox.com or your assigned recruiter. A Final Note: You do not need to match every listed expectation to apply for this position. Here at Zoox, we know that diverse perspectives foster the innovation we need to be successful, and we are committed to building a team that encompasses a variety of backgrounds, experiences, and skills. About ZooxZoox is developing the first ground-up, fully autonomous vehicle fleet and the supporting ecosystem required to bring this technology to market. Sitting at the intersection of robotics, machine learning, and design, Zoox aims to provide the next generation of mobility-as-a-service in urban environments. We’re looking for top talent that shares our passion and wants to be part of a fast-moving and highly execution-oriented team.Follow us on LinkedInAccommodationsIf you need an accommodation to participate in the application or interview process please reach out to accommodations@zoox.com or your assigned recruiter.A Final Note:You do not need to match every listed expectation to apply for this position. Here at Zoox, we know that diverse perspectives foster the innovation we need to be successful, and we are committed to building a team that encompasses a variety of backgrounds, experiences, and skills.