Senior Functional Safety Engineer

About Us

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies is a joint venture between two industry leaders with a clear vision for automotive’s next chapter. From operating systems to zonal controllers to cloud and connectivity solutions, we’re addressing the challenges of electric vehicles through technology that will set the standards for software-defined vehicles around the world.

The road to the future is uncharted. By combining our expertise across connectivity, AI, security and more, we’ll map a new way forward. Working together, we’ll create a future that’s more connected, more intelligent, more sustainable for everyone.

Role Summary

Join a motivating team of experts developing Electric Vehicle technology through innovative zonal architecture development.

This position is based in our Berlin office and operates on a hybrid model, requiring at least three days per week on-site.

Responsibilities

Establish and continuously improve the processes and technical pipelines that collect, organize, and present all traceable evidences required for Functional Safety release or sign-off reports (production and SW releases) across all FuSa domains (Dynamics, Body, Thermal, Energy, ADAS, Core).

Define quantitative, evidence-based release criteria for FuSa sign-off — including thresholds for requirement verification coverage, safety mechanism test pass rates, diagnostic coverage metrics, ASIL-graded open-issue limits, and residual risk acceptance.

Work closely with PMT to align FuSa maturity criteria to program milestones and gate reviews, providing per-domain risk profiles that surface gaps in evidence completeness and drive early visibility of domains at risk of missing gate criteria.

Coordinate with FuSa domain leads, test automation, SW FuSa, HW FuSa, and PMT to align evidence deliverables against release schedules, driving pipeline efficiency so that sign-off can be given with confidence and minimal overhead on technical teams.

Develop and maintain automated dashboarding that consolidates release readiness, requirement coverage, open safety issues, and post-release fleet safety performance — enabling data-driven release decisions and continuous calibration of release criteria over successive programs.

Establish and track post-release safety performance indicators — including field failure rates against safety mechanism assumptions and safety-relevant DTC rates — to close the loop between pre-release evidence confidence and real-world outcomes.

Coordinate with external suppliers and Brand partners to collect, validate, and integrate supplier-generated safety work products and SEooC arguments into the vehicle-level safety case.

Work closely with the FuSa Process team and VWG Central FuSi process team to ensure release processes align with ISO 26262 compliance expectations across Rivian and VW programs.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications:

Degree in Electrical/Electronic, Mechanical, Software, Systems, or Computer Engineering (or similar).

Over 5 years of experience in the automotive industry (or equivalent), ideally at an OEM or Tier 1, with at least 2 years in functional safety, systems engineering, or release/program engineering roles.

Proven knowledge of ISO 26262, particularly around work product management, confirmation reviews, safety case argumentation, and evidence-based release assessment.

Strong experience with requirements management and traceability tools (e.g. JAMA, DOORS) and issue tracking tools (e.g. Jira, Confluence).

Experience defining quantitative release criteria and safety performance metrics, and building reporting pipelines or dashboards to track them.

Experience with data visualization tools (e.g. Databricks, Tableau, Power BI); ability to present risk and safety performance metrics to technical and leadership audiences.

Good understanding of vehicle system functionality across multiple domains.

Excellent organizational and coordination skills; ability to drive cross-functional alignment under tight release schedules.

Good interpersonal and communication skills; ability to report clearly and concisely to senior management.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience with supplier safety artifact management — SEooC arguments and supplier-provided safety cases integrated into a vehicle-level safety argument.

Exposure to fleet monitoring, field quality data, or post-release safety performance tracking.

Familiarity with CI/CD concepts and data pipeline tooling; scripting ability (e.g. Python) a plus.

Total Rewards

We build the exceptional — and we believe the people doing that work should be rewarded accordingly. In addition to a competitive base salary, full-time positions may be is eligible to participate in our annual company performance bonus program.

Payments are discretionary and not guaranteed; actual amounts depend on company results and the terms of the plan in effect, and require active employment at the time of payout. This role is also eligible for equity in the form of Restricted Stock Units (RSUs), subject to board approval and the terms of our equity incentive plans, including applicable vesting requirements.

In addition to our compensation programs, we invest in our people with a comprehensive benefits package designed to support the health, wellbeing, and financial future for full-time employees — including health coverage, retirement savings, time off, and family planning programs. Offerings vary by country. Learn more about our global benefit programs .

External candidates can apply for this role through the Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies careers site ( https://rivianvw.tech/#careers ). If you are a current employee, please apply through our internal job board .

Equal Opportunity

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information or characteristics, physical or mental disability, marital/domestic partner status, age, military/veteran status, medical condition, or any other characteristic protected by law. We are also committed to ensuring compliance with all applicable fair employment practice laws regarding citizenship and immigration status.

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies is committed to ensuring that our hiring process is accessible for persons with disabilities. If you have a disability or limitation, such as those covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act, that requires accommodations to assist you in the search and application process, please email us at [email protected].

Candidate Data Privacy

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies” may collect, use and disclose your personal information or personal data (within the meaning of the applicable data protection laws) when you apply for employment and/or participate in our recruitment processes (“Candidate Personal Data”). This data includes contact, demographic, communications, educational, professional, employment, social media/website, network/device, recruiting system usage/interaction, security and preference information. Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies may use your Candidate Personal Data for the purposes of (i) tracking interactions with our recruiting system; (ii) carrying out, analyzing and improving our application and recruitment process, including assessing you and your application and conducting employment, background and reference checks; (iii) establishing an employment relationship or entering into an employment contract with you; (iv) complying with our legal, regulatory and corporate governance obligations; (v) record keeping; (vi) ensuring network and information security and preventing fraud; and (vii) as otherwise require