Lead Functional Safety Engineer

About Dexterity

Dexterity is the enterprise Physical AI company building intelligent robots for complex industrial work.

Dexterity's Mech systems combine the Foresight World Model, robotics, and a Physical AI platform to perform demanding logistics workflows - including trailer loading, trailer unloading, and airport baggage handling - at the speed, reliability, and safety levels required for high-volume operations. Dexterity's Foresight World Model powers real-time perception, planning, and execution across physical environments with the interpretability required for industrial deployment. Dexterity is headquartered in Redwood City, California.

Dexterity is backed by world-class investors such as Kleiner Perkins, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Obvious Ventures. We are a diverse and multidisciplinary team with a culture built on passion, trust, and dedication.

About the Role

Lead functional safety engineering for industrial robots, autonomous mobile systems, and motion-control and drivetrain architectures. Own the full safety lifecycle — from hazard and risk analysis through requirements, architecture, implementation, verification, and validation — to support compliant deployment in North American, European, and Japanese markets.

Responsibilities

• Own the functional safety lifecycle for industrial robots, autonomous mobile systems, and drivetrains—from risk assessment and safety requirements through architecture, implementation, verification, and validation.

• Establish safety processes and governance, including the Functional Safety Management Plan, integration with the Quality Management System, documentation, reviews, approvals, and audits.

• Define and validate safety architectures, including safe states, PLr/SIL targets, protective functions, and interfaces across controllers, drives, brakes, sensors, and safety-rated networks.

• Perform system and component safety analyses, including FMEA/FMEDA, fault tree analysis, and mechanical failure analysis; translate findings into traceable requirements and design evidence.

• Lead safety verification and validation, using quantitative reliability analysis, fault injection, and testing of stopping performance, fault detection, and safe-state behavior.

• Guide implementation and global compliance, partnering with engineering teams, certification bodies, and external assessors to meet applicable standards and market requirements.

• Support safe deployment and customer operations through technical guidance, operating procedures, training, and troubleshooting.

Regulatory requirements

• Machinery risk and functional safety: ISO 12100, ISO 13849-1/-2, IEC 62061, and IEC 61508.

• Electrical and protective systems: IEC 60204-1, NFPA 79, and IEC 61496.

• Industrial and mobile robot safety: ISO 10218-1/-2, ANSI/RIA R15.06 and R15.08, ISO 3691-4, ANSI/ITSDF B56.5, UL 1740, and UL 3100, as applicable.

• Market compliance: Applicable EU machinery and EMC requirements and North American certification requirements.

Qualifications Required

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical, Mechanical, or a related engineering discipline.

• 10+ years of functional safety experience in robotics, automation, autonomous systems, or other safety-critical industries.

• Proven ownership of the full safety lifecycle, from risk assessment and PLr/SIL determination through implementation, verification, and validation.

• Hands-on experience with motion controls, safety PLCs, sensors, brakes, safety-rated networks, and PLC or embedded programming.

• Ability to assess robotic and drivetrain hazards, define fault detection and safe-state behavior, and quantitatively demonstrate required PL/SIL performance.

• Functional safety certification (TÜV, CFSE, CFSP, or CMSE) preferred.

What Makes You Successful

• Strong ownership and communication skills, with the ability to explain safety decisions to technical and non-technical audiences.

• Ability to create clear compliance documentation, safety procedures, and customer guidance.

• Willingness to travel domestically and internationally to customer site as needed to support safety assessments, validation, deployment, and troubleshooting.