Lead Safety Case Engineer

Description

Who we are

Atoms is building the machines that power the next era of progress.

Over the last decade, software has transformed the digital world. But the physical world, where food is made, minerals are mined, goods are moved, and industries are run, remains far less intelligent, far less efficient, and far more constrained. We’re changing that.

Atoms builds Physical AI— real-world robots for the industries that move civilization forward, starting with food, mining, and transport. Our systems are designed to understand, predict, and control the real world with precision, turning complex physical operations into something more reliable, more scalable, and more productive.

This work requires more than robotics. It requires deep integration across hardware, software, AI, operations, manufacturing, and real estate. We don’t just build machines in a lab. We deploy them into real environments, operate them, learn from them, and improve them until they work at scale.

We are roboticists, engineers, operators, and builders. We believe the next great technology companies will not only transform information, but the physical systems that shape everyday life.

If you want to work on hard problems with real-world impact, join us.

Responsibilities

• Own a defined scope of the safety case end-to-end, leading it from initial drafting through sign-off and maintaining continuous governance as upstream dependencies evolve. As author of record, you hold ultimate accountability for defending the argument.
• Architect clear argument boundaries and constraints, defining operational conditions, valid assumptions, explicit exclusions, and non-credible hazards within your scope.
• Evaluate evidence sufficiency and coverage, scrutinizing operating experience metrics and data provenance while partnering directly with Functional Safety, Scenario Validation, and Fleet Operations leads to synthesize required evidence.
• Construct the Claim-Argument-Evidence (CAE) structure, establishing precise validity boundaries so it is transparent exactly when safety claims hold and when they do not.
• Lead formal safety reviews and peer governance, convening reviews only when evidence meets maturity standards, driving reviewer feedback to documented resolution, and serving as an independent reviewer for peer scopes.
• Drive rigor in shared methodologies and tooling, proactively identifying process gaps or ambiguous rules to prevent local workarounds from compromising organizational safety standards.
• Pioneer AI-assisted safety engineering workflows, leveraging AI tools to draft from templates, stress-test candidate hazard sets, cross-check scenario coverage, maintain end-to-end traceability, and rapidly flag invalidated claims.

Requirements

• 9+ years of cross-functional experience spanning functional safety, autonomous behavior, and fleet operations, featuring deep expertise in at least two areas and working fluency in the third. Specialists in a single domain seeking to cross-train on the job are not a fit.
• Proven track record as author of record for a structured safety argument (GSN or CAE equivalent) on a production system, including defending claims through rigorous technical scrutiny. Be prepared to critique your past work and discuss design trade-offs.
• Dual ownership of hazard analysis and validation, with demonstrated mastery in safety analysis methods (e.g., HARA, FMEA, FTA) paired directly with scenario-based validation strategies.
• Uncompromising rigor regarding data provenance, with an instinctive drive to distinguish, label, and challenge measurements, estimates, and placeholders before they acquire false authority.
• Courage and integrity to enforce safety gates, comfortably speaking up when a safety case is unready—even under commercial pressure—while clearly articulating missing evidence and associated risks.
• Proportional mastery of safety standards, applying ISO 26262, ISO 21448 (SOTIF), UL 4600, and SAE J3016 appropriately to scoped arguments without imposing unnecessary process overhead.
• Statistical fluency in exposure, rare events, and risk metrics, including a clear understanding of surrogate safety measures and their technical limitations when evaluating harm.
• Functional programming proficiency (e.g., Python) to analyze fleet data, engineer local tooling, and leverage AI assistants effectively—maintaining firm boundaries where AI-generated outputs are treated strictly as hypotheses or drafts.
• Exceptional written precision, producing clear, unambiguous safety documents capable of standing up under independent scrutiny without author intervention.
• Collaborative leadership and team flexibility, balancing deep ownership of your assigned scope with the agility to support peer scopes and provide high-value, non-ceremonial reviews.

Benefits

• At Atoms, you’ll work on one of the defining challenges of our time—bringing automation into the physical world to drive real, lasting impact. We exist to uncover valuable unknown truths and turn them into progress, which means constantly pushing beyond what’s known and building what doesn’t yet exist. The work is ambitious and often challenging, but it’s grounded in a shared sense of purpose and a team committed to seeing it through together. Our work only matters if it serves others, and we know that meaningful progress depends on the trust of the people we serve and the strength of our team—so we invest in both, creating an environment where you can do your best work and grow.
• What else you need to know
• This role is based in our San Francisco office. Atoms is a company driven by invention and continuous change - we are constantly reimagining our industries, building new products, and refining how we operate. We do our best work together. That’s why all of our office-based teams work onsite, five days a week.
• The base salary range for this role is $182,000 - $230,000 per year.
• Actual compensation will be determined on an individual basis and may vary depending on experience, skills, and qualifications.
• Base salary is just one part of your total rewards package. You may also be eligible for equity awards and an annual performance-based bonus.
• Medical, Dental, Vision, Disability, and Life Insurance
• Flexible Spending Account / Health Savings Account Options
• 401(k)
• Equity
• Sick Time, Unlimited Flexible Time Off, and Paid Holidays
• Paid Parental Leave
• Pre-Tax Commuter Benefit Plan
• Team lunch in our SoMa office every Tuesday and Thursday
• Atoms accepts applications on an ongoing basis.
• Ready to join us as we serve those who serve others?
• #LI-Onsite