Director of Safety Engineering, Robotics & Autonomous Systems in Irvine

Job DescriptionJob Description Field AI builds autonomous robotic systems designed to operate in complex, unstructured, and safety-critical real-world environments. Our robots work alongside humans in outdoor settings where uncertainty, scale, and operational risk are fundamental challenges. Safety is a core product capability at Field AI. As our systems transition from advanced R&D into scaled field deployment, we are seeking a Director of Robotics Product Safety to define and lead the company’s product safety vision, strategy, and execution. As Director of Robotics Product Safety, you will own Field AI’s end-to-end product safety function. You will set the safety strategy for autonomous robotic systems, establish scalable safety processes, and serve as the executive-level authority on product safety across the organization. This role combines deep technical judgment, systems safety leadership, and cross-functional influence. You will work closely with executive leadership, engineering, operations, and external stakeholders to ensure Field AI’s robots are safe, deployable, and trusted in the field. What You’ll Get To Do:

• Safety Strategy & Leadership

• Define and own Field AI’s product safety vision, strategy, and roadmap
• Establish company-wide safety principles, policies, and governance for robotic systems
• Act as the executive point of contact for product safety decisions and risk acceptance
• Balance innovation speed with rigorous, risk-based safety practices

System, Autonomy & AI Safety Oversight

• Provide technical leadership on system-level safety for autonomous robotic platforms
• Guide safety approaches for:
• Autonomous navigation, perception, and planning
• Human-robot interaction in field environments
• Fault tolerance, degraded modes, and fail-safe behaviors
• Oversee safety treatment of AI/ML-driven components, including uncertainty and edge cases
• Review and approve safety architectures, concepts, and safety cases

Cross-Functional & Executive Collaboration

• Partner with leaders across:
• Autonomy, perception, software, hardware, and systems engineering
• Field operations, deployment, and customer programs
• Influence product architecture and roadmap decisions through a safety lens
• Provide clear, actionable guidance to executives on safety risks, tradeoffs, and mitigations

Standards, Compliance & External Engagement

• Own Field AI’s approach to safety standards, regulatory alignment, and compliance
• Guide interpretation and application of relevant standards (e.g., ISO 12100, IEC 61508, ISO 13849, ISO 10218)
• Lead engagements with customers, partners, regulators, and third-party assessors
• Ensure safety arguments are credible, defensible, and scalable across products

Team Building & Organizational Scale

• Build, lead, and mentor a high-impact product safety team
• Define roles, responsibilities, and career growth paths for safety engineers
• Establish scalable safety processes that integrate naturally with engineering workflows
• Champion a strong safety culture without slowing execution

Field Risk & Incident Management

• Provide executive oversight for:
• Field deployment risk assessmentsIncident response, investigations, and corrective actions
• Define thresholds for risk acceptance and deployment readiness
• Ensure lessons learned from the field are systematically fed back into product design

• Bachelor’s degree in Robotics, Systems Engineering, Mechanical, Electrical, or Computer Engineering, or equivalent experience
• 10+ years of experience in robotics, autonomous systems, product safety, or functional safety
• Proven experience leading system-level safety for complex electromechanical and software-driven products
• Track record of influencing architecture and product decisions at a senior level
• Deep understanding of real-world robotics deployment risks

Leadership Attributes

• Strategic thinker with strong technical judgment
• Able to make and defend difficult safety decisions under uncertainty
• Credible with both executives and hands-on engineers
• Pragmatic, risk-based, and outcome-focused
• Passionate about deploying safe autonomy in the real world

What Will Set You Apart

• Master’s degree or PhD in a relevant field
• Experience with autonomous mobile robots, outdoor robotics, or defense-adjacent systems
• Functional Safety certification (e.g., TÜV Functional Safety Engineer)
• Experience interfacing with regulators, customers, and safety assessors
• Background in AI/ML-enabled systems and autonomy safety

Our salary range is generous and we take into consideration an individual’s background and experience in determining final salary; base pay offered may vary considerably depending on geographic location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Why Join Field AI? We are solving one of the world’s most complex challenges: deploying robots in unstructured, previously unknown environments. Our Field Foundational Models set a new standard in perception, planning, localization, and manipulation, ensuring our approach is explainable and safe for deployment. You will have the opportunity to work with a world-class team that thrives on creativity, resilience, and bold thinking. With a decade-long track record of deploying solutions in the field, winning DARPA challenge segments, and bringing expertise from organizations like DeepMind, NASA JPL, Boston Dynamics, NVIDIA, Amazon, Tesla Autopilot, Cruise Self-Driving, Zoox, Toyota Research Institute, and SpaceX, we are set