US_East | Product / System & PLM Engineer_L3

Job Summary: We are seeking a Safety Engineer to ensure that our autonomous machines are safe, both as designed and as deployed. This role combines safety analysis and engineering design oversight for autonomous heavy machinery and vehicles with site assessments and safety planning for prospective worksites where autonomous systems will be deployed. The Safety Engineer reports to the Blitz Chief and supports both Blitz and Business Development activities. The Blitz Team is the client's rapid-execution engineering group, focused on transforming new concepts into operational autonomous systems. This cross-functional team spans software, electrical, mechanical, systems engineering, and field operations. Blitz accelerates product development, validates new ideas, and supports the launch of customer pilot programs using real equipment in active operating environments. Successful team members thrive in a fast-paced environment and demonstrate adaptability, hands-on problem-solving abilities, and a willingness to take on diverse responsibilities.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities: 1. Engineering Design Safety Review mechanical, electrical, control, and software designs for safety and lead engineering design safety reviews. Conduct and maintain hazard and risk analyses, including HARA, STPA, FMEA, and FTA, for machine systems and control architectures. Derive safety requirements from hazard analyses and collaborate with engineering teams to ensure requirements are traceable and verifiable. Determine the required performance level or safety integrity for each safety function and verify that the implemented design meets the specified requirements. Develop verification and test plans for safety functions, establish acceptance criteria, and review supporting test evidence. Maintain comprehensive safety documentation, including analyses, requirements, safety cases, and verification records. Support internal and external safety audits. Assist engineers in taking ownership of the safety of their respective designs. 2. Customer Site Safety Travel to customer sites early in the project lifecycle to assess operating environments, including traffic patterns, machine-personnel interactions, terrain, sight lines, adjacent manned equipment, infrastructure, and existing site procedures. Prepare written site assessments identifying the requirements for safe autonomous operations, including any conditions that may make autonomous deployment inadvisable. Develop comprehensive site safety plans covering operating area boundaries, machine interaction and exclusion zones, emergency stop architecture and coverage, perimeter and access control, signage, communications, and maintenance isolation. Specify required protective measures, including guarding, interlocks, emergency stop hardware, presence sensing, warning devices, and access control. Oversee the installation of protective measures and verify their effectiveness through onsite testing. Define safe operating parameters for each machine and site and issue or recommend determinations permitting autonomous operations. Document customer safety responsibilities and provide training to operators, maintenance personnel, supervisors, and safety teams. Serve as the primary safety contact for customer operations and safety leadership. Advise commercial and project teams on safety constraints early in the project lifecycle to help shape project scope. Incorporate recurring site hazards into engineering design requirements. Essential Education, Work Experience, and Job Skills Education and Experience: Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Occupational Safety, or a related technical field. Equivalent hands-on experience, including trade, military, or field experience, will be considered in place of a degree. Minimum of 3 years of engineering experience involving significant responsibility for the safety of machinery or powered equipment in active industrial environments. Five or more years of experience is preferred. Experience in industrial environments such as mines, quarries, manufacturing plants, food processing facilities, distribution yards, construction sites, or agricultural operations. A dedicated safety engineering title is not required. Candidates with backgrounds in plant maintenance, controls engineering, industrial or manufacturing engineering, machine building and integration, or mine safety are encouraged to apply, provided they have experience assessing and mitigating hazards associated with powered equipment. Candidates with strong expertise in either engineering design safety or customer site safety and the ability to develop expertise in the other area will be considered. Demonstrated experience personally identifying hazards on equipment or at operational sites and implementing protective measures through specification, installation, and verification. This experience may be accepted in place of formal safety certifications or familiarity with specific published standards. Technical Skills and Competencies Ability to perform machinery risk assessments by identifying hazards, evaluating severity, exposure frequency, and hazard avoidability, and determining the required level of risk reduction. Understanding of the hierarchy of risk reduction, including eliminating hazards through design, implementing guarding and safeguarding measures, and applying warnings and training to address residual risks. Ability to select and design protective measures, including guards, interlocks, presence-sensing systems, emergency stop and all-stop circuits, access controls, and warning devices. Ability to determine the required reliability of safety functions based on the risks they address and verify their effectiveness through functional testing. Experience developing traceable, testable safety requirements based on hazard analyses and defining verification plans to demonstrate compliance. Ability to assess active worksites for hazards involving mobile equipment, machine-personnel interactions, traffic patterns, sight lines, terrain, and operating zone boundaries. Familiarity with energy isolation, lockout/tagout (LOTO) procedures, and machine guarding requirements in regulated workplaces. Sound judgment in assessing real-world risks and the ability to develop and communicate defensible safety arguments to engineers and customer operations leadership. Strong hands-on technical skills, including taking measurements, using hand tools, interpreting electrical schematics, inspecting safety devices, and conducting functional verification tests. Ability to communicate effectively and establish credibility with operators, mechanics, supervisors, engineers, and customer stakeholders.

Additional Requirements: Willingness to travel domestically and internationally to active industrial sites up to 25% of the time, including on short notice. Valid driver's license. Ability to obtain required site access credentials, including MSHA Part 46/48 training.

Preferred Qualifications: Experience with autonomous or semi-autonomous heavy equipment, including haul trucks, dozers, loaders, excavators, compactors, and yard trucks, or with Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) and Autonomous Mobile Robot (AMR) fleets in production environments. Experience designing layouts, commissioning, or implementing safety measures for automated facilities, work cells, manufacturing plants, or yard operations. Experience conducting customer site assessments, training customer personnel, and supporting commercial teams in evaluating and defining site requirements. Experience with requirements management, traceability tools, and safety case development. Familiarity with applicable machinery safety standards, including: ISO 12100 – Risk assessment and risk reduction. ISO 13849 or IEC 62061 – Safety-related control systems and performance levels. ISO 13850, ISO 13855, ISO 13857, and ISO 14119 – Emergency stops, safeguard positioning and distances, and interlocks. Familiarity with autonomous and mobile machinery standards, including ISO 17757, ISO 3691-4, ANSI/ITSDF B56.5, ISO 19014, ISO 21815, ISO 18497, and ISO 25119. Familiarity with OSHA 29 CFR 1910 Subpart O and 1910.147, MSHA 30 CFR Parts 56 and 57, and NFPA 70E. Knowledge of EMESRT design philosophies and ICMM vehicle interaction guidance. Professional certifications such as CMSE, CFSE, CFSP, TÜV Functional Safety Engineer, or CSP. Familiarity with IEC 61508, ISO 26262, or UL 4600.

Physical Requirements: This position requires the ability to: Travel by air and vehicle to domestic and international customer sites. Work outdoors for extended periods in varying weather and environmental conditions, including heat, cold, dust, noise, and precipitation. Navigate active industrial sites, including uneven or sloped terrain, ladders, and access platforms. Mount and dismount heavy equipment and inspect components at ground level, beneath machinery, and at elevated locations. Wear required personal protective equipment (PPE) for extended periods. Lift and carry up to 50 pounds. Remain alert to moving heavy equipment and respond to audible warnings and radio communications in high-noise environments. Operate a computer and communicate effectively in person, by telephone, and by radio. Equal Employment Opportunity Our client is committed to fostering a diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplace where all employees and applicants have equal opportunities. The client prohibits discrimination and harassment based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other legally protected characteristic. The client complies with all applicable federal, state, and local nondiscrimination laws and is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities throughout the hiring process. "All qualified applicants will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status."