Soma Capital Portfolio Jobs

System Safety Lead

Aerovect

Aerovect

San Francisco, CA, USA · Atlanta, GA, USA · Remote
Posted on Friday, August 18, 2023

Who We Are

AeroVect is transforming ground handling with autonomy, redefining how airlines and ground service providers around the globe run day-to-day operations. We are a private company founded in 2020 and backed by top-tier venture capital investors in aviation and autonomous driving. Our customers include some of the world’s largest airlines and ground handling providers. For more information, visit www.aerovect.com.

Job Description

We're bringing onboard a skilled System Safety Lead who will spearhead the creation, evolution, and deployment of dependable, safety-critical systems for autonomous driving within the airport driving environment.

We are looking for a seasoned safety professional well-versed in functional safety and systems engineering, to craft a pioneering safety framework for autonomous airside driving. Your role will be pivotal in establishing, overseeing, and upholding the rigorous engineering standards essential for the fail-safe performance of an autonomous driving system for the low-speed structured driving domain of the airside.

With your strong background in functional safety, you will be responsible for leading multi-disciplinary teams in the development of safety critical subsystems and constructing the safety case that documents and defends the integrity of the solution. You will work in close collaboration with the autonomy software, hardware, software, and commercial operations teams to accomplish these goals.

The opportunity offers a technical, hands-on safety professional the chance to lead the development of a market-defining enterprise product that combines autonomous vehicle technology with a robotics-as-a-service (RaaS) business model.

Your job scope will involve selecting and working with cutting-edge techniques as well as proven, off-the-shelf technologies to enable safe development and deployment of our perception, motion planning, localization and control capabilities for a range of driving scenarios at global airport hubs.

This role will work closely with our co-founders and the Head of Autonomy.

What You’ll Do

  • Lead teams in crafting safety-focused systems for autonomous driving in the airside operating environment.

  • Collaborate with subject matter experts experts to establish and document safety procedures.

  • Define key goals with safety and architecture teams.

  • Lead the creation of safety manuals.

  • Shape system behaviors for critical safety scenarios.

  • Ensure safety in all facets of ground vehicle autonomy, liaising with engineers and key customers.

  • Boost the safety, reliability, and performance of our autonomous driving system across various platforms.

  • Recognize and communicate potential risks and coordinate cross-functionally to develop solutions and mitigations.

  • Up to 25% travel may be required

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

  • BS degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mechatronics, Aerospace, or equivalent preferred

  • Several years of experience developing safety-critical systems

  • Experience leading an interdisciplinary team in the development and fielding of a robotic system or autonomous vehicle with safety-critical components

  • Knowledge of (and experience with) safety standards in the development and deployment of complex autonomous systems (e.g., ISO 26262, ISO 21448, UL 4600, IEC 61508, ANSI B56.5, ISO3691, ANSI 15.08)

  • Experience constructing a safety case for a complex autonomous system including safety-related artifacts such as Hazard Analyses (HARAs), FMEAs, or FTAs

  • Ability to articulate technical issues and solutions to all levels of the business, within and beyond the engineering communities

  • Willingness to get hands-on and have lots of fun

Ideal Qualifications

  • Experience with leading a safety team in the context of aviation and airline ground operations

  • Familiarity with the airside driving environment at major global airports

  • Background developing functional and SOTIF safety requirements and roadmap for an autonomous vehicle

  • Experience leading a safety team in the development and fielding of a robotic system with safety-critical components

  • Experience with cybersecurity (especially for automated vehicles)

  • MS in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or other related technical disciplines