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.