Agility Robotics is a pioneer. Our robot, Digit, is the first to be sold into workplaces across the globe. Our team is differentiated by its expertise in imagining, engineering, and delivering robots with advanced mobility, dexterity, intelligence, and efficiency -- robots specifically designed to work alongside people, in spaces built for people. Every day, we break through engineering challenges and invent new solutions and capabilities that will one day make robots commonplace and approachable. This work is our passion and our responsibility: our mission is to make businesses more productive and people’s lives more fulfilling.
Agility Robotics is pioneering the development of humanoid robots built for real-world work. Our mission is to create robots that integrate seamlessly into human environments, addressing complex challenges across logistics, manufacturing, and beyond. As we grow, we are seeking a Principal Robotics Functional Safety Engineer to lead and elevate our architecture team by driving system-level design decisions, ensuring scalability, and maintaining the speed and agility essential to success in a fast-paced startup environment.
Location: Remote with travel to standards meetings, customer sites, and company offices in Salem, OR; Pittsburgh, PA; or San Jose, CA
Travel: Approximately 25%, including customer visits
About the Role
Agility Robotics is seeking a Principal Robotics Functional Safety Engineer to shape the safety strategy and standards engagement for our advanced humanoid robotic platforms. As a leader in the emerging field of dynamically stable industrial mobile robots, Agility is defining how legged robots can safely operate in real-world environments alongside people. This role provides a unique opportunity to influence the safety of next-generation robotics, both within our products and across the industry through standards development.
The role centers on advancing safety standards for dynamically stable robots and guiding industry discussions toward practical solutions that enable real-world deployment. Making robots safe for deployment is always the top priority. You will represent Agility in developments of standards, helping to build consensus around approaches that allow safe integration of robots in customer environments while maintaining the highest ethical and safety expectations. Alongside this standard work, you will contribute directly to Agility’s functional safety activities, supporting the team in risk analysis, safety architecture, validation planning, and customer deployment.
You will collaborate with a small, highly skilled functional safety team that includes two other Principal Robotics Functional Safety Engineers and your manager, who also contributes hands-on to technical work. Together, the team ensures Agility’s safety approach is robust, scalable, and aligned with industry best practices. You will also engage with cross-functional partners in software, controls, hardware, and systems engineering to ensure safety is embedded in every phase of development and verified in the field.
This is a high-impact role for an engineer who is passionate about advancing the safe deployment of complex robotic systems. By combining hands-on functional safety expertise with the ability to navigate and influence industry standards, you will play a pivotal role in shaping both the safety of Agility’s products and the future of humanoid robot safety.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead functional safety efforts from concept through deployment, including documentation and compliance with the machinery directive, ISO 13849, IEC 62061, IEC 61508, and relevant industrial mobile robot standards such as ANSI R15.08.
- Represent Agility Robotics in safety standards development and influence discussions toward deployable, real-world solutions while upholding ethical and safety priorities.
- Create and maintain key safety deliverables such as risk assessments, safety requirement specifications (SRS), FMEDA, SISTEMA analyses, validation plans, and safety cases.
- Support customer deployments through remote collaboration and on-site visits as needed, ensuring safe and compliant integration of robotic systems in dynamic environments.
- Collaborate across disciplines to define, communicate, and validate safety-critical requirements for hardware, embedded software, and control systems.
- Drive architecture-level safety decisions for mobile and legged robots, balancing real-world performance, technical risk, and compliance.
- Oversee third-party vendors and labs for verification and validation (V&V) activities—including activities in support of CE marking for European market access—to ensure quality, traceability, and alignment with internal safety goals.
- Coordinate closely with the compliance team to ensure coverage of electrical safety, hazardous materials, environmental and radio regulations such as NFPA 79, IEC 60204-1, REACH, RoHS, FCC, and related directives.
- Contribute to safety firmware development, including fault detection, diagnostics, watchdogs, and safe-state logic.
- Advise on AI safety, ensuring machine learning or autonomy features operate within defined and predictable safety boundaries as defined in the ISO IEC TS 22440 series.
- Monitor industry standards and best practices, and proactively evolve internal safety processes to meet or exceed regulatory and customer expectations.
- BS in Robotics, Mechatronics, Electrical Engineering, or related fields.
- 12+ years in robotics or safety-critical engineering roles, including 7+ years focused on functional safety.
- Involvement in standards development or working groups.
- Experience supporting or leading field deployment of robotic systems, including on-site troubleshooting, configuration, or validation.
- Deep familiarity with functional safety lifecycle practices and experience producing deliverables aligned with ISO 13849, IEC 61508, or similar.
- Familiarity with applicable safety standards for mobile and industrial robots, including ANSI/RIA R15.08 and the ISO 10218 series.
- Experience managing third-party vendors or labs for verification and validation (V&V) activities to ensure compliance, quality, and traceability.
- Hands-on experience with safety design and implementation of industrial mobile robots or dynamic systems (e.g., legged, autonomous, or robots with collaborative applications).
- Proven ability to coordinate across engineering teams to define and validate safety requirements.
- Experience using safety analysis tools such as SISTEMA.
- Strong communication skills and an ability to advocate for safety in technical decision-making.
- Experience with safety firmware implementation (e.g., fault handling, safe state logic).
- Familiarity with AI/ML safety practices in robotic systems.
- Advanced degree (MS/PhD) in Robotics, Mechatronics, Electrical Engineering, or related field.
- Experience supporting or leading field deployment of robotic systems.
- Experience mentoring and growing teams of senior engineers and staff-level talent.
Full-time Employees are eligible for Benefits:
- 401(k) Plan: Includes a 6% company match.
- Equity: Company stock options.
- Insurance Coverage: 100% company-paid medical, dental, vision, and short/long-term disability insurance for employees.
- Benefit Start Date: Eligible for benefits on your first day of employment.
- Well-Being Support: Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
- Time Off:
- Exempt Employees: Flexible, unlimited PTO and 10 company holidays, including a winter shutdown.
- Non-Exempt Employees: 10 vacation days, paid sick leave, and 10 company holidays, including a winter shutdown, annually.
- On-Site Perks: Catered lunches four times a week and a variety of healthy snacks and refreshments at our Salem and Pittsburgh locations.
- Parental Leave: Generous paid parental leave programs.
- Work Environment: A culture that supports flexible work arrangements.
- Growth Opportunities: Professional development and tuition reimbursement programs.
- Relocation Assistance: Provided for eligible roles.
Agility Robotics is committed to a work environment in which all individuals are treated with respect and dignity. Each individual has the right to work in a professional atmosphere that promotes equal employment opportunities and prohibits unlawful discriminatory practices, including harassment. Therefore, it is the policy of Agility Robotics to ensure equal employment opportunity without discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, marital status, citizenship, national origin, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law. Agility Robotics prohibits any such discrimination or harassment.
Agility Robotics does not accept unsolicited referrals from third-party recruiting agencies. We prioritize direct applicants and encourage all qualified candidates to apply directly through our careers page. If you are represented by a third party, your application may not be considered. To ensure full consideration, please apply directly.
Apply Now: https://grnh.se/b444bbd04us
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