Senior Staff Functional Systems Safety Engineer - Robot Safety

About 1X

We’re building humanoid robots that work in home - doing the chores, handling the tasks, and giving people their time back. Simple, but it’s not.

To do this right, we have to solve robotics, AI, manufacturing - at the same time, at scale, in a form factor that has to be safe enough to live with your family. If you’re inspired by this, you’ll thrive here. We’ve been at this since 2014 and we’re at the point where the hard problems are behind us and the hard work is in front of us.

NEO is our flagship - a home robot designed to move, learn, and operate in the real world alongside real people. We’re not demoing it - we’re shipping it. We’re excited to meet you, if this excites you.

If you’ve spent your career working on problems that matter and want to see them actually reach the world - this is that moment. We’re scaling, we’re hiring with intention, and we need people who want to build something that will genuinely change how humans spend their time - safely creating abundance for all.

About the Team

The Autonomy & Safety Engineering team is responsible for ensuring 1X robots operate safely, reliably, and predictably in real-world human environments. We develop the systems, architectures, and operational frameworks that enable humanoid robots to safely interact with people, homes, and dynamic physical spaces.

The Functional Systems Safety team plays a critical role in identifying, mitigating, and validating safety risks across autonomy, controls, hardware, software, and operational robotics systems.

Your Charter

Lead the development of functional safety architectures, hazard mitigation strategies, and systems-level safety engineering practices for 1X humanoid robots. This role is responsible for ensuring safety requirements are properly defined, implemented, validated, and operationalized across complex integrated robotics systems as 1X scales embodied AI deployments globally.

Key Outcomes

• Define and implement scalable functional safety frameworks across robot hardware, autonomy, controls, and operational systems

• Lead hazard analysis, FMEA, fault-tree analysis, and risk assessment efforts across integrated robotics platforms

• Partner cross-functionally with Autonomy, Controls, Hardware, Software, Manufacturing, and Operations teams to ensure safety requirements are embedded throughout the system lifecycle

• Develop and validate safety mechanisms, fault detection systems, redundancy strategies, and operational fail-safe behaviors

• Improve deployment readiness and operational reliability through rigorous safety testing, validation methodologies, and systems-level safety governance

Key Competencies

• Deep expertise in functional safety engineering, systems safety, robotics safety, or other safety-critical engineering domains

• Strong systems-level thinking across hardware, software, autonomy, controls, and operational environments

• Experience applying safety engineering methodologies such as FMEA, HARA, fault-tree analysis, STPA, or equivalent frameworks

• Strong technical communication and cross-functional leadership skills in highly collaborative engineering organizations

• Ability to drive ambiguous, large-scale technical initiatives in fast-moving startup environments

Minimum Requirements

• 10+ years of experience in functional safety, robotics safety, autonomous systems, aerospace, automotive, industrial automation, or related safety-critical engineering fields

• Experience designing and implementing functional safety architectures for complex integrated systems

• Strong understanding of safety standards such as ISO 13849, IEC 61508, ISO 26262, IEC 62061, or equivalent frameworks

• Experience working with robotics systems, controls systems, embedded systems, or autonomous platforms

• Bachelor’s degree in Robotics, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, Systems Engineering, or related technical field

Preferred Skills

• Experience working on humanoid robots, autonomous vehicles, industrial robotics, aerospace systems, or embodied AI platforms

• Familiarity with autonomy stacks, perception systems, motion planning, or controls engineering

• Experience with simulation environments, safety validation tooling, or operational incident analysis

• Background in reliability engineering, redundancy architectures, or fault-tolerant systems

• Advanced degree (MS or PhD) in Robotics, Systems Engineering, Safety Engineering, AI, or related field

What does a successful 1X Team Member look like:

Team members at 1X who thrive here are builders. They move fast, own their work completely, and treat time like it’s the one thing you can’t get back - because it is. They say what they mean, finish what they start, and hold themselves to a standard before anyone has to ask. We push each other to be better, and we do it with honesty and respect.

Compensation Range:

$170,000 - $259,000 + Equity

Benefits:

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage

• Generous paid time off, company holidays, and parental leave

• 401(k) plan with company match (100% on the first 3% of contributions, 50% on the next 2%)

• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) and Health Savings Accounts (HSA) options

• Commuter benefits (transit and parking)

• Short-term and long-term disability, and life insurance

• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for mental health, financial, and personal support

• Onsite snacks and catered lunches

Equal Opportunity Employer

1X is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, marital status, medical condition, genetic information, disability, military or veteran status, justice system impact, or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state, or local law.