Senior Functional Safety Engineer

About the role

About Us Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies is a joint venture between two industry leaders with a clear vision for automotive’s next chapter. From operating systems to zonal controllers to cloud and connectivity solutions, we’re addressing the challenges of electric vehicles through technology that will set the standards for software-defined vehicles around the world. The road to the future is uncharted. By combining our expertise across connectivity, AI, security and more, we’ll map a new way forward. Working together, we’ll create a future that’s more connected, more intelligent, more sustainable for everyone. Role Summary Join a motivating team of experts developing Electric Vehicle technology through innovative zonal architecture development. This position is based in our Berlin office and operates on a hybrid model, requiring at least three days per week on-site. Responsibilities Establish and continuously improve the processes and technical pipelines that collect, organize, and present all traceable evidences required for Functional Safety release or sign-off reports (production and SW releases) across all FuSa domains (Dynamics, Body, Thermal, Energy, ADAS, Core). Define quantitative, evidence-based release criteria for FuSa sign-off — including thresholds for requirement verification coverage, safety mechanism test pass rates, diagnostic coverage metrics, ASIL-graded open-issue limits, and residual risk acceptance. Work closely with PMT to align FuSa maturity criteria to program milestones and gate reviews, providing per-domain risk profiles that surface gaps in evidence completeness and drive early visibility of domains at risk of missing gate criteria. Coordinate with FuSa domain leads, test automation, SW FuSa, HW FuSa, and PMT to align evidence deliverables against release schedules, driving pipeline efficiency so that sign-off can be given with confidence and minimal overhead on technical teams. Develop and maintain automated dashboarding that consolidates release readiness, requirement coverage, open safety issues, and post-release fleet safety performance — enabling data-driven release decisions and continuous calibration of release criteria over successive programs. Establish and track post-release safety performance indicators — including field failure rates against safety mechanism assumptions and safety-relevant DTC rates — to close the loop between pre-release evidence confidence and real-world outcomes. Coordinate with external suppliers and Brand partners to collect, validate, and integrate supplier-generated safety work products and SEooC arguments into the vehicle-level safety case. Work closely with the FuSa Process team and VWG Central FuSi process team to ensure release processes align with ISO 26262 compliance expectations across Rivian and VW programs. Qualifications Minimum Qualifications: Degree in Electrical/Electronic, Mechanical, Software, Systems, or Computer Engineering (or similar). Over 5 years of experience in the automotive industry (or equivalent), ideally at an OEM or Tier 1, with at least 2 years in functional safety, systems engineering, or release/program engineering roles. Proven knowledge of ISO 26262, particularly around work product management, confirmation reviews, safety case argumentation, and evidence-based release assessment. Strong experience with requirements management and traceability tools (e.g. JAMA, DOORS) and issue tracking tools (e.g. Jira, Confluence). Experience defining quantitative release criteria and safety performance metrics, and building reporting pipelines or dashboards to track them. Experience with data visualization tools (e.g. Databricks, Tableau, Power BI); ability to present risk and safety performance metrics to technical and leadership audiences. Good understanding of vehicle system functionality across multiple domains. Excellent organizational and coordination skills; ability to drive cross-functional alignment under ti

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