Head of Autonomy Safety

Nuro exists to better everyday life through robotics. Founded in 2016, Nuro is a leading autonomous technology company with vehicles on road today in California and Texas. The company’s core technology is the Nuro Driver, an integrated autonomous driving system consisting of state-of-the-art, AI-first software and custom-built sense and compute hardware. The first commercial application of the Nuro Driver is autonomous goods delivery with our custom, electric, zero-occupant vehicles in partnership with some of the most recognized brands in the world including Uber and FedEx.

The Safety Office is a key part of our Public Trust organization that has independence from our technology development and business operational functions.  This person will lead our Safety Office, will play a key role in directing the efforts of our executive Safety Committee in articulating our vision and strategy for safety, and then will help implement our strategy by working directly with managers and safety responsible engineers from just about every function across the company.  

Nuro is seeking an experienced safety leader and thought partner to help lead our efforts to enhance safety in the design, testing, and operation of our core products.  Nuro’s mission is to better everyday life through robotics, and today we are focused on autonomous vehicle technologies that provide a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to save lives and reduce injuries on our roadways while reimagining the role that automobiles can and should play in our society.  In order to realize these massive benefits, we must develop and deploy our vehicles in a manner that protects public safety and earns the public’s trust.   

We are looking for a leader who will share our vision and commitment to developing and operationalizing our revolutionary technology in a manner fully consistent with safety.  

Vision & Strategy for Safety

• Head the Office of Safety within Public Trust.   
• Play a key role in directing the efforts of the company’s executive Safety Committee
• Preparing the company-wide Safety Cases for each of our products, reviewing and improving sections prepared by each of the relevant technical and operational functions, and providing a uniform voice and consistency to the final document
• Serve as Nuro’s “SMS Executive” in articulating and implementing Safety Management Systems across the company.

Implementing Safety Strategy 

• Implement safety strategy through managers and safety responsible engineers in each functional area.  
• Review and consult on Safety Case components, including V&V, prepared by each organization prior to preparation of the company-wide Safety Case.
• Ensure accountability through dotted-line reporting relationships to safety responsible engineers across the company
• Establish training and other requirements to improve safety education among safety responsible engineers and across the company more generally
• Play a key role in cross-functional safety organizations and activities governing the development, validation, and operation of our products
• Play a key role in emergency planning and response

External Role & Responsibility

• Emerging Issues: Keep current on emerging issues in safety and autonomy, and review and provide guidance to the Safety Committee as appropriate regarding emerging regulatory and voluntary industry standards and issues.
• Good Citizenship:  Ensure Nuro actively participates in national and international dialogue on autonomous vehicle engineering and safety, and articulate goals for Nuro policies regarding safety for consideration by the whole Safety Committee.
• Represent Nuro: Ensure Nuro is properly represented on safety matters in dialogue with legislators, regulators, industry standard setting bodies, and the media.

The right person will have deep technical expertise in safety engineering, thrive in a collaborative and cross-functional growth environment, combine a capacity for leadership with a desire to roll up their sleeves for direct hands-on work, and effectively articulate our safety vision and strategy for our internal and external stakeholders.

• Expertise in safety engineering, preferably in a high-tech environment in transportation, with experience in frontier technology and AI/ML development.
• Technical experience, preferably with hands-on experience working in SW, HW and Operations;
• A team player, able and willing to work in a collaborative environment, while also freely sharing their expert advice and counsel;
• Focused on the company’s mission, and seeks practical solutions that advance safety in an environment conducive to development; and
• Able and willing to capably articulate Nuro’s safety strategy and story to regulators, industry bodies, and the general public.

At Nuro, your base pay is one part of your total compensation package. For this position, the reasonably expected base pay range is between $183,825 and $278,350 for the level at which this job has been scoped. Your base pay will depend on several factors, including your experience, qualifications, education, location, and skills. In the event that you are considered for a different level, a higher or lower pay range would apply. This position is also eligible for an annual performance bonus, equity, and a competitive benefits package.