Associate Director, Systems Safety & Reliability at Boston Dynamics

Waltham, Minnesota, United States

Boston Dynamics Logo
Not SpecifiedCompensation
Senior (5 to 8 years), Expert & Leadership (9+ years)Experience Level
Full TimeJob Type
UnknownVisa
Robotics, TechnologyIndustries

Requirements

  • Exceptional interpersonal and leadership skills
  • 10+ years of relevant product development experience
  • Deep technical expertise in the engineering of safety-critical autonomous systems
  • BS in Engineering (MS Electrical, Computer, Systems, and/or Mechanical Engineering preferred)
  • Deep technical experience in product reliability (desired)
  • 5+ years embedded electromechanical product system design and development experience (desired)
  • 7+ years of experience leading cross-functional engineering efforts in applications of robotics, autonomous vehicles, advanced driver-assistance systems, industrial automation, or related industries, including leading engineers, data scientists, failure analysts, and technicians; overseeing experts in systems, software, hardware, and testing functions (desired)
  • Experience releasing a complex electromechanical system into mass production (desired)
  • Exceptional verbal and written communication skills with engineering teams and executives; ability to author technical documentation, navigate deep technical analysis with expert engineers, and deliver high-level summaries to an executive audience (desired)
  • Experience developing safety goals, safety concepts, and safety cases, including compilation of data to support safety claims (desired)

Responsibilities

  • Work with employees and peers to develop effective safety and reliability strategies, efficient processes, and needed infrastructure; identify and leverage best practices supporting the needs of a growing product team
  • Oversee safety and reliability engineering requirement development, lifecycle management, compliance forecasting, and verification
  • Support system risk assessment and management, including HARA, DFMEA, accelerated life and robustness testing, from robot subsystems up to overall product ecosystem (both verification and validation)
  • Lead or support safety case development, including coordination of supporting cross-functional evidence gathering
  • Provide training and coaching across the team to ensure every product subsystem is meeting S&R expectations; justify, evangelize, and ensure product team delivery of all critical S&R requirements
  • Oversee failure analysis, root cause identification, corrective action planning, and execution to ensure rapid issue closure and reliability growth from early prototype system testing, customer pilots, field testing, and into mass production; ensure issues receive needed cross-functional attention & resolution
  • Grow and manage a team of safety systems engineers, reliability engineers, failure analysis engineers, and data analysts in the planning, execution, and verification of S&R
  • Provide leadership to safety and reliability performance attributes; interact across Atlas teams (Hardware, Software, Program Management, Systems Engineering, and Testing) and corporate teams responsible for Safety Technology and Regulatory Compliance
  • Apply technical project management skills, including resource planning, work planning, risk management, prioritization, conflict management, change management, issue resolution, and progress reporting

Skills

Key technologies and capabilities for this role

Safety EngineeringReliability EngineeringFailure AnalysisHARADFMEARisk AssessmentAccelerated Life TestingRobustness TestingSafety Case DevelopmentSystems Engineering

Questions & Answers

Common questions about this position

What is the location for this role?

The role requires hands-on work at the company's headquarters in Waltham, MA.

What are the required skills for this position?

The position requires exceptional interpersonal and leadership skills, 10+ years of relevant product development experience, and deep technical expertise in the engineering of safety-critical autonomous systems. A BS in Engineering (MS in Electrical, Computer, Systems preferred) is also required.

What is the salary or compensation for this role?

This information is not specified in the job description.

What is the company culture like for this position?

The role thrives in a highly collaborative environment with ambiguous and rapid evolution of technology, involving close interaction across Atlas teams like Hardware, Software, Program Management, Systems Engineering, and Testing, as well as corporate Safety Technology and Regulatory Compliance teams.

What makes a strong candidate for this role?

A strong candidate has deep technical expertise in safety and reliability engineering for safety-critical autonomous systems, exceptional people leadership skills, and 10+ years of product development experience, with the ability to manage teams and perform hands-on work.

Boston Dynamics

Develops advanced robots for industrial applications

About Boston Dynamics

Boston Dynamics creates advanced robots that enhance human capabilities and safety, focusing on legged robots with high mobility, dexterity, and intelligence. Their flagship products, Spot and Pick, are designed for commercial, industrial, and research applications, performing tasks that are dangerous or physically demanding for humans. Spot, for example, is a 65-pound robot that can navigate complex terrains and avoid obstacles autonomously using built-in AI. Unlike many competitors, Boston Dynamics emphasizes responsible use of their robots, limiting sales to commercial and research clients and ensuring high-quality standards through domestic manufacturing. The company's goal is to improve safety and efficiency across various industries while exploring future consumer applications.

Waltham, MassachusettsHeadquarters
1992Year Founded
$38.8MTotal Funding
ACQUISITIONCompany Stage
Robotics & Automation, AI & Machine LearningIndustries
1,001-5,000Employees

Benefits

Remote Work Options
Flexible Work Hours

Risks

Competition from affordable Chinese robotics could pressure market share and pricing.
Layoffs indicate potential financial or strategic challenges impacting future innovation.
Collaboration with multiple stakeholders may lead to strategic misalignments.

Differentiation

Boston Dynamics excels in creating robots with advanced mobility and dexterity.
Their robots are designed for unstructured environments, enhancing workplace safety and efficiency.
Spot and Atlas are pioneering robots in digital transformation and mobile manipulation.

Upsides

Collaboration with Toyota and Hyundai boosts AI-powered humanoid robot development.
Patent resolution with Ghost Robotics opens collaboration on robotics policy and technology.
AI advancements in Atlas position Boston Dynamics as a humanoid robot market leader.

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