---
title: 'Principal Safety Engineer at 1X'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/principal-safety-engineer-1x-san-carlos-1j6pqzt2rstz'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-13'
---

# Principal Safety Engineer at 1X

- **Company:** [1X](https://feeny.ai/companies/1x)
- **Location:** San Carlos, CA
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-09-01
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-13
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/1x/8ae5f10b-2e8c-4225-8d89-df1476c23b2d

## Job description

## 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 work at the intersection of robotics, autonomy, controls, perception, and systems safety to develop the frameworks, tooling, and validation methodologies that enable safe deployment of humanoid robots at scale. This team plays a critical role in defining how embodied AI systems safely interact with people, homes, and dynamic real-world environments.

## Your Charter

We are seeking a deeply technical Principal Safety Engineer to help define what safety means for a new generation of humanoid robots. Humanoids present safety challenges that have never been fully solved: they are powerful, highly dynamic machines designed to operate autonomously, learn, and interact closely with people in complex, unstructured environments. There is no established playbook for solving many of these challenges and you will help write it. This is not a compliance-first functional safety role; standards and established methods are tools, not the destination.

## Key Outcomes

- Identify hazards unique to our robots and their Operational Design Domain, and reason about them from first principles
- Invent new ways to eliminate or mitigate risk across hardware, controls, software, and AI behavior
- Find the risks others miss - the ones that emerge where physical systems and intelligent behavior interact
- Turn that insight into fundamentally safer architectures, controls, behaviors, and validation strategies
- Establish the engineering principles for safe humanoid design at 1X, and for an industry still being invented

## Key Competencies

- Deep first-principles reasoning across mechanical, electrical, controls, software, and AI failure modes
- Strong systems thinking, with the judgment to know where existing standards stop and novel hazards begin
- Ability to influence technical decisions across Hardware, Software, AI, Controls, Test, Reliability, and Systems Engineering
- Excellent written and verbal communication with both deeply technical and executive audiences
- Comfortable driving technical direction across multidisciplinary teams in a fast-moving startup environment

## Minimum Requirements

- Deep experience in robotics safety and AI-enabled robotic systems
- Strong background in robot design, system architecture, controls, actuation, sensing, and complex electromechanical behavior
- Demonstrated track record of safety innovation - novel technical solutions to meaningful robot hazards
- Experience designing safety cases, safety validation strategies, and safety test plans for complex robotic or autonomous systems
- Experience applying functional safety methods in service of product-specific risk reduction, not compliance alone

## Preferred Skills

- Experience with humanoid robots, mobile robots, or other systems operating in close proximity to people
- Experience developing safety architectures spanning hardware, controls, software, and AI behavior
- Familiarity with robotics, machinery, functional safety, or autonomous-system standards - and where they fall short
- Experience building or leading multidisciplinary safety test programs for complex physical systems
- Experience taking safety-critical systems into consumer or in-home environments

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.

## 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.

## About 1X

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: 1X develops general-purpose humanoid robots for home and industrial environments, combining AI and hardware to automate everyday tasks.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series B funding stage)
- **Headquarters**: Palo Alto, California, United States
- **Founded**: 2015
- **Founders**: Bernt Øyvind Børnich

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Robotics Engineering / Artificial Intelligence
- **Target customers**: B2C (home consumers via NEO) and B2B/Enterprise (industrial tasks via EVE)
- **Mission**: Build a truly abundant society through general-purpose robots capable of performing any kind of work autonomously, allowing humans to focus on what they love.

## Products & Services
- **NEO**: A friendly home humanoid robot designed to integrate seamlessly into daily life and handle chores. Currently in early access after the NEO Beta (2024) and NEO Gamma (2025) iterations. [1x.tech](https://www.1x.tech/about)
- **EVE**: A wheeled industrial humanoid deployed in factories worldwide for autonomous industrial tasks. [1x.tech](https://www.1x.tech/about)
- **Revo1**: A high-torque-to-weight drive servo motor inspired by human tendon actuation, used in 1X robots. [1x.tech](https://www.1x.tech/about)
- **1X World Model**: A physics-grounded video model that enables NEO to learn autonomously from text or voice commands. [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/1x-technologies)

## Market Standing
- **Valuation**: Not publicly disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Total funding of $169M as of mid-2026, with a $100M Series B led by EQT Ventures in January 2024. [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/1x-technologies)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: EQT Ventures (lead), plus other investors in secondary rounds. Acquired Kind Humanoid in January 2025. [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/1x-technologies)
- **Growth Signals**: 
  - Headcount grew 121.2% YoY to 394 employees. [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/1x-technologies)
  - Full-scale production of NEO began in Hayward, CA, with capacity to build 10,000 units per year. [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/1x-technologies)
  - New Palo Alto HQ consolidated teams from Sunnyvale and Moss, Norway. [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/1x-technologies)
  - Appointed Mohi Khansari as Head of Robot Learning (January 2026) and Vikram Kothari as VP of Operations (August 2025). [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/1x-technologies)

## Competitive Advantages
- **Vertical integration**: Owns manufacturing in Hayward (U.S.) and Moss (Norway), controlling the full production stack.
- **Proprietary hardware**: Revo1 servo motor offers world-leading torque-to-weight ratio, enabling flexible, low-gear-ratio robotics.
- **AI-first approach**: The 1X World Model allows robots to learn physical tasks via simulation and self-supervised video prediction, reducing need for manual programming.
- **Early home deployment**: NEO is one of the first humanoid robots entering private homes, giving 1X real-world data and feedback loops.

## Strategic Focus
- Scaling NEO production and expanding early access to more households across the U.S.
- Enhancing AI capabilities through the World Model and reinforcement learning (e.g., Redwood mobility controller).
- Building a robust supply chain and service network for home robots.
- Continuing enterprise deployments of EVE while shifting emphasis to the consumer market.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Fast-paced, mission-driven environment focused on building humanoid robots that coexist with humans. Strong emphasis on AI, hardware, and real-world impact.
- **Work model**: Likely on-site for hardware and AI roles (multiple offices in Palo Alto, San Carlos, Sunnyvale, Hayward, and Moss). Some software roles may offer flexibility.
- **Notable perks**: Opportunity to work on cutting-edge robotics and AI, contribute to a product (NEO) that is already entering homes, and be part of a rapidly scaling company with strong funding.
- **Engineering culture**: High concentration of talent from Tesla, Apple, Google, and SpaceX. Active research in biomechanics, reinforcement learning, and simulation. [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/1x-technologies)
- **Open roles**: 65+ positions listed on the careers page across AI, hardware, software, operations, and manufacturing. [1x.tech](https://www.1x.tech/careers)

## Sources
1. [1x.tech](https://www.1x.tech/about)
2. [1x.tech](https://www.1x.tech/careers)
3. [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/1x-technologies)

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