---
title: 'Seating and Passive Safety HW Validation Engineer at Zoox'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/seating-and-passive-safety-hw-validation-engineer-zoox-foster-city-tjcxasj8k41y'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-13'
---

# Seating and Passive Safety HW Validation Engineer at Zoox

- **Company:** Zoox
- **Location:** Foster City, CA
- **Compensation:** $190k–$228k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-10-09
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-13
- **Apply:** https://jobs.lever.co/zoox/04ccd0b8-2a8c-49b7-9468-2046f8b51ad5

## Job description

The Component and System Hardware Validation team at Zoox is responsible for ensuring our components and sub-systems on the Zoox robotaxi meet all functional and reliability targets needed to facilitate our autonomous mobility service. Our team has an action-biased culture marked by integrity, humility, competence, and passion for the Zoox mission and the systems we design. We are building real products here and are looking for doers to join us.

As a validation engineer supporting seating, restraints and airbags, you will be responsible for establishing and executing a robust and rigorous validation process from requirements development through report approval. This will include managing internal and external testing resources as well as supplier-led validation activities which ensure durability, reliability, and safety targets are satisfied. You will work closely with cross-functional teams to understand root causes of failures, identify mitigation strategies, and incorporate learnings into new designs.

In this role, you will:

- Develop and manage test plans to validate mechanical, electrical, and environmental failure modes around our interior trim, seating and restraints systems (Occupant Classification, airbags, seatbelts, ACU).
- Collaborate with design engineers to ensure that requirements are clearly defined and captured within the validation plan
- Identify appropriate test assets, data acquisition systems, and sensors to ensure high-quality test data
- Analyze test data to provide clear and concise reporting of test results
- Support DFMEA activities to ensure that all potential failure modes are adequate covered within the validation plan
- Support root cause failure analysis activities during development, validation, and deployment
- Design test fixtures necessary to complete testing
- Manage validation schedule to ensure appropriate test assets are available and critical path items are identified

## Qualifications

- BS or MS in mechanical engineering, or related relevant field
- 8+ years of test or validation experience related to interior automotive trims, seats and restraints systems.
- Experience with failure and root cause analysis
- Experience generating and managing DFMEAs
- Experience with requirements management tools (Polarion or equiv.)
- Experience with test standards: FMVSS 207 (seating systems), 208 (occupant protection), 202a (head restraints), 209/210 (belts/anchorages), 302 (flammability), UN ECE R17 (seats, anchorages, head restraints), R14 (belt anchorages), R16 (belts), R80 (bus seats), Euro NCAP (whiplash protocols), IIHS head restraint ratings, ISO 6487 (crash measurement instrumentation), ISO 3795 (flammability), ISO 12219 (VOC), ISO 105 (textile colorfastness), ISO 13934/5470 (textile strength), ISO 3385/3386 (foam fatigue/hardness), ISO 16840 (seating and wheelchair—pressure/comfort reference), ASTM D3574 (foam), ASTM D4329 (UV), ASTM B117 / ISO 9227 (salt spray), SAE J211 (instrumentation), ISO 6487, ISO 13232 / ISO 6813, ISO 12097, ISO 14040, SAE J2092
- UN 3268 (safety devices, transport), UN Manual of Tests and Criteria, DOT/ADR hazmat rules, and local explosives handling regulations (e.g., ATF in the US)

Bonus Qualifications

- Familiarity with 3D design tools. CATIA 3DX or CATIA V5 or SolidWorks preferred
- Experience with passive safety systems
- Seat structure, anchorage, and recliner/track/latch strength testing (static, dynamic, fatigue)
- Crash/sled test setup, instrumentation, and data interpretation (head restraints, whiplash, belt anchorages)
- Airbag module, inflator (pyrotechnic, hybrid, cold gas), cushion/fabric, tether, and vent design principle
- Seatbelt systems: retractors, pretensioners, load limiters, buckles, webbing, anchorages
- Steering wheel, knee, curtain, side, and pedestrian airbag architecture; active hood/pop-up systems

## About Zoox

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Zoox is building a fully autonomous, all-electric, purpose-built robotaxi service to give the world a better way to ride.
- **Entity Type**: Private (independent subsidiary of Amazon, acquired in 2020)
- **Headquarters**: Foster City, California, USA (with offices in Las Vegas, San Francisco, Austin, Miami, Atlanta, Los Angeles)
- **Founded**: 2014
- **Founders**: Not specified in provided sources

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Autonomous ride‑hailing / Self‑driving electric vehicles
- **Target customers**: B2C – individual riders seeking safe, convenient, and sustainable urban transportation
- **Mission**: “Give the world a better way to ride” – providing safer, cleaner, autonomous ride‑hailing for everyone [zoox.com](https://zoox.com/about)

## Products & Services
- **Zoox Robotaxi**: A purpose‑built, fully autonomous electric vehicle designed from the ground up for ride‑hailing. Features bidirectional driving, four‑wheel steering, and no steering wheel or pedals. The service handles all charging, maintenance, and fleet management – riders simply get in and enjoy the ride [zoox.com](https://zoox.com).

## Market Standing
- **Valuation / Market Cap**: Not disclosed (Zoox is a private subsidiary of Amazon)
- **Key Metric**: Not publicly available (revenue and funding details are not reported as a stand‑alone entity)
- **Notable Investors / Partners**: Amazon (parent company)
- **Growth Signals**:
  - Received authorization from the Nevada DMV to operate robotaxis on public roads [zoox.com/about](https://zoox.com/about)
  - Expanded testing and operations to Las Vegas, Seattle, San Francisco, and other cities
  - Continues to scale its engineering and operations teams (multiple open roles on the careers page as of 2026)

## Competitive Advantages
- **Purpose‑built design**: Unlike retrofitted vehicles, Zoox’s robotaxi is designed from scratch for autonomous ride‑hailing (symmetrical, bidirectional, four‑wheel steering, no driver controls)
- **Amazon backing**: Deep financial resources, supply chain expertise, and cloud infrastructure (AWS) support rapid development and scaling
- **Full‑stack autonomy**: In‑house AI, computer vision, and sensing stack integrated directly into the vehicle design
- **Safety‑first approach**: Comprehensive testing, safety‑critical system design, and focus on public road validation

## Strategic Focus
- Achieving commercial launch of the Zoox ride‑hailing service in select U.S. cities
- Continuing to mature the autonomous driving system through real‑world testing and simulation
- Expanding the “Go‑to‑Market” strategy and building out operations teams (see CRM Lead, Go‑to‑Market Manager roles) [jobs.lever.co/zoox](https://jobs.lever.co/zoox)
- Scaling manufacturing and prototyping to prepare for fleet deployment

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Diverse, supportive community with inclusion‑focused strategy. Crew‑led groups for personal and professional development. Emphasis on trust, humility, and openness [zoox.com/careers](https://zoox.com/careers)
- **Work environment**: Hybrid? The careers page lists many roles as “On‑site” in Foster City, CA, with other office locations available. In‑office perks include a famous food program with daily changing local and sustainable dishes, plus a busy calendar of events and sports teams.
- **Benefits**: Comprehensive health plans (Cigna), mental health support, wellbeing program, flexible time off, generous family planning and caregiver support, and a commitment to work‑life balance.
- **Growth opportunities**: Work on cutting‑edge autonomous vehicle technology alongside some of the brightest minds in AI, engineering, computer vision, and more. Offers internships and re‑entry programs (via Path Forward) for career returners.
- **Recruitment process**: Uses AI tools to assist in reviewing applications but final decisions are human. No fees are charged at any stage – watch for recruitment scams [zoox.com/journal/landing-a-job-zoox](https://zoox.com/journal/landing-a-job-zoox)

## Sources
1. [Zoox official website](https://zoox.com)
2. [Zoox About page](https://zoox.com/about)
3. [Zoox Careers page](https://zoox.com/careers)
4. [Zoox job openings on Lever](https://jobs.lever.co/zoox)
5. [Zoox hiring and interview process](https://zoox.com/journal/landing-a-job-zoox)

## Other roles at Zoox

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- [Machine Learning Engineer - 3D Sensor Simulation](https://feeny.ai/job/machine-learning-engineer-3d-sensor-simulation-zoox-foster-city-w7g0mxmym2ck) — Foster City, CA
- [Shift Lead, Fusion Center Analysts](https://feeny.ai/job/shift-lead-fusion-center-analysts-zoox-las-vegas-gc3z001xedfn) — Las Vegas, NV
- [Shift / Team Lead, Fusion Center Operations (3rd Shift)](https://feeny.ai/job/shift-team-lead-fusion-center-operations-3rd-shift-zoox-foster-city-41r94nzz9f45) — Foster City, CA
- [Senior Employee Relations Business Partner](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-employee-relations-business-partner-zoox-foster-city-da3vtt407a6j) — Foster City, CA
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