---
title: 'Senior Functional Safety Engineer at Torc Robotics'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-functional-safety-engineer-torc-robotics-ann-arbor-t6crp3c5ed59'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-11-11'
---

# Senior Functional Safety Engineer at Torc Robotics

- **Company:** Torc Robotics
- **Location:** Ann Arbor, MI
- **Compensation:** $153k–$184k
- **Posted:** 2026-11-10
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-11-11
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/torcrobotics/jobs/8929295002

## Job description

## About the Company

At Torc, we have always believed that autonomous vehicle technology will transform how we travel, move freight, and do business. A leader in autonomous driving since 2007, Torc has spent over a decade commercializing our solutions with experienced partners. [Now a part of the Daimler family](https://torc.ai/daimler-testing-automated-trucks-public/), we are focused solely on developing software for automated trucks to transform how the world moves freight. Join us and catapult your career with the company that helped pioneer autonomous technology and the first AV software company with the vision to partner directly with a truck manufacturer.

Meet the Team: Join our Product Engineering Team, where we work at the forefront of autonomous trucking safety. Our team collaborates across functional safety, systems engineering, and design teams to ensure that Functional Safety and SOTIF targets are met, reducing functional insufficiencies and ensuring a robust autonomous vehicle platform. We are seeking a Senior Systems Engineer who is deeply experienced with Functional Safety and familiar with SOTIF and passionate about safety-critical systems, risk assessment, and verification & validation strategies. In this role, you will lead architecture development, safety assessments, risk analyses, and safety improvements, helping shape the future of autonomous trucking technology.

What you’ll do:

- Collaborate with the Product and System Engineering teams to identify and evaluate hazards related to Functional Safety and Safety Of The Intended Functionality (ISO 26262 & ISO 21448).
- Support analysis and evaluation of Acceptance Criteria for identified SOTIF hazards.
- Collaborate with the Product and System Engineering teams to perform the hazard analysis and risk assessment (HARA) according to ISO 26262.
- Analyze and evaluate the Fault Tolerant Time Interval (FTTI) for identified hazards.
- Perform inductive and deductive safety analyses for systems, hardware, and software.
- Contribute to the development of the Safety Case, including definition and tracking of Safety Performance Indicators.
- Work with internal business partners such as the Systems Engineering team to establish alignment on safety processes and methods.
- Conduct and support reviews of safety artifacts applying an appropriate level of rigor to the review process.

What you’ll need to Succeed:

- Extensive experience with safety analyses such as HAZOP, FMEA, STPA, and FTA.
- Solid understanding of industry standards and best practices related to autonomous technologies.
- Demonstrated experience working according to key industry standards such as Functional Safety (ISO 26262) and Safety Of The Intended Functionality (ISO 21448).
- Systems-level thinking, with underlying engineering knowledge of the complex physical and software systems used in autonomy technologies.
- Knowledge in the following disciplines:  software engineering, networking, electrical and mechanical systems, system components, and artificial intelligence/machine learning.
- Position requires occasional travel to Torc locations, government locations, etc. Travel is anticipated to be 10% or less.
- Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical Engineering or related technical field plus demonstrated competencies and technical proficiencies typically acquired through 6+ years of experience OR; Master’s Degree in Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical Engineering or related technical field plus demonstrated competencies and technical proficiencies typically acquired through 3+ years of experience OR; PhD in Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical Engineering or related technical field plus demonstrated competencies and technical proficiencies typically acquired through 1+ years of experience.

Bonus Points!

- Understanding of agile and software development life cycle processes.
- Excel in critical thinking to identify problems and problem-solving and analytical thinking to solve complex safety issues.
- Understanding and experience applying safety data and statistical methods to develop criteria and thresholds.

Travel, Training and Safety

- May travel occasionally to other sites.
- Requires appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in areas identified.
- Requires continuous technical education and training with a passion for knowledge in the field of study to maintain the highest level of knowledge, ingenuity, and creative thinking.

At Torc, we’re committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace. We celebrate the uniqueness of our Torc’rs and do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, veteran status, or disabilities. Even if you don’t meet 100% of the qualifications listed for this opportunity, we encourage you to apply. Our compensation reflects the cost of labor across several geographic markets. Pay is based on a number of factors and may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Torc’s total compensation package will also include our corporate bonus and stock option plan. Depending on the position offered, sign-on payments, relocation, and other forms of compensation may be provided as part of a total compensation package, in addition to a full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits. Hiring Range for Job Opening US Pay Range $153,200—$183,800 USD

## About Torc Robotics

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Torc Robotics is an independent subsidiary of Daimler Truck developing SAE Level 4 autonomous driving software for long-haul, hub-to-hub freight trucks.
- **Entity Type**: Private (subsidiary of Daimler Truck)
- **Headquarters**: Blacksburg, Virginia, USA (additional offices in Fort Worth, TX; Ann Arbor, MI; Montréal, Canada)
- **Founded**: 2005 (as Torc Technologies)
- **Founders**: Group of Virginia Tech alumni (team from the DARPA Urban Challenge)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Autonomous vehicle technology / Trucking & freight logistics
- **Target customers**: B2B – large fleet operators and trucking companies (middle-mile hub-to-hub routes over 250 miles)
- **Mission or purpose statement**: “Drive the future of freight” by commercializing safe, self-driving trucks

## Products & Services
- **Torc Self-Driving Software**: Full-stack autonomy system (perception, planning, control) for SAE Level 4 operation, integrated into the Daimler Truck Freightliner Cascadia platform.
- **Autonomous-Ready Cascadia**: A redundant chassis with fail-safe steering, braking, power net, and secondary communications network built by Daimler Truck.
- **Testing & Validation**: Closed-course and public-road testing in Virginia, Texas, New Mexico, and 20+ U.S. states over the past 14 years.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation / Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed (private subsidiary of Daimler Truck)
- **Key Metric**: Commercial launch targeted for **2027**; first driverless (no safety driver) journey completed in **2025**. Acquired Algolux (Montréal) in 2023 for computer vision and ML expertise.
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Daimler Truck (parent/owner), AAA (safety partnership), Transdev (shuttle partnership), Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, and major fleet operators.
- **Growth Signals**: Expanding into Canada (Montréal office); headcount growing with 54 open positions posted on Greenhouse; Daimler Truck is building production-ready autonomous Cascadia chassis; years of real-world testing.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Deep truck OEM relationship**: As an independent subsidiary of Daimler Truck, Torc has direct integration into the leading Class 8 truck platform (Freightliner Cascadia).
- **20-year legacy**: Founded in 2005 from DARPA Urban Challenge roots; one of the first AV software companies to focus exclusively on trucking.
- **Safety-first design**: Redundant steering, braking, and communications, plus a partnership with AAA on safety criteria.
- **Focused product**: Targets only highway middle-mile (250+ miles), avoiding complex city driving – a clear, commercially viable use case.

## Strategic Focus
- **Commercialization**: First market-ready generation of self-driving trucks on sale in **2027**. Currently validating the system on public roads with safety drivers.
- **Scaling operations**: Expanding engineering centers (Montréal, Ann Arbor, Fort Worth) and building a robust data/ML pipeline at petabyte scale.
- **Talent development**: Growing “Emerging Talent” program (co-ops, internships, early career) and partnerships with educational institutions.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Described as collaborative, ego-free, and innovative. “Everyone is empowered to solve challenges.” Open forums and accessible leadership.
- **Remote/Hybrid**: Multiple remote positions available (U.S. and Canada), plus on-site roles in Blacksburg, Ann Arbor, Fort Worth, and Montréal.
- **Benefits (U.S.)**:
  - 100% company-paid employee premiums for medical, dental, vision
  - Generous front-loaded PTO, plus a winter shutdown (Christmas–New Year)
  - Fully paid parental leave (100% salary continuation)
  - 401(k) with company match, LTD/STD, life insurance, pet insurance, legal services
- **Benefits (Canada)**: Extended health/dental/vision, RRSP with DPSP matching, employer-paid life/AD&D, LTD.
- **Engineering culture**: Work on cutting-edge autonomy, perception, ML, and data infrastructure alongside world-class experts.

## Sources
1. [torc.ai/about-us](https://torc.ai/about-us/)
2. [torc.ai/careers](https://torc.ai/careers/)
3. [torc.ai/frequently-asked-questions](https://torc.ai/frequently-asked-questions/)
4. [job-boards.greenhouse.io/torcrobotics](https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/torcrobotics)

## Other roles at Torc Robotics

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- [Safety Behaviors Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/safety-behaviors-engineer-torc-robotics-ann-arbor-1zdyprvfgkcw) — Ann Arbor, MI
- [Senior Software Engineer, Autonomy Core Frameworks](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-engineer-autonomy-core-frameworks-torc-robotics-us-ann-arbor-9p81pht6rmzs) — US Ann Arbor, MI
- [Application Integration Engineer 1](https://feeny.ai/job/application-integration-engineer-1-torc-robotics-united-states-cn79314he74n) — United States
- [Principal Systems Engineer - Compute Platform Integration](https://feeny.ai/job/principal-systems-engineer-compute-platform-integration-torc-robotics-ann-arbor-x2hrj9j5j4mp) — Ann Arbor, MI
- [Functional Safety Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/functional-safety-manager-torc-robotics-ann-arbor-tkwcs8td6tmb) — Ann Arbor, MI / -, United States
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