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Bedrock Robotics is deploying autonomous systems on heavy construction machinery across the country, backed by $350M in funding. The company was founded by industry veterans from Waymo, Segment, and Uber Freight, and is solving real-world autonomy challenges in construction and infrastructure.
As Head of Validation and Systems Engineering, you will lead validation, verification, and systems engineering as an integrated discipline. You will define the criteria for every unsupervised deployment and serve as the technical authority on readiness for critical launch decisions.
Key responsibilities include:
- Design safety validation metrics, scenario libraries, and architectural coverage that quantify end-to-end behavioral safety as the machine and task sets expand
- Build a composable validation architecture that generalizes across machine types, tasks, and sites
- Own requirements decomposition and traceability from mission-level intent through subsystems
- Develop V&V strategy and infrastructure, selecting the right validation instruments (log playback, physics simulation, proving-ground testing, on-site work)
- Validate sensing, compute, and actuation hardware, including functional-safety readiness of safety-critical paths
- Build and scale a multidisciplinary team of software, systems, test, and hardware engineers plus data scientists
- Create decision-grade reporting and KPIs for verification coverage, defect trends, release readiness, and system maturity
In the first year, you will establish a V&V framework and safety case structure spanning multiple machine types, build a scenario and coverage model for future platforms, develop generalizable readiness criteria, and create a team that outlives any single launch.
Required background: BS or advanced degree in engineering, physics, or equivalent; 10+ years in test planning and experimental design for safety-critical autonomous or robotic systems; proven track record building and leading multidisciplinary technical organizations; depth in sensing and compute (cameras, lidar, radar, GNSS, IMUs, edge compute, embedded controllers); fluency in data analysis and test automation (Python, C/C++); experience running parallel test activities across distributed teams and sites.
Standout candidates have deployed driverless or unsupervised systems to production and held the readiness gate multiple times, scaled validation programs across heterogeneous fleets, authored formal safety cases or contributed to safety standards (UL 4600, ISO 26262, ISO 21448), have functional safety experience on custom hardware, or are familiar with heavy construction equipment.