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Zoox is seeking a Seating and Passive Safety Hardware Validation Engineer to develop and manage comprehensive test plans for mechanical, electrical, and environmental failure modes across interior trim, seating, and restraints systems—including occupant classification systems, airbags, seatbelts, and airbag control units (ACU).
You will collaborate closely with design engineers to ensure requirements are clearly defined and captured in validation plans. You'll identify appropriate test assets, data acquisition systems, and sensors to guarantee high-quality test data, then analyze results to provide clear and concise reporting. Your responsibilities include supporting DFMEA (Design Failure Mode and Effects Analysis) activities to ensure all potential failure modes are adequately covered, and supporting root cause failure analysis during development, validation, and deployment phases.
Additional duties include designing test fixtures necessary to complete testing and managing validation schedules to ensure test assets are available and critical path items are identified.
This role requires deep expertise in automotive safety standards and testing protocols. You will work with a comprehensive suite of regulatory and industry standards including FMVSS 207, 208, 202a, 209/210, and 302; UN ECE regulations R17, R14, R16, and R80; Euro NCAP whiplash protocols; IIHS head restraint ratings; and numerous ISO and ASTM standards covering crash instrumentation, flammability, textiles, foam properties, salt spray corrosion, and more. You must also be familiar with UN 3268 (safety devices transport), the UN Manual of Tests and Criteria, and DOT/ADR hazmat rules, as well as local explosives handling regulations such as ATF requirements in the US.
Bonus qualifications include familiarity with 3D design tools (CATIA 3DX, CATIA V5, or SolidWorks), hands-on experience with passive safety systems, seat structure and anchorage testing, crash/sled test setup and instrumentation, airbag module and inflator design principles, seatbelt system architecture, and various airbag types (steering wheel, knee, curtain, side, pedestrian) and active safety systems.
REQUIREMENTS:
- BS or MS in Mechanical Engineering or related field
- 8+ years of test or validation experience specifically 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 equivalent)
- Comprehensive knowledge of test standards: FMVSS 207, 208, 202a, 209/210, 302; UN ECE R17, R14, R16, R80; Euro NCAP; IIHS; ISO 6487, 3795, 12219, 105, 13934, 5470, 3385, 3386, 16840, 12097, 14040; ASTM D3574, D4329, B117; SAE J211, J2092
- Knowledge of UN 3268, UN Manual of Tests and Criteria, DOT/ADR hazmat rules, and local explosives handling regulations
