SlipstreamJobs tracks this role from the company's public career site. Apply directly on the employer's site.
Wayve is building an AI platform for autonomous driving using end-to-end learning approaches. As Technical Director, Safety Case, you will own the architecture, strategy and integrity of Wayve's safety cases for its first robotaxi and OEM ADAS products. This role sits independently from Engineering and Product, reporting into Safety Management & Assurance, and provides senior expert safety oversight while working closely with teams responsible for designing, developing, validating and releasing products.
You will act as the architect of the safety case, defining top-level claims, argumentation structure, evidence strategy and assurance approach that connect product intent, system behaviour, AI performance, engineering controls, validation and operational deployment into a coherent safety argument. Your responsibilities include:
- Owning the safety case strategy and architecture for Wayve's robotaxi and OEM ADAS products
- Defining top-level safety claims, argumentation, evidence structures and traceability from safety requirements through validation and deployment decisions
- Developing safety arguments appropriate for AI-enabled autonomous driving, incorporating functional safety, SOTIF, AI safety, cybersecurity, validation, operational safety and post-deployment monitoring
- Evolving reusable safety case approaches as Wayve's products, vehicle platforms and evidence base mature
- Partnering with Product, Systems Engineering, AI/ML, Validation, Vehicle Engineering, Software, Hardware and Operational Safety to define safety requirements and evidence expectations
- Identifying gaps, assumptions and weaknesses in the safety argument early and driving their resolution
- Ensuring product requirements, architecture, validation plans and release criteria remain aligned with the safety case
- Providing independent technical challenge of safety cases and supporting evidence
- Assessing whether safety arguments are coherent, complete, evidence-backed and sufficient to support release or deployment
- Highlighting material gaps, uncertainties, dependencies, residual risks and safety red lines to safety governance forums and senior leadership
- Building a common understanding of safety case principles across Wayve and coaching Engineering and Product leaders on structured safety argumentation
- Representing the safety case perspective in internal governance, customer and technical discussions
- Contributing to Wayve's broader safety strategy and assurance capability
You will move between top-level safety strategy and detailed technical evidence, identifying gaps and weak assumptions early enough to influence product decisions. Success means establishing a clear and credible safety case architecture where Engineering and Product teams understand the safety claims they support and the evidence they own, gaps are identified early enough to influence product decisions, and Wayve's safety argument for AI-enabled autonomous driving is technically rigorous, scalable and capable of standing up to scrutiny from customers, regulators and independent assessors.
Wayve operates a hybrid working model with main hubs in London, Sunnyvale, Yokohama, Herzliya, Vancouver and Leonberg, combining in-person collaboration with focused remote work.
REQUIREMENTS:
- Deep experience developing or owning safety cases for complex safety-critical systems, ideally within autonomous vehicles, ADAS, robotics, aerospace, defence or another software-intensive domain
- Strong systems engineering background spanning requirements, architecture, verification, validation and safety assurance
- Demonstrated ability to translate complex technical evidence into structured safety claims and arguments
- Strong understanding of autonomous driving and AI/ML safety, including model performance, data, uncertainty and the limitations of conventional verification approaches
- Experience partnering with AI/ML, Engineering, Systems and Product teams on safety-critical products
- Strong knowledge of relevant standards, including ISO 26262, ISO 21448, ISO/PAS 8800 and ISO 3450x
- Excellent technical communication and stakeholder-management skills
- Architect and systems thinker who can move comfortably between top-level safety strategy and detailed technical evidence
- Pragmatic and able to distinguish between what is essential to a safety argument and what is merely desirable
- Intellectually rigorous, curious and comfortable challenging assumptions, including established industry practices
- Ability to operate independently of Engineering and Product without becoming detached from them
- Comfortable operating with uncertainty and able to make clear recommendations based on the strength of available evidence
- Open to challenge and willing to change position when better evidence emerges
- Ability to clearly articulate where a safety red line exists, why it matters and what evidence or mitigation would be required to move it
PLUS (desirable):
- Safety case experience with L2+/L3 ADAS or L4 ADS products
- Experience with GSN or equivalent structured assurance methods
- Safety evidence experience for end-to-end or foundation-model-based autonomous driving
- Experience working with OEMs, regulators, assessors or independent safety reviewers
- Familiarity with operational and post-deployment safety monitoring
