Functional Safety Engineer (ISO 26262, Consulting)

Role summary

You'll lead technical activities, provide intelligent customer oversight of suppliers, support and mentor junior colleagues, and contribute to client relationships, business development, methodologies, and capability growth across the practice.

Responsibilities

• Lead and deliver software assurance and functional safety activities across system and software lifecycles.
• Develop and review software assurance plans, safety plans, development plans, compliance matrices, and assurance strategies.
• Derive, allocate, and assess software safety requirements from system hazards, safety analyses, and functional safety concepts.
• Assess software architectures, development processes, tools, verification approaches, configuration management, and change control.
• Review lifecycle evidence, including requirements, designs, code, test specifications, traceability, coverage, analyses, and problem reports.
• Conduct independent assurance activities, audits, gap assessments, and supplier reviews, clearly documenting findings, risks, and recommended actions.
• Support the development of safety cases and structured assurance arguments, ensuring claims are backed by traceable and credible evidence.
• Advise clients on the proportionate application of relevant standards, including tailoring, independence requirements, assurance levels, and compliance objectives.
• Build trusted client relationships and contribute to business development, bids, methodologies, and capability development initiatives.

We recognise that candidates may have experience in some rather than all of the following

• IEC 61508 – Functional safety of electrical, electronic, and programmable electronic safety-related systems.
• ISO 26262 – Functional safety for road vehicles.
• EUROCAE ED-12C / RTCA DO-178C and supporting supplements – Airborne software development assurance.
• SAE ARP4754A/B and ARP4761/A – Aircraft and system development and safety assessment.
• DEF STAN 00-55 and DEF STAN 00-56 – Safety-related software and defence system safety management.
• IEC 62304 – Medical device software lifecycle processes.
• EN 50126, EN 50128, and EN 50129 – Railway RAMS, software, and safety-related electronic systems.
• IEC 61511 – Functional safety for process industry safety instrumented systems.
• ISO/IEC/IEEE 12207 and ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288, alongside wider software engineering, quality, and configuration management guidance.
• UK regulatory, certification, client, and sector-specific safety requirements.

Requirements

• Degree-qualified, or equivalent practical experience, in Software Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Systems Engineering, Safety Engineering, or a related discipline.
• Experience developing, verifying, or assuring software for safety-related, mission-critical, or regulated systems.
• Strong understanding of functional safety principles, hazard-driven requirements, and the relationship between system safety and software assurance.
• Ability to assess structured engineering evidence, including requirements, architecture, traceability, verification, configuration, and change management records.
• Practical understanding of software lifecycles, embedded and real-time software, interfaces, failure behaviour, and verification techniques.
• Ability to identify assurance gaps, evaluate the significance of findings, and communicate proportionate recommendations.
• Excellent technical writing skills and the ability to communicate complex assurance and safety concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Ability to manage and deliver work to agreed time, cost, and quality expectations.

Nice to have

• Applying or assessing standards such as IEC 61508, ISO 26262, DO-178C, DEF STAN 00-55/00-56, or equivalent sector standards.
• Software safety planning, assurance level determination, standards tailoring, and compliance assessment.
• Requirements-based testing, structural coverage analysis, static analysis, coding standards, formal methods, or model-based development.
• Independence assessments, software audits, supplier surveillance, certification support, or technical authority responsibilities.
• Safety assessment techniques including FHA, FMEA/FMECA, FTA, HAZOP, STPA, or common-cause analysis.
• Assurance of complex electronic hardware, firmware, COTS software, open-source software, tools, machine learning, or autonomous systems.
• Developing or reviewing safety cases and structured assurance arguments using GSN or similar methodologies.
• Technical product management or product ownership experience, translating operational and safety needs into prioritised development activities.
• Progress towards professional registration, such as Chartered Engineer (CEng) or Incorporated Engineer (IEng).