Aurora hires talented people with diverse backgrounds who are ready to help build a transportation ecosystem that will make our roads safer, get crucial goods where they need to go, and make mobility more efficient and accessible for all. 

Aurora is seeking a highly experienced and strategic Director, Organizational Safety to spearhead the continuous improvement and scaling of our Enterprise Safety Management System (SMS). Reporting directly to the Chief Safety Officer, you will serve as a critical pillar of Aurora’s safety leadership team.

You will be the primary architect of the Aurora Approach to Organizational Safety, ensuring that safety is integrated into the DNA of our corporate culture and business processes. You will maintain and continuously improve Aurora’s strong Safety Culture, and ensure appropriate safety assurance protocols are in place to maintain the health of Aurora Safety Programs. You will also establish and maintain credible and appropriate approaches to managing safety risk to the organization, products and operations, including responsibility for the governance of the highest level risk-based decision-making via management of the Safety Review Board.

In this role, you will 

Strategy & Governance

• Aurora SMS framework: Ensure the Aurora SMS framework remains state of the art and appropriate to manage the unique risks of autonomous technology development and operations, that it is scalable, transparent, and aligned with industry-leading standards and delivers measurable improvements.
• Safety Review Board (SRB): Ensure that the SRB maintains appropriate visibility on enterprise safety risks and is presented with necessary and timely information to make decisions on managing safety risks. Manage the agenda, risk synthesis, and follow-up for Aurora’s highest safety governing body to ensure the Accountable Executive is appropriately informed on safety. Support SRB decision making for Aurora driverless products before they are released on public roads.

Safety Risk Management & Assurance

• Safety Concern Reporting (SCR): Lead the enterprise-wide program for reporting, triaging, and investigating safety concerns, fostering a "just culture" where employees feel empowered to report risks without fear of retribution.
• Safety Risk Management Approach and Integration: Define and oversee the methodologies used for identifying, evaluating, mitigating, and monitoring organizational, product and operations safety risks. 
• Fleet Safety Oversight: Provide strategic direction to the Manager of Fleet Safety, ensuring that DOT/FMCSA compliance, driver fitness, and vehicle inspection programs are appropriate for Aurora product and operations and ensuring execution is conformant to safety policies.

Leadership & Culture

• People Management: Lead and mentor a high-performing team, including the Fleet Safety organization and SMS Team.
• Safety Thought Leadership: Drive the internal and external communications narrative regarding safety performance, safety case/SMS integration and cultural maturity.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with Legal, HR, Finance, and Engineering to ensure safety risk mitigations are reflected in corporate policies and insurance frameworks.

Required Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience developing and/or managing a comprehensive Safety Management System (SMS) within a safety-critical transportation industry (e.g., Automated Driving Systems, Aviation, Rail, Marine, or Automotive).
• Proven Leadership: At least 5 years of experience managing diverse safety teams and leading through other managers to derive results through highly effective teams.
• Expert Risk Management: Demonstrated mastery of applied, credible methodologies for Safety Risk Management (SRM) at an enterprise level.
• Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering, Safety Management, or a related technical discipline.
• Technical Acumen: Deep understanding of safety-critical systems and relevant standards and best practices (e.g., FMVSS, ISO, ICAO, AVSC).
• Communication: Exceptional ability to synthesize and derive insights from complex data for C-suite executives, business partners, and regulatory bodies.
• Industry Influence: Experience representing an organization in industry forums or helping shape national/international safety standards.

Desirable Qualifications 

• Advanced Degree: Master’s or Ph.D. in Safety Engineering, Human Factors, or Safety Management
• Professional Certification: Certified Safety Professional (CSP), Certified Director of Safety (CDS), or equivalent.
• AV Experience: Direct experience with the unique risk management challenges of autonomous vehicle technology or complex robotics.

The base range for this position is $176,000 - $228,000.  Aurora’s pay ranges are determined by role, level, and location. Within the range, the successful candidate’s starting base pay will be determined based on factors including job-related skills, experience, qualifications, relevant education or training, and market conditions. These ranges may be modified in the future. The successful candidate will also be eligible for an annual bonus, equity compensation, and benefits.

 #LI-xxx

We are searching for a Staff Safety Data Scientist on the Safety Analysis team who is a technical leader and go-to expert for risk and safety guidance, leveraging deep expertise in data science to lead critical safety research. Your insights will drive the safety strategy and external safety communications, including the development of industry-leading, benchmark safety studies and frameworks. The role requires a strong background in risk and hazard assessment and exceptional communication and interpersonal skills. You will be responsible for applying advanced statistical analysis and probabilistic modeling to support the safety case, inform hardware and software decisions, and identify critical risk factors. You will collaborate with diverse stakeholders across engineering, operations, and product.

In This Role, You Will:

• Lead the development of novel quantitative data analytics using both proprietary (Aurora-logged, sensor, system, integration testing data) and publicly available data (CRSS, FARS, state-level information).
• Author and present technical analyses and findings to diverse internal and external audiences, including stakeholders, authoritative bodies, and industry forums.
• Design and automate data collection and analysis to support ongoing safety programs.
• Extract insights from historical system safety performance to develop leading indicators for future performance forecasting. Analyze safety data from operational vehicles, crash metrics, and near-miss incidents to inform safety strategies and decision-making.
• Develop statistical models and algorithms to predict potential risks and prevent incidents, improving the safety performance of autonomous systems.
• Model self-driving vehicle behaviors at the system and subsystem levels.
• Develop and maintain reports and expressions of baseline risk coverage and application in operations.
• Design and develop expressions of risk benchmarking from similar industries.
• Create dashboards and reports for communicating risk, ranking, and anomalies.
• Present safety research findings to senior leadership and recommend actionable improvements to safety protocols and operational systems.
• Mentor and lead junior team members, fostering their professional growth.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Data Science, Statistics, Mathematics, Physics, Engineering, Computer Science, or equivalent applicable technical experience.
• 7+ years of progressive experience solving large-scale complex problems.
• Demonstrated experience in a safety related domain (e.g., transportation, aerospace, robotics, medical devices).
• Strong understanding of safety principles and risk assessment methodologies; with a proven track record of using data science techniques to solve safety challenges and mitigate risks in a dynamic environment.
• Deep command of statistical methods, probabilistic modeling, and performing rapid exploratory data analysis.
• Expertise in data science tools (e.g., Python, SQL, R), statistical modeling, machine learning, predictive analytics, and visualization software (e.g., Tableau, Power BI).
• Adept at querying, analyzing, and visualizing large datasets.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to convey complex information to various audiences.
• Strong leadership skills, with the ability to provide guidance and mentorship.
• Ability to work independently, as part of a cross-functional team, or as a project lead.

Desirable Qualifications

• Advanced degree in Statistics, Mathematics, Physics, Engineering, Computer Science, or equivalent applicable technical experience.
• Experience working in safety and risk, ideally complemented by a portfolio of publications, reports, or conference presentations.
• Familiarity with rapidly scaling operational environments.
• Proficient in working with advanced data transformation tools such as DBT.
• Skilled in building and deploying using Amazon Web Services (AWS) tools.
• Background in the Autonomous Vehicles, Aerospace, or Robotics domains.

The base salary range for this position is $171,000 - $247,000 per year. Aurora’s pay ranges are determined by role, level, and location. Within the range, the successful candidate’s starting base pay will be determined based on factors including job-related skills, experience, qualifications, relevant education or training, and market conditions. These ranges may be modified in the future. The successful candidate will also be eligible for an annual bonus, equity compensation, and benefits.