Safety Assurance Engineer Lead

Job Description

Job Description

Job Title: Safety Assurance Engineer Lead Job Description

We are seeking an experienced Safety Assurance Lead to support the development of safety-critical transportation systems and products. This role is a key member of the engineering organization and focuses on ensuring that complex hardware, software, and system-level designs meet stringent safety requirements throughout the entire product lifecycle. This role operates within the engineering design process, partnering closely with Systems, Hardware, Software, Test, and Project Engineering teams to identify hazards, assess risk, develop mitigations, and ensure safe product implementation.

• Lead safety assurance efforts for new product development and customer programs.
• Develop and maintain Safety Plans, Safety Cases, and Safety Reports.
• Perform and document safety analyses, including Preliminary Hazard Analysis (PHA), System Hazard Analysis (SHA), Subsystem Hazard Analysis (SSHA), Interface Hazard Analysis (IHA), Failure Modes & Effects Analysis (FMEA/FMECA), and Fault Tree Analysis (FTA).
• Identify hazards, define safety requirements, and drive mitigations through closure.
• Own and maintain Hazard Logs, ensuring complete traceability from hazard identification through verification and closure.
• Participate in design reviews and peer reviews to identify potential safety concerns early in the development process.
• Collaborate with hardware, software, systems, test, and integration teams to ensure designs satisfy safety objectives.
• Evaluate engineering changes and assess the impact of hardware, component, software, and system modifications on overall system safety.
• Support verification, validation, testing, and commissioning activities from a safety perspective.
• Interface directly with customers, independent safety assessors, and regulatory stakeholders.
• Present and defend Safety Cases and support resolution of findings from independent assessments.
• Investigate safety issues arising from fielded systems and support root cause analysis and corrective actions.
• Provide guidance and mentoring to other safety engineers when assigned.

• Safety Assurance, Software, Hardware, and Safety Analysis expertise.
• 5-10 years of experience in circuit analysis evaluating components for failure modes, including resistors, capacitors, or transistors.
• Nodal analysis integrated with circuit design and implementation.
• Hardware component level experience.
• Engineering Degree.
• Proficiency in FMEA, FMECA, SSHA, PHA, IHA, FTA methodologies.
• Understanding of functional safety principles and hazard management processes.
• Experience maintaining Hazard Logs and demonstrating hazard closure through objective evidence.
• Understanding of safety standards such as AREMA, CENELEC (EN 50126, EN 50128, EN 50129), MIL-STD-882 or equivalent safety standards.
• Ability to read and understand engineering designs and technical documentation.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to work independently and serve as the primary safety representative embedded within engineering teams.
• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Systems Engineering, Software Engineering, Computer Engineering, or Mechanical Engineering.
• 8-10+ years of engineering and/or safety assurance experience.
• Experience in railroad, transportation, aerospace, avionics, defense, or other safety-critical industries.
• Hands-on hardware or electronics engineering background.
• Experience conducting component-level and circuit-level failure analysis.
• Experience supporting independent safety assessments or certification activities.
• Leadership experience in leading projects, mentoring engineers, or coordinating technical teams.
• Exposure to fail-safe system design principles.
• Experience supporting products throughout the full development lifecycle.

• Railroad signaling experience.
• Aerospace/avionics safety background.
• Circuit-level or hardware-level analysis experience.
• Knowledge of CENELEC, AREMA, or MIL-STD-882 standards.

This position requires strong engineering depth and the ability to understand how safety is affected by design decisions. The successful candidate will be comfortable reviewing hardware and electronic circuit designs, understanding component-level failure modes and system impacts, evaluating component substitutions or design changes, assessing failure propagation through complex systems, translating hazards into actionable engineering requirements, and working across hardware, software, systems, and integration disciplines.

This is a Contract to Hire position based out of Melbourne, FL.

The pay range for this position is $48.00 - $64.00/hr.

Individual compensation offered for this position within this range will depend on many factors, including qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job-related factors.

Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job classification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may be subject to specific elections, plan, or program terms. If eligible, the benefits available for this temporary role may include the following: Medical, dental & vision Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital 401(k) Retirement Plan Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents) Short and long-term disability Health Spending Account (HSA) Transportation benefits Employee Assistance Program Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)

This is a Contract to Hire position based out of Melbourne, FL.

This position is anticipated to close on Nov 5, 2026.

This is a fully onsite position in Melbourne,FL.

About Actalent

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing® winner for both client and talent service.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications withoutregard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability,sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protectedby law.

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification oradjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability,please email View email address on ziprecruiter.com for other accommodation options.

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in thecity and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicantswith arrest and conviction records.

Massachusetts Lie Detector: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as acondition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this lawshall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process,including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applicationsand qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, youacknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.