Functional Safety Architect - Hardware (f/m/d)

Job Title

Functional Safety Architect - Hardware (f/m/d)

Role Summary

Member of the Functional Safety Competence Center responsible for defining, analyzing, and validating functional safety concepts and architectures for semiconductor products used in automotive and industrial safety markets.

The role interfaces with systems, hardware, software, IP and implementation teams to produce safety requirements, perform safety analyses, and prepare products for formal assessment and certification.

Experience Level

Senior - typically 7–15 years of experience in semiconductor product development with exposure to functional safety.

Responsibilities

Key responsibilities include developing safety concepts, performing analyses, and supporting certification activities.

• Define and develop functional and technical safety concepts based on product architecture and intended functionality.
• Capture and manage safety requirements using requirements-management tools.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure consistent implementation of safety concepts across IP, SoC, software, and system levels.
• Review and develop safety work products compliant with ISO 26262 or IEC 61508.
• Perform safety analyses at IP and product levels, including FTA, DFA, and FMEDA.
• Support definition and review of safety verification and validation strategies.
• Manage safety activities and documentation for IP, SoC, software and system-level artifacts; report compliance status, gaps and mitigations.
• Prepare products for formal assessment and certification; contribute to confirmation measures and internal reviews.
• Support customers in integrating NXP safety products and provide tailored solutions where required.
• Perform security-related tasks when in scope of security certifications and related assessments.

Requirements

Must-have technical skills and experience; followed by preferred (nice-to-have) items.

• 7–15 years in semiconductor product development with exposure to functional safety.
• Strong understanding of microcontroller and microprocessor architectures and their use in automotive or industrial safety domains.
• Strong understanding of IP and SoC level safety mechanisms and safety-related development artifacts.
• Knowledge of safety standards and development lifecycles (ISO 26262 or IEC 61508) and associated work products.
• Practical experience with safety analysis techniques: FTA, DFA, FMEDA; familiarity with related tools (e.g., Medini).
• Hands-on involvement in at least two safety-compliant product developments, producing Functional Safety Concepts and Technical Safety Concepts.
• Experience in safety audits, assessments, and certification activities.
• Proven ability to collaborate effectively in cross-functional, global teams.

Nice-to-have

• Experience with Tier 1 or Tier 2 automotive suppliers on functional safety projects.
• Broad exposure to semiconductor product development (IP design, verification, DFT, physical implementation, tools and methodologies).
• Familiarity with requirements management tools (e.g., ELM7).
• Familiarity with ISO 26262 Part 6 (software development) and embedded software development.

Education Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Electronics, Electrical, Computer Engineering or equivalent practical experience.

About the Company

Company: NXP Semiconductors

Headquarters: Nijmegen, Netherlands

NXP Semiconductors N.V. is a global semiconductor company that provides High Performance Mixed Signal and Standard Product solutions. With over 45,000 employees and operations in more than 35 countries, NXP is a leader in secure connectivity solutions for embedded applications, catering to automotive, industrial IoT, mobile, and communication infrastructure markets. The company is committed to innovation and sustainability, advancing a smarter, safer, and more sustainable world through technology.