Functional Safety Manager, Industrial Battery Management

Job Title

Functional Safety Manager, Industrial Battery Management

Role Summary

Lead functional safety for a product line of battery-management integrated circuits, acting as the single point of contact for customers and certification bodies. Own safety decisions, define the safety management system, and drive safety requirements and evidence through IC design, firmware and product release.

The role works across customer systems teams, assessors and internal design, verification and product teams to achieve standards compliance and certification for industrial battery systems.

Experience Level

Senior - requires extensive experience: 10+ years in electronics or semiconductor development, including 5+ years leading functional safety efforts for standards-based certification.

Responsibilities

The role is accountable for safety strategy, requirements, evidence and certification activities for BMS-related IC products.

• Serve as single point of contact on functional safety for lead customers and certification bodies; present and defend safety concepts, safety manuals and FMEDA.
• Derive IC-level safety requirements with customer system safety teams and agree diagnostic/integration arrangements.
• Support UL 1973 / UL 9540 / IEC 62619 listings and close assessor findings where BMS functions are in scope.
• Define and run the functional safety management system (IEC 61508 clause 6): safety plans, roles, competence, independence, tailoring and safety cases per product.
• Structure and drive the requirements lifecycle: derivation, allocation, traceability and verification from concept through silicon and firmware.
• Maintain safety evidence packages and safety manuals; ensure designs and firmware remain consistent with the safety concept and standards.
• Set verification best practices: safety design reviews, fault injection, diagnostic verification, tool qualification and change impact management.
• Plan and run third-party assessments and certifications (TUV, exida, UL) and internal safety audits; manage nonconformities.
• Represent the company in standards and industry fora and build safety competence across the IC design organization.

Requirements

Must-have skills and experience; preferred items are listed separately.

• 10+ years in electronics or semiconductor development, with 5+ years leading functional safety on products certified to IEC 61508 or ISO 26262; demonstrable delivery through third-party assessment.
• Hands-on command of IEC 61508-1, -2 and -3: hardware architecture, FMEDA, diagnostic coverage, PFH/PFD and safety manuals for compliant items.
• Working knowledge of at least one of: UL 1973, UL 9540, IEC 62619, IEC 60730-1 Annex H, IEC 62061 / ISO 13849, UL 991 / UL 1998.
• Battery system fluency: cell monitoring, balancing, contactor control, isolation, thermal management, state estimation and key failure modes.
• Mixed-signal and digital IC design background sufficient to review architectures and diagnostics with designers.
• Proven track record making and defending safety decisions, setting up requirements processes and running customer engagements and assessor audits.
• Fluent written and spoken English and Japanese.

Education Requirements

Degree in electrical engineering or a related field. Preferred professional certifications mentioned in the posting include TUV FS Engineer/Expert, exida CFSE/CFSP or UL functional safety certification.

Preferred

Additional experience and domain knowledge that would be beneficial.

• IEC 61508 delivery experience in stationary storage, industrial automation or process instrumentation; ISO 26262 experience beneficial for customers pursuing ASIL routes.
• Exposure to IEC 62443-4-1 / 4-2 (safety and security lifecycle alignment); ISO/SAE 21434 acceptable as an alternative.
• Familiarity with OCP ORv3 BBU specifications or data-center power architecture.

Other

The role supports customers and teams across North America and Asia; occasional early-morning or evening meetings may be required to accommodate time zones. The employer offers flexible working hours and location within the constraints of the role.

About the Company

Company: Renesas

Headquarters: Hitachinaka, Japan

Renesas is a global leader in embedded semiconductor solutions, providing high-quality products across automotive, industrial, infrastructure, and IoT sectors. With over 22,000 employees in more than 30 countries, the company focuses on scalable solutions that enhance user experience and drive innovation while committed to sustainability and energy efficiency.