Head of Product Safety & Compliance

AVF is a startup incubator built to launch a new generation of robotics companies. The work runs on a team of engineers, designers, and robotics experts developing cutting-edge hardware. Tethered aerial systems, autonomous robots, and meal dispensing are among our ventures now moving toward public testing.

About the Role

How do you certify a tethered drone, an autonomous cleaning robot, and a refrigerated meal-dispensing system when the regulatory playbook for each one doesn't exist yet?

Alert Venture Foundry is hiring its first dedicated Head of Product Safety & Compliance to build that playbook. You'll be the technical authority on safety and regulatory strategy across every venture we build, reporting to our Chief R&D Officer. You start as a senior individual contributor, integrating safety into system architecture from concept through commercialization. As the ventures scale, you build and lead the function.

We are building first-of-kind hardware with limited regulatory precedent. You will clear the path for our innovation without slowing the build.

This is primarily lab- and office-based in Greater Boston, with exposure to operating robotic hardware. Travel to customer sites, testing labs, regulators, and standards meetings runs 10-20% depending on program phase.

What you'll own:

• AVF's product safety and compliance strategy across every venture, scaled for a foundry environment rather than a single-product company
• Regulatory classification for novel hardware: tethered aerial systems, autonomous cleaning equipment, refrigerated meal dispensing, and whatever comes next
• Hazard analyses, FMEAs, risk assessments, HARAs, and end-to-end safety cases for each program, driven into system architecture at the design stage
• Certification for programs already in advanced prototype, with planned public testing before the end of 2026
• Standards interpretation across UL, ANSI, ISO, IEC, FCC, FAA, OSHA, NSF, CE/UKCA and others, mapped to program milestones and NPI phase gates
• The external relationships that make or break a launch: regulators, standards bodies, testing labs, insurers, customers
• Close partnership with program leads and systems, mechanical, electrical, and software engineering to close requirements without becoming the bottleneck
• The safety and compliance management system itself, plus the org structure, hiring, and team capabilities as programs move into production

What we’re looking for:

• 10 years in product safety, regulatory affairs, or compliance engineering for hardware. Robotics, aerospace, industrial equipment, medical devices, consumer hardware, or similarly regulated industries all translate
• A track record of getting novel products classified and certified in areas with limited precedent, not just advising on it
• Deep working knowledge of the relevant standards: UL, ANSI, ISO, IEC, FCC, FDA/NSF food-contact regulations, OSHA, FAA (Part 107 and related), CE/UKCA, and international frameworks
• A strong systems engineering foundation. You can read an architecture, understand where hardware and software meet, and evaluate system-level hazards, failure modes, and risk
• Startup, high-growth, or venture-foundry experience building practical safety programs that support innovation without unnecessary complexity
• The writing to back it up. You can author safety cases, regulatory filings, and technical documentation to a defensible standard
• The ability to influence technical and business decisions across the org without direct authority
• Bachelor's in engineering, physics, or a related technical field required. Master's in systems engineering, safety engineering, or regulatory affairs preferred.

Nice to have, but not required:

• Experience with tethered aerial systems, work-at-height robotic equipment, or food-contact certification
• Functional safety credentials (ISO 13849, IEC 61508, ISO 26262)
• FAA Part 107, Certified Safety Professional (CSP), or PE

If you've spent your career being told safety is the thing that slows engineering down, and you've proven the opposite, this is your role!