Dr. Benedikt Walter
About Dr. Benedikt Walter
Dr. Benedikt Walter serves as the Principal Safety and Compliance Engineer at Vay, bringing extensive experience in safety engineering and compliance from previous roles at NIO and Mercedes-Benz. He holds a PhD in Systems Engineering and has contributed significantly to software development processes and compliance assurance in the automotive industry.
Work at Vay
Dr. Benedikt Walter currently serves as the Principal Safety and Compliance Engineer at Vay, a position he has held since early 2023. In this role, he focuses on ensuring safety and compliance within the company's engineering processes. His responsibilities include defining and implementing safety standards and processes that align with industry regulations. His expertise is critical in maintaining the integrity of Vay's autonomous driving technologies.
Previous Experience at NIO
Before joining Vay, Dr. Walter worked at NIO as a Senior Staff Engineer in the Safety Office from 2022 to 2023. His tenure at NIO took place in San Jose, California, where he contributed to the safety engineering of electric vehicles. His role involved assessing safety protocols and enhancing compliance measures within the organization.
Education and Expertise
Dr. Walter holds a PhD in Systems Engineering from the University of Stuttgart, which he completed between 2015 and 2020. He also earned a Bachelor of Science (BSc) and a Master of Science (MSc) in Aerospace Engineering from the same institution, studying from 2009 to 2014 and 2014 to 2015, respectively. Additionally, he participated in a foreign exchange program at North Carolina State University from 2011 to 2012, further broadening his academic experience.
Career at Mercedes-Benz
Dr. Walter has extensive experience at Mercedes-Benz AG, where he held multiple engineering roles from 2009 to 2022. His positions included Technical Program Manager and SW Project Lead for Autonomous Driving, where he played a significant role in software requirements engineering. He also worked as a Test Engineer and an Industrial PhD candidate, contributing to various projects that enhanced the safety and functionality of automotive systems.
Contributions to Safety and Compliance
Throughout his career, Dr. Walter has made significant contributions to safety and compliance in engineering. He successfully assured compliance with ISO26262 by defining processes that supported developers, leading to a successful audit outcome. He also played a key role in increasing software requirements from 1,000 to 10,000 within six months by introducing a requirements engineering process. His work has been instrumental in managing ADAS certification and developing comprehensive test concepts for software development.