Safety Investigations Specialist IV

About the Role

The L4+ Critical Safety team manages Uber's most serious and sensitive safety incidents and other incidents with significant brand, legal, and operational impact.

As a Safety SME, you will serve as a senior individual contributor within the L4+ Safety Operations team. In addition to managing the most complex and high-risk safety investigations, you will act as a subject matter expert, operational escalation point, and trusted partner to leadership. You will provide guidance to investigators, support operational decision-making, lead strategic initiatives, and ensure the highest standards of quality and consistency across critical safety investigations.

This role is ideal for someone who demonstrates exceptional judgment, strong stakeholder management skills, operational leadership, and deep expertise in handling sensitive safety incidents.

What You'll Do

Critical Safety Case Management

• Independently manage and investigate the highest-risk and most sensitive safety incidents, including fatalities, sexual penetration, severe physical assaults, and other escalated L4+ cases.
• Own end-to-end incident management, ensuring timely resolution, accurate documentation, and appropriate stakeholder engagement.
• Make high-judgment decisions while balancing customer safety, regulatory considerations, and business risk.

Operational Leadership & Escalation Management

• Serve as a primary escalation point for investigators handling complex or ambiguous cases.
• Provide guidance and coaching on investigation strategy, policy interpretation, and risk assessment.
• Act as operational backup for the Senior Team Lead during periods of absence or increased business need.
• Support queue management, workload prioritization, and operational decision-making to maintain service levels.

Quality & Expertise

• Drive consistency and excellence in case handling by conducting quality reviews and identifying improvement opportunities.
• Monitor emerging trends, policy gaps, and operational risks, escalating concerns where appropriate.
• Support calibration sessions and contribute to investigator development through knowledge sharing and best practices.

Project & Program Leadership

• Lead operational improvement initiatives and cross-functional projects that enhance efficiency, quality, customer experience, or risk mitigation.
• Perform root-cause analyses on high-profile incidents and develop actionable recommendations.
• Partner with regional and global stakeholders to implement process, policy, and tooling improvements.
• Support change management efforts and adoption of new operational processes.

Stakeholder Management

• Collaborate closely with Safety, Legal, Communications, Public Policy, Product, and other cross-functional partners.
• Represent the team in internal discussions, leadership reviews, and incident-related forums.
• Build and maintain strong working relationships with key stakeholders to drive successful outcomes.

Organizational Contribution

• Contribute to the long-term growth and success of the L4+ Safety organization through mentorship, knowledge sharing, and operational excellence.
• Foster a culture of accountability, customer obsession, and continuous improvement.

Basic Qualifications

• Strong written and verbal communication skills in English and Japanese.
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience.
• 2 years of experience in customer support, safety operations, investigations, trust & safety, incident management, or a related field.
• Demonstrated experience handling complex, high-risk, or sensitive customer incidents.
• Excellent critical thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making abilities.
• Strong stakeholder management and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Proven ability to work independently and exercise sound judgment in ambiguous situations.
• Exceptional attention to detail and documentation skills.
• Open to all support channels, including phone, email, and case management workflows.
• Willingness to work in shifts and support business-critical operations as needed.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience handling critical safety incidents, trust & safety investigations, crisis management, or incident response.
• Experience serving as a mentor, escalation point, or subject matter expert within an operations environment.
• Proven track record of leading projects, programs, or process improvement initiatives.
• Strong analytical skills, including root-cause analysis and data-driven decision making.
• Experience working with senior stakeholders across multiple functions.
• Lean Six Sigma, project management, or continuous improvement experience is a plus.
• Ability to remain calm and make sound decisions under pressure in high-visibility situations.