John Birch is Chief Engineer - Functional Safety at Horiba Mira Ltd. He is a Chartered Engineer with the Institute of Mechanical Engineers and holds a post-graduate certificate in Systems Safety Engineering from the University of York.  He is co-author of the MISRA 'Guidelines for Automotive Safety Case Arguments' document, first-named author of several academic papers and named inventor on a number of several (pending) patents in the field of functional safety.

The Pop in your Job - I get involved in a wide range of activities within my role at HORIBA MIRA. I love the varied nature of my role, from engaging in industrial research to process audit and product assessment to work product development and training and conference speaking. It’s a great time to be working as a safety professional in the automotive industry right now with all the challenges that the onset of autonomy brings!

HORIBA MIRA is a global provider of pioneering engineering, research and test services to the automotive, defence, aerospace and rail sectors. We work in close collaboration with vehicle manufacturers and suppliers around the world, providing comprehensive support ranging from individual product tests to turnkey engineering design, development and build programmes. With over 70 years’ experience in developing some of the world’s most iconic vehicles, our engineers utilise the latest test facilities and simulation tools to make vehicles and journeys safer, cleaner, more efficient and rewarding. Our suite of 37 major test facilities, 100km of specialised proving ground and wealth of engineering experience, combined with our expanding international presence, means we are confident that we can achieve our vision – that by 2020 every journey in the world will be positively influenced by us. Progress towards achieving our vision has been significantly accelerated through the creation of MIRA Technology Park, Europe’s largest transport technology R&D cluster. By applying our advanced engineering, test and validation capabilities to our customers’ challenging programmes, we are already shaping journeys of the future.