Not a lawyer, but I think that if you don’t intend for the crash to happen, and don’t act negligently you’re not criminally liable. If the automated process is designed not to require attention of the operator, it should not be considered negligent not to pay attention to it.

Maybe a similar case is how business jets that used to always require two pilots, even tiny ones like the Learjet 23. Flying one of them alone might not only be against the regulations, but even be criminally negligent if you crash and kill someone. But newer business jets have more automation and are designed for single pilot operation, so operating it alone would not be negligent.

At least in Germany the law was ammended to allow this specific scenario.

But how far does this go? Does this mean that on root-cause analysis a particular Engineer could be criminally charged?

It is the same as with any product on the market. The producing company is liable, if the product causes harm when used and it is the products fault that the harm was caused. For example if lets say a TV blows up during normal usage. This is fist of all liability for damages. A criminal charge only happens if it can be shown, that there was any active wrongdoing leading to the damage. Like neglecting usual engineering practices, or even knowingly selling a defective product.

I am no lawyer but there is certainly precedence for companies delivering faulty products and causing damages and injuries.

At some point a judge will decide.