What's your goal? You mention low risk and career progression. Does that mean developing into a senior engineer or a techinal lead.. or management? At the extreme end the C level may require an MBA which is certainly not low risk and requires generally leaving one place for another.

You will find all sorts of politics at play. From the cooperative to competitive. It could be at the layer above you or with your peers.

Low risk is really a market condition and doesn't last or necessarily exist.

Your job is to help your boss succeed. Sounds trite but it is what it is. As your boss gains respect for your work you will in turn find respect from higher ups and be given more responsibility. Your boss's job is to help you succeed and make his boss look good.

So be realiable, do good work, don't create more problems than you solve. Look for opportunities to help your team/project. That's it.