Failure Analysis Engineer - Server PCBA Design, Power

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THE ROLE:

Own end-to-end hardware root cause analysis for server PCBAs, with primary depth in power delivery, PDBs, bridge boards, sequencing, connectors, and board-level electrical interfaces while maintaining capability across motherboards and high-speed IO paths. This role leads RCA for bring-up, factory, customer, and system-level failures by quickly isolating board-level issues through schematic and layout review, SI/PI assessment, rail behavior analysis, component-level electrical debug, imaging, fault isolation, and lab evidence. The engineer will determine whether issues are driven by design, layout, component quality, manufacturing process, configuration, firmware-controlled behavior, or platform interactions. Success requires serving as the technical FA owner while partnering with Systems Integration on firmware and platform topics and driving corrective actions with hardware design, validation, silicon, manufacturing, supplier quality, firmware, and customer-facing teams.

THE PERSON:

The ideal candidate is a hands-on technical FA lead with deep server PCBA debug experience across power distribution, PDBs, bridge boards, and complex compute, GPU, accelerator, or hyperscale platforms. They can navigate ambiguous failures involving rails, VRs, hot-swap paths, connectors, cables, clocks, resets, diagnostics, motherboards, firmware-controlled hardware boundaries, and high-speed IO. This person can review schematics and layouts, apply SI/PI fundamentals, perform component-level electrical debug, use scopes and logic analyzers, leverage imaging and fault isolation methods, and build evidence-based RCA conclusions. They should define diagnostic strategy, automate analysis with Python, Linux, and SQL, communicate clear technical conclusions, and drive corrective actions across cross-functional engineering teams.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Lead hardware failure analysis and root cause ownership for server PCBA bring-up, factory, customer, and system-level issues, with primary depth in power delivery, PDB, and bridge board domains.
• Own technical FA across distribution paths, VRs, hot-swap circuits, connectors, cables, sequencing, and related motherboard or high-speed IO interactions.
• Identify whether failures stem from design, component quality, layout, manufacturing, SI/PI behavior, diagnostics, configuration, firmware-controlled hardware behavior, or platform interactions.
• Develop diagnostic strategy and execute structured debug plans using design reviews, oscilloscope captures, logic analyzer traces, imaging results, electrical measurements, diagnostic outputs, telemetry, and platform logs.
• Perform board- and component-level electrical debug for shorts/opens, marginal devices, rail droop, sequencing failures, SI/PI symptoms, connector issues, intermittent behavior, and bridge board IO faults.
• Validate hardware behavior using lab instrumentation, protocol tools, fault isolation methods, register reads, and data-driven correlation across boot, initialization, stress, and failure states.
• Lead RCA while partnering with Systems Integration to separate board-level faults from firmware behavior, silicon behavior, diagnostics, configuration, and broader system effects.
• Automate debug data collection, log parsing, telemetry review, register analysis, electrical data analysis, and failure correlation using Python, Linux tools, SQL, scripting, and data analysis workflows.
• Create clear technical reports, executive summaries, debug timelines, and 8D-style documentation that communicate failure mode, evidence, root cause, impact, and corrective actions.
• Lead cross-functional RCA reviews with hardware design, Systems Integration, firmware, silicon, validation, diagnostics, manufacturing, supplier quality, and customer teams to isolate failures fast and drive corrective actions to closure.

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

• Strong experience debugging server PDBs, bridge boards, power distribution paths, VRs, hot-swap circuits, connectors, cables, GPU/accelerator platforms, rack-scale systems, or comparable compute hardware through bring-up, validation, factory, or customer FA phases.
• Deep PCBA failure analysis competency across schematic and layout review, component-level debug, rails, VRs, clocks, resets, sequencing, connectors, cables, SI/PI, interconnect initialization, and bridge board high-speed IO.
• Ability to isolate failures across hardware design, board assembly, component quality, layout effects, SI/PI behavior, manufacturing process, diagnostics, system configuration, and firmware-controlled hardware boundaries.
• Hands-on proficiency with oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, protocol analyzers, digital multimeters, power supplies, imaging tools, fault isolation techniques, telemetry tools, register access utilities, and lab validation equipment.
• Experience analyzing electrical captures, visual evidence, schematic and layout data, POST codes, register state, event logs, telemetry streams, diagnostic outputs, and platform logs to build evidence-based RCA conclusions.
• Working knowledge of power integrity, sequencing, PDB architectures, high-speed IO, PCIe/link behavior, retimers, signal path dependencies, and failure modes common to dense server platforms and AI GPU systems.
• Experience using Python, Linux tools, SQL, shell scripting, or data analysis methods to automate diagnostic strategy, log parsing, telemetry review, register analysis, electrical debug triage, and failure correlation.
• Ability to own technical interfaces and lead cross-functional RCA reviews with Systems Integration, firmware, silicon, validation, diagnostics, hardware design, manufacturing, supplier quality, and customer teams, driving corrective actions to closure.
• Experience with structured problem solving, 8D, server power debug, PDB or bridge board validation, platform bring-up, factory issue resolution, supplier quality, or customer FA processes.
• Desired backgrounds include server power design, PDB design or validation, bridge board IO debug, hardware RCA leadership, AI GPU platforms, accelerator systems, or complex compute failure analysis.

ACADEMIC CREDENTIALS:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related discipline.
• Equivalent hands-on experience in server motherboard design, validation, component-level electrical debug, hardware failure analysis, high-speed IO debug, AI GPU platforms, or complex system-level RCA will be considered.

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Benefits offered are described:  AMD benefits at a glance.

AMD does not accept unsolicited resumes from headhunters, recruitment agencies, or fee-based recruitment services. AMD and its subsidiaries are equal opportunity, inclusive employers and will consider all applicants without regard to age, ancestry, color, marital status, medical condition, mental or physical disability, national origin, race, religion, political and/or third-party affiliation, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.   We encourage applications from all qualified candidates and will accommodate applicants’ needs under the respective laws throughout all stages of the recruitment and selection process.

AMD may use Artificial Intelligence to help screen, assess or select applicants for this position.  AMD’s “Responsible AI Policy” is available here.

This posting is for an existing vacancy.