Reliability Validation & Testing Engineer

Reliability Validation & Testing Engineer

Role Overview

We are seeking a hands-on Reliability Validation & Testing Engineer to lead product reliability validation throughout the NPI lifecycle. This role is primarily focused on designing, executing, and analyzing reliability validation testing across electrical, mechanical, thermal, and environmental domains.

The engineer will own the full validation strategy — from test planning through execution, data analysis, failure investigation, and design feedback — ensuring products meet reliability targets before production ramp and customer release. The ideal candidate combines strong engineering fundamentals, lab testing expertise, and structured problem-solving capability grounded in reliability engineering principles.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

To perform this job successfully, the individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily.

Reliability Strategy & Test Planning

• · Develop product reliability validation strategies aligned with reliability targets (MTBF, mission profile, warranty life, field exposure risk).
• · Create and own DVP&R (Design Verification Plan & Report) focused on reliability validation and accelerated life testing.
• · Translate customer requirements, use cases, and environmental exposure into structured validation plans.
• · Define accelerated test profiles (HALT, HASS, vibration, thermal cycling, shock, humidity, power cycling, etc.).

Hands-On Validation Testing

• Execute electrical, mechanical, environmental, and thermal reliability tests.
• Design and build test fixtures when required.
• Usage of Instrument products with sensors (thermocouples, strain gauges, data loggers, etc.).
• Develop test automation where applicable.
• Monitor, log, and validate test data integrity.

Failure Analysis & Risk Assessment

• Lead failure investigations from lab or field returns.
• Conduct structured root cause analysis (8D, fishbone, fault tree, Weibull analysis).
• Perform field exposure risk assessments and containment planning.
• Drive corrective actions into design and process teams.
• Apply Physics-of-Failure principles to understand degradation mechanisms.

Data Analysis & Reporting

• Perform statistical analysis of test results (Weibull, life data analysis, confidence intervals).
• Evaluate reliability growth trends.
• Present technical findings clearly to cross-functional stakeholders and leadership.
• Maintain thorough validation documentation for regulatory and customer audits.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with design engineering to influence product robustness early in development.
• Partner with manufacturing engineering to ensure validation learnings are incorporated into production controls.
• Support qualification builds and pilot runs.
• Contribute to FMEA (DFMEA, PFMEA) updates based on validation findings.

Minimum Qualifications

The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. A reasonable accommodation may be provided to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Education & Experience

• Bachelor’s or Advanced degree in Mechanical, Electrical, or Materials Engineering.
• 3–6 years of experience in reliability validation, test engineering, or product validation roles. Strong lab-based hands-on testing experience required. New graduates with extensive thesis/lab research in reliability testing may be considered.

Required Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Strong understanding of reliability engineering fundamentals:
  • Acceleration models (Arrhenius, Coffin-Manson, inverse power law)
  • Reliability growth methods
• Experience creating and executing DVP&R plans.
• Hands-on experience with:
  • Environmental chambers
  • Vibration and shock testing
  • Thermal cycling
  • Electrical load testing
  • Data acquisition systems
• Ability to interpret engineering drawings and GD&T.
• Statistical analysis capability (Excel, JMP, Minitab, Python preferred).
• Structured problem-solving skills (8D, DMAIC, fault tree).
• Strong documentation discipline

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with HALT / HASS methodologies.
• Experience performing life data modeling and Weibull analysis.
• Familiarity with APQP and DFMEA integration.
• Experience in high-volume manufacturing environments.
• Experience in regulated industries (automotive, battery, aerospace, etc.).
• Experience developing automated test setups or scripting test sequences.
• Knowledge of reliability standards (IEC, UL, ISO, MIL-STD, etc.).

Personal Attributes

• Hands-on engineer who enjoys working in the lab.
• Comfortable operating in ambiguous startup environments.
• Detail-oriented with strong ownership mentality.
• Strong technical communicator (verbal and written).
• Self-starter who takes initiative and drives problems to closure.

Physical Demands and Work Environment

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the functions.

Working Conditions/Hours: 

Salaried Exempt

Physical Demands – Office and Manufacturing Environment

While performing the duties of this position, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear. The employee frequently is required to use hands or finger, handle, or feel objects, tools or controls. The employee is required to stand; walk; sit; reach with hands and arms and pull/push; climb or balance; and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee must lift and/or move up to 50 pounds without assistance. Specific vision abilities required by this position include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, and the ability to adjust focus.

Work Environment – 

Includes both a typical office environment, with minimal exposure to excessive noise or adverse environmental issues, and a shop environment, with exposure to high noise levels from operating machines, physical hazards from moving equipment and machine parts, nuisance dust, and skin exposure to chemicals used to run/maintain machines

PPE-

May be required to wear Personal Protective Equipment, including but not limited to safety glasses, safety shoes, bump-caps, gloves, hair nets, masks, & clean-room frocks while adhering to the prescribed safety procedures.

San Carlos, CA Base Pay 90000 - 140000 USD