Electrical Engineering Failure Analysis Engineer

Rivian•Tustin, CA

6h•Onsite

About The Position

Reliability is at the core of Electric Adventure Vehicles. This position is in Irvine, CA, at the centre of Rivian’s Engineering and R&D hub. As an Electrical FA Engineer on the Irvine Failure Analysis team, you will play a key role in generating insight through conducting failure analysis investigations using industry-leading low voltage test equipment for proof, diagnostic, breakdown, and preventive maintenance testing for all Rivian products from the vehicle to component level. The Electrical FA Engineer will perform both deep dive and rapid response triage level failure analysis investigations, specializing in the low voltage electrical, silicon level die and modular electronic systems within the vehicles.

Requirements

BS/MS in Electrical Engineering and 5/2+ years relevant industrial experience, preferably in the automotive industry.
Strong academic background and/or experience in the testing and analysis of EE components.
Experience performing failure analysis investigations is required.
Hands on experience with the application of, and hands on use of, metrology equipment such as oscilloscopes, optical microscopy, parametric and signal analyzers, etc. for use in detailed failure analysis.
Hands on experience with other materials characterization equipment such as optical microscopes, scanning electron microscopes (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), cross sectioning equipment, decapsulating chemicals, CT-scanning, 2D X-ray, etc. is desirable.
Experience of preparing formal reports summarizing analysis data and results.
A desire to create a respectful, fun, inclusive and inspiring team and company culture is a must.

Nice To Haves

Hands‑on semiconductor device failure analysis across power and low‑voltage ICs (e.g., MOSFETs, IGBTs, gate drivers, MCUs, ASICs, sensors).
Experience with semiconductor fault isolation techniques such as LIT, OBIRCH, TIVA/LIVA, emission microscopy, and laser‑based localization, with the ability to select methods appropriate to the failure mode.
Experience with die‑level and package‑level CAD/layout tools and data (e.g., GDS, ODB++, bonding and leadframe drawings) to correlate physical/FA observations with design intent and identify suspect nets or structures.
Proficiency with electrical characterization and debug techniques: parametric testing, curve tracing, TLP/HBM/IEC ESD testing, latch‑up, and thermal characterization.
Experience with physical analysis methods: cross‑sectioning, polishing (die-level), decapsulation (wet/plasma), optical microscopy, SEM/EDX; familiarity with FIB, TEM
Demonstrated ability to perform systematic root‑cause analysis linking device‑level failure mechanisms (e.g., EOS/ESD, TDDB, HCI, electromigration, corrosion) to circuit and system behavior.

Responsibilities

Be an integral part of the EE failure analysis team in the Irvine FA lab. Work closely with the electrical FA engineers on the team both in Irvine, CA and in the production facility Normal, IL.
Perform both deep dive and rapid response triage failure analysis investigations, specializing in the entire vehicle’s modular electronics.
Demonstrated hands-on experience with standard electrical test equipment, including digital multimeters (DMMs), bench power supplies, oscilloscopes, LCR meters, insulation resistance (IR) meters, and HiPot testers for basic bring-up and fault isolation.
Proficiency using curve tracers / source-measure units (SMUs) and time-domain reflectometry (TDR) for characterization and localization of opens, shorts, and impedance discontinuities.
Experience with non-destructive fault isolation on PCBAs and harnesses via probing, continuity and resistance checks, and in-circuit functional verification.
Ability to apply thermal and infrared imaging (including lock-in thermography where applicable) to identify hotspots, leakage paths, and overstressed components.
Use of 2D X-ray and 3D CT imaging to inspect solder joints, voids, misalignment, bond wires, and internal assembly defects prior to destructive analysis.
Experience with scanning acoustic microscopy (C-SAM) for detection of delamination, voiding, and internal package defects.
Skilled in visual inspection and optical microscopy (low and high magnification) to document damage, wear, contamination, and manufacturing anomalies.
Hands-on use of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS/EDX) for detailed fractography, surface analysis, and elemental composition.
Familiarity with spectroscopic methods such as Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy for organic and polymeric material identification in electronic assemblies.
Experience performing destructive analysis, including mechanical cross-sectioning, mounting, polishing, and etching to reveal internal structures, interfaces, and failure sites.
Hands-on background with advanced destructive methods such as focused ion beam (FIB) cross-sectioning, acid decapsulation, die inspection, and die probing for semiconductor and IC-level failures.
Experience with dye-and-pry / dye penetrant techniques to reveal open solder joints, cracks, and hidden interfacial defects.
Familiarity with basic mechanical and materials testing (e.g., pull/shear of wire bonds, solder joint strength, connector insertion/extraction) as part of root-cause validation.
Collaborate with existing engineering teams (e.g. power conversion, power train, battery cell, materials development, etc.) to help define the needs for electronics and battery specific failure analysis, and identify where they may need help in development of manufacturing processes, or validation of predictive models, etc. Maintain a constant dialogue on the existing and growing capabilities of the FA team.
Perform failure analysis activities for incidents originating from reliability testing for new product development and from fielded systems. Assure that root cause is identified at the most detailed level.
Prepare failure analysis reports with exceptional visualizations and direct the communication and presentation of findings to project teams and at executive reviews.
Work with reliability engineering and testing to recreate failure modes that are intermittent or hard to replicate. Utilize environmental testing equipment, HALT and other methods to be able to precipitate failures as a precursor to in depth failure analysis. Use results to field and the best path in terms of addressing the finding with the cross functional teams.
When applicable, travel to support field failure analyses and other work-related activities. Estimated travel is less than 10% annually.