Failure Analysis Engineer, Electromechanical Hardware

Meta•Redmond, WA

6d•$144,000 - $204,000

About The Position

Meta is seeking a Failure Analysis Engineer specializing in electromechanical hardware. This role is crucial for ensuring the reliability of the complex electromechanical components used in advanced AI and robotics. The engineer will be responsible for the end-to-end failure analysis process, from identifying the initial symptoms of hardware failures to documenting and implementing corrective actions. This involves hands-on work in the lab, analyzing data from logs and telemetry, and collaborating with cross-functional teams including electrical engineering, firmware, mechanical engineering, and quality assurance. The scope of work covers actuators, drive systems, precision mechanisms, sensors, and their associated control electronics and firmware. The goal is to resolve defects before they impact product quality and user experience.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, a relevant technical field, or equivalent practical experience.
5+ years of hands-on experience in failure analysis, reliability, or test engineering for electromechanical hardware (e.g., motors and drives, gearboxes, precision mechanisms, consumer devices, instrumentation).
Demonstrated application of root-cause methodologies (e.g., 5-Why, fishbone, fault-tree, DOE) to real hardware failures.
Hands-on lab competence with tools such as DMM, oscilloscope, power supplies, load/test fixtures, and data acquisition (DAQ).
Experience writing technical FA reports that clearly communicate findings to design engineers, enabling them to act without further clarification.

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with motor control and firmware concepts, including commutation, field-oriented control, current limits, calibration tables, and encoder error sources.
Working knowledge of BLDC/PMSM motors, gear trains, bearings, brakes, and position encoders.
Working knowledge of quality systems such as 8D, PFMEA, DFMEA, control plans, and MSA/Gage R&R.
Experience with electromechanical assemblies (e.g., robotic joints and actuators) from prototype through DVT/PVT into production.
Experience querying and building on large test-data pipelines and dashboards.
Depth in reliability engineering, including HALT/HASS, Weibull and life-data analysis, rainflow/duty-cycle load-spectrum analysis, and accelerated life testing.
Experience with metrology and analytical FA labs (CT, SEM/EDX, metallography, tribology).

Responsibilities

Own end-to-end failure analysis (FA) for units failing fixture, design verification, and qualification testing, including intake, symptom capture, hypothesis-driven teardown, root cause determination, disposition, and corrective-action follow-through.
Build and maintain a failure-mode taxonomy for the hardware in scope and classify incoming failures against it to ensure root causes are transferable between units.
Isolate the failing domain (mechanical, electrical, firmware, thermal, process) using data-driven methods such as periodicity, load-vs-position behavior, electrical waveforms, calibration data, and environmental correlation.
Write and maintain analysis tooling, primarily in Python, to parse test-station reports and time-series logs for automated failure mode classification at scale.
Run fleet-level correlation studies to validate or refute candidate root causes, documenting both confirmed and refuted leads.
Drive nonconformance (NC) and Corrective and Preventive Action (CAPA) workflows, including filing, triaging, and closing NCs.
Present findings at Change Control Board (CCB) and design reviews, and provide feedback for improving test station pass-fail criteria.
Partner with design ME/EE/FW teams on containment and permanent fixes, and with suppliers on incoming quality and process escapes.
Perform and interpret physical FA, including precision teardown, dimensional/metrology inspection, wear and fracture surface inspection, optical/microscopy, and utilizing tools like CT, SEM/EDX, and cross-sectioning where available.