Senior Staff Advanced Quality Engineer

ALSO • Palo Alto, CA

10d • $242,000 - $275,000 • Onsite

About The Position

We’re ALSO, an electric mobility company originally conceived as a part of Rivian. We’re a passionate team of builders, dreamers, doers and innovators, focused on creating entirely new (not to mention, innovative and delightful) vertically integrated, small EVs designed to meet the global mobility challenges of today and tomorrow. Our mission is to inspire everyone to ride ALSO—replacing many local car, truck and SUV miles with ones on vehicles that are more affordable, more enjoyable and 10-50x more efficient.
ALSO is seeking a Senior Staff Advanced Quality Engineer (AQE) to join our team. We are looking for highly motivated and exceptional quality and engineering professionals to bring Also’s engineered products to life. This team exists to embed "Quality, Done Right" across the entire product lifecycle, serving as the strategic "Voice of Quality" for our R&D and Engineering teams.
In this vital role, you will champion product quality upstream, influencing architecture to prevent defects long before manufacturing begins. Your precision in facilitating risk management (DFMEA), defining critical-to-quality features, and driving "Design for Manufacturability" will be key to our success. You will partner deeply with Design Engineers to engineer robustness into our products, serving as the bridge between our Palo Alto design hub and our overseas Operations quality teams. We expect you to own the design quality process from start to finish. This role reports to the Director of Quality.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (e.g., Mechanical, Electrical, Industrial, Materials, Mechatronic, Manufacturing) or a relevant technical field.
• 10+ years of relevant experience in Quality Engineering, R&D, or NPI in a hardware/manufacturing environment.
• Specialized process knowledge in one or more of the following areas: Mechanical (ME) Focus: Mechatronic/Vehicle: Deep understanding of EV powertrain systems (motors, inverters, batteries, gearboxes) and expertise in their manufacturing processes, such as geartrain assembly, winding, magnetizing, welding, and EOL testing.
• Bike FATP: Metal parts manufacturing and e-bike assembly/testing/packaging (e.g., Wheel assembly, bike alignment, Bike EOL testing).
• Mechanical: Metal or plastic mechanical parts manufacturing processes (e.g., die casting, extrusion, stamping, injection molding, forging, machining).
• Electrical (EE) Focus: Electronics: Electronic product manufacturing processes (e.g., SMT, PCB, PCBA, ICT, FATP).
• Harnessing: Wire harness manufacturing (crimping, ultrasonic welding, molding) and cable assembly.
• System Integration: Functional testing (FCT), burn-in testing, and high-voltage (Hi-Pot) safety testing.
• Methodology Expertise: Deep knowledge of APQP and PPAP methodologies, with hands-on experience implementing NPI tools (DFMEA, Safe Launch Plans, Master Control Plans, DFM/DFA, etc.).
• Problem Solving: Experience with failure analysis and root cause investigation in a test or development environment.
• Technical Proficiency: Ability to read and interpret complex technical drawings (GD&T for Mechanical; Schematics for Electrical).
• Systems Proficiency: Skilled with Microsoft Office and Google applications, Arena PLM (or similar product lifecycle tools), and Jira.
• Leadership & Mindset: A self-starter with demonstrated program management skills, meticulous attention to detail, and the ability to influence cross-functional teams. You possess a process-oriented mindset with the ability to prioritize and execute in an extremely fast-paced environment.

Nice To Haves

• Certified Quality Engineer (CQE) or Six Sigma Green/Black Belt.
• Proven experience working with Tier 1 Contract Manufacturers (CMs) in Asia, Mexico, or Europe.
• Advanced degree (Master's or PhD) in a relevant engineering field.

Responsibilities

• Champion product quality upstream by influencing architecture to prevent defects before manufacturing begins
• Facilitate risk management activities, including DFMEA
• Define and manage critical-to-quality (CTQ) features
• Drive Design for Manufacturability (DFM) to ensure scalable, high-quality production
• Partner closely with Design Engineers to build robustness into product designs
• Serve as the bridge between the Palo Alto design team and overseas Operations quality teams
• Own the design quality process end-to-end, from concept through production

Benefits

• Robust health coverage. Excellent health, dental and vision insurance covered up to 100% by ALSO with FSA & HSA options.
• One Medical membership and dedicated insurance advocates.
• Rich fertility and family building benefits with Progyny.
• Flexible time off.
• 401(k) match.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Number of Employees: 51-100 employees