Sr. Design for Reliability Engineer, Electrical Systems

Rivian•Palo Alto, CA

About The Position

Rivian is on a mission to keep the world adventurous forever. This goes for the emissions-free Electric Adventure Vehicles we build, and the curious, courageous souls we seek to attract. As a company, we constantly challenge what’s possible, never simply accepting what has always been done. We reframe old problems, seek new solutions and operate comfortably in areas that are unknown. Our backgrounds are diverse, but our team shares a love of the outdoors and a desire to protect it for future generations. Reliability is at the core of Electric Adventure Vehicles. We are looking for engineers who have experience in bringing products from the early concept stages to production by working closely with design, validation and manufacturing teams on solving technical problems along the way to make the most robust products. If some of the first things that come to your mind when looking at a complex design is “what are the way this thing can fail and how can I make it better?” then we are looking for you!

Requirements

Bachelor of Science in Engineering (B.S.).
One or more years of industry experience in a dedicated reliability engineering role is preferred. (Role level will be determined by experience and qualifications.)
Strong technical aptitude and proven interest in reliability engineering.
Experience facilitating Failure Mode and Effects Analyses (FMEAs) and leading cross-functional teams.
Working knowledge of a coding language (preferably Python) and statistical software for reliability analysis, such as JMP or ReliaSoft.
Commitment to contributing to a respectful, inclusive, and inspiring team environment.
Good understanding of Electrical Engineering fundamentals from ability to read schematic and aware of component functionality for both low voltage and high voltage.
Expertise in the Physics of Failure for electrical system failure modes, particularly at the component level.
Understanding of degradation models development, material behavior and ability to leverage data science to apply the modeling.

Nice To Haves

Understanding of Highly Accelerated Testing methods and governing equations for different types of failure mechanisms.
Experience with deploying reliability testing guidelines and inventing new ways of testing.
Good understanding of reliability statistics including Weibull Analysis.
Expertise in accelerated-life-test development methods.
Working knowledge of failure analysis techniques such as optical microscopy, SEM, CT, X-Ray, EDS.

Responsibilities

Drive the Design-for-Reliability (DfR) strategy for the vehicle's electrical systems and supporting components, ensuring reliability is integrated from the initial concept phase through to mass production.
Collaborate with world-class design and validation teams to develop creative, non-traditional solutions for the most challenging reliability and performance problems.
Act as the primary reliability development expert for critical electrical systems of the vehicle.
Set and communicate Reliability requirements and targets for components, subsystems, and assemblies.
Analyze usage and environmental conditions to improve requirement setting and testing methods.
Facilitate Design FMEA sessions to drive reliable design choices and improve validation test planning.
Participate in design reviews and facilitate the reliability section of the design review.
Develop reliability design guidelines and apply reliability lessons learned to enable continuous improvement.
Devise accelerated test methods to explore design margins and grow reliability efficiently.
Partner with the simulation teams to assess problem areas before physical parts are available for testing.
Specify reliability validation plans for components and subsystems using a physics of failure approach.
Provide guidance on sample size requirements and duration for reliability testing by utilizing reliability statistics.
Facilitate failure analysis to understand root cause and drive resolution for failures originating in testing.
Assess and clearly communicate risk at each phase of the reliability program.
Research failure mechanisms of new technologies and applications.
Create designed experiments (DOE) to explore alternative choices on materials, processes, and designs.
Influence supplier selection for higher reliability and provide clear guidance on reliability requirements and demonstration to suppliers.
Develop Ongoing Reliability Testing strategies.
Be the gatekeeper of reliability risk throughout product development and drive activities to successfully burn-down risk before SOP.
Partner with Field Reliability and Failure Analysis to assure reliability lessons learned are incorporated into future products.