Staff Reliability Engineer

Sigma Design • Costa Mesa, CA

1d • $92 - $122 • Onsite

About The Position

Sigma Design has collaborated with a leading defense technology company seeking an experienced Staff Reliability Engineer to join their facility in Costa Mesa, CA. This company specializes in autonomous systems and next-generation defense technologies. This position is contract to hire and fully In-Office.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Systems Engineering, or an equivalent technical discipline required; Master’s degree preferred.
• Minimum of 12 years of relevant work experience as a Reliability Engineer, Design/Development Engineer, Test Engineer, or related engineering role preferred.
• Experience with safety-critical hardware and software systems, preferably within aerospace, defense, or other highly regulated industries.
• Experience establishing and implementing Reliability Engineering frameworks for products or programs, including production testing, field testing, data acquisition, and data analysis.
• Advanced knowledge of reliability engineering methodologies, including FMEA/FMECA, Fault Tree Analysis, predictive reliability modeling, and Weibull analysis.
• Experience developing and executing qualification testing requirements and reliability validation plans.
• Experience conducting failure investigations, root cause analysis, and implementing corrective actions to prevent recurrence.
• Experience supporting design reviews, including PDR, CDR, and MRR.
• Knowledge of reliability and environmental standards, including MIL-STD-810, MIL-HDBK-217, MIL-STD-461, MIL-STD-516C, and MIL-STD-1629.
• Strong technical writing, analytical, problem-solving, communication, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• ITAR - Permanent resident of the United States (“U.S. person” as defined by ITAR)
• Background - Pass a post-offer background verification.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with MIL-HDBK-217Plus, MIL-HDBK-472, and MIL-STD-1916 preferred.
• Experience with Manufacturing Readiness Level (MRL) assessments, Manufacturing Review Boards (MRB), quality inspection, tooling, or calibration preferred.
• Experience with HALT (Highly Accelerated Life Testing), HASS (Highly Accelerated Stress Screening), environmental testing, and/or mechanical testing preferred.
• Experience with risk management, change control/change management reviews, and software/firmware HITL/SITL preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead reliability engineering activities across product development programs, supporting design, manufacturing, production, and field performance initiatives.
• Review system block diagrams, interface control documents, and schematics to evaluate compliance, redundancy, and alignment with system requirements.
• Lead Failure Modes & Effects Analysis (FMEA/FMECA) and Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) efforts to identify risks and drive design improvements.
• Perform predictive reliability analyses, including MTTF/MTBF calculations, reliability modeling, and failure prediction using applicable industry standards.
• Develop and execute qualification, validation, environmental, life-cycle, and accelerated testing plans to verify product reliability and production readiness.
• Partner with engineering, manufacturing, quality, and test teams to improve assembly, integration, inspection, and testing processes.
• Develop maintainability prediction models and support preventative maintenance and sparing strategies.
• Perform Weibull analysis using qualification, production, and field data to identify failure trends and improve product reliability.
• Lead failure investigations, root cause analyses, and corrective/preventative actions (CAPA) for issues identified during development, production, and field operations.
• Support development milestone reviews by identifying reliability requirements, entry/exit criteria, and risks associated with transitioning products into production.
• Develop and implement standardized reliability processes, tools, and documentation to improve design, manufacturing, and deployment operations.
• Provide technical leadership and collaborate across engineering teams to drive continuous reliability improvements.
• Follow Business Technology policies to protect sensitive data and reduce information security occurrences.

Benefits

• Multiple options for medical insurance and dental insurance including some with FSA and HSA
• 401(k) with up to 4% company match
• 15-days of accrued PTO and 9 company paid holidays
• Quarterly bonus program
• Voluntary benefits: vision, long-term disability, and life insurance

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior