Operations - Quality Engineering Lead
Hybrid (San Francisco, CA)Full-timePosted 3mo ago
About the role
Product Quality Engineer leading end-to-end quality strategy across hardware development and robotic fleet operations, spanning design, manufacturing, field performance, and deployment to ensure reliability, scalability, and performance from prototyping to production and real-world use.
Responsibilities
- Lead Design for Quality initiatives, including Design for Manufacturing (DFM) and Design for Assembly (DFA)
- Partner with hardware, electrical, and software engineering teams during EVT/DVT/PVT phases to ensure robust design validation
- Define and enforce quality gates, risk assessments (FMEA), and validation plans
- Drive design improvements based on failure data, field insights, and reliability testing
- Risk Management: identify and mitigate business-critical risks and dependencies; develop contingency plans and maintain visibility across functions
- Establish and manage Incoming Quality Control (IQC), In-Process Quality Control (IPQC), and Outgoing Quality Control (OQC) frameworks
- Develop supplier quality strategy, including qualification, audits, and performance management
- Implement process controls, yield tracking, and defect reduction initiatives across contract manufacturers
- Lead root cause analysis and corrective/preventative actions (CAPA) for production issues
- Define reliability requirements and test strategies (HALT/HASS, environmental, lifecycle testing)
- Own validation metrics and ensure products meet performance and durability targets
- Drive continuous reliability improvements through structured failure analysis
- Establish systems for field triage, failure tracking, and escalation management across deployed robotic fleets
- Analyze field performance data to identify systemic issues and prioritize fixes
- Partner with operations and service teams to improve uptime, serviceability, and MTBF
- Develop feedback loops from field → engineering → manufacturing
- Ensure alignment between hardware and software quality standards
- Define test strategies for embedded systems, firmware, and cloud-connected platforms
- Drive automated testing frameworks (HIL/SIL), regression testing, and release quality metrics
- Define and track KPIs across the lifecycle: yield, defect rates, DPPM, MTBF, MTTR, fleet uptime
- Build dashboards and reporting systems to provide visibility across engineering, operations, and leadership
- Lead structured problem-solving using 8D, 5 Whys, Fishbone, and statistical methods
- Build diagnostic and alert frameworks for rapid issue identification and communication across hardware and software systems
- Leverage AI agents and tools to streamline root cause analysis, automate reporting, anomaly detection, and workflow management
- Improve cross-functional coordination across complex, multi-phase programs
Qualifications
- 8-10+ years in quality program management or a similar role with cross-functional project experience in fast-paced, tech-driven environments
- Strong understanding of quality concepts with ability to communicate across diverse teams; robotics/automation or hardware experience a plus
- Proven problem-solving mindset and ability to manage complex challenges without established playbooks
- Cross-functional leadership across Engineering, Product, Operations, Partnerships, etc.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills; ability to present metrics and quality approaches to senior leadership and external stakeholders
- Proven risk management experience in large, complex programs
- Adaptability in a fast-moving, ambiguous environment
- Willingness to travel domestically and internationally up to 20%
Skills
Required:Design for Quality (DFM/DFA)Quality gates and FMEARoot cause analysisReliability testingQuality system ownershipData analysis & KPIsCross-functional leadershipCommunication to leadership
Nice to have:Automation & AI in quality
Benefits
- Equal Opportunity Employer
- Diversity & inclusion commitments
- Reasonable Accommodations available in the hiring process
Last updated Sep 10, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.
About Bedrock Robotics
Advanced Autonomy for the Built World
Advanced Autonomy for the Built World
AutonomyBedrock Operatorautonomyheavy machineryindustrial automationindustrial roboticsmachine intelligenceon-site autonomy
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