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Principal Hardware Reliability Engineer

K2 Space· Avionics
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Los Angeles, CA$185k - $220kFull-timePosted 1mo ago

About the role

Technical authority on hardware reliability responsible for developing and executing reliability strategies for spacecraft and constellation-level targets, integrating reliability models with program risk management, and guiding design, test, and manufacturing decisions at scale.

Responsibilities

  • Own the development and maintenance of top-level reliability requirements, models, and allocations across the full spacecraft and constellation portfolio to meet vehicle and constellation-level targets for probability of success and availability
  • Define and drive HALT/HASS strategies, accelerated testing plans, and reliability growth programs across spacecraft development and production, including test standardization, lot acceptance derivations, and success-run demonstration analysis to confirm campaigns meet flight-life requirements
  • Establish and evolve reliability modelling frameworks, including Weibull and Kaplan-Meier analysis, accelerated failure time (AFT) modeling (e.g., Norris-Landzberg, Arrhenius), Monte Carlo simulations, and Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA), reconciling QTP, ATP, HALT, HASS, and flight telemetry data onto a single wear-out model
  • Integrate reliability analyses with program risk management and drive actionable insights that influence design, manufacturing, and test decisions
  • Flow down reliability requirements to subsystems, including margins, screening levels, derating guidelines, and test requirements, and ensure consistent application across programs
  • Lead root cause investigations on critical hardware failures and drive systemic corrective actions that improve product robustness and mission reliability
  • Collaborate closely with design, systems, test, and manufacturing teams to embed reliability principles early in the development process and optimize for mass production
  • Mentor and develop junior and mid-level engineers on reliability methods, analysis techniques, and best practices, while helping shape the long-term technical direction and growth of the reliability function at K2 Space
  • Serve as a technical authority on reliability across multiple spacecraft programs, advising leadership on risk trade-offs and reliability strategy
  • Own FRACAS and test-effectiveness tracking to close the loop between failure data, corrective actions, and reliability predictions
  • Partner with responsible engineers to implement telemetry and instrumentation for degradation observability on flight and test hardware
  • Advance degradation-based and Bayesian reliability methods, including Gamma/Wiener process degradation models and MCMC-based hierarchical pooling, to extend the reliability framework beyond binary pass/fail testing

Qualifications

  • S. degree in mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, electrical engineering, materials science, or other related discipline
  • 8+ years of experience in reliability engineering, hardware testing, failure analysis, or related fields in the space, automotive, semiconductor, or other high-reliability industries

Skills

Required:Reliability modelingHALT/HASS planningFRACAS and test-effectiveness trackingTelemetry and degradation observabilityProgramming for data analysisCross-functional collaboration
Nice to have:Bayesian reliability methods

Benefits

  • Comprehensive benefits package including paid time off, medical/dental/vision coverage, life insurance, paid parental leave, and many other perks
Last updated Sep 2, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.

About K2 Space

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